Cookie Policy
This page lists every cookie and tracking technology Geeks Around Globe can load, who sets it, what it does and how long it lasts. It is generated from the same configuration that controls the loading itself, so it cannot fall out of date with what actually runs.
The site is operated by BrandFactory LLC, 1942 Broadway, Suite 314C, Boulder, CO 80302, United States, which is the data controller for everything described here.
Last updated: 31 August 2026
Your current choice
You can see and change what you have allowed at any time. Withdrawing is exactly as easy as consenting, and takes effect immediately — anything you switch off is removed and stops loading.
How we ask
What happens on your first visit depends on where you are, because the law does:
- European Economic Area, United Kingdom and Switzerland. Nothing optional loads at all until you choose. No analytics, no advertising, no third-party requests. If you decline, or simply ignore the notice, none of it ever runs.
- United States. Analytics and advertising run by default, as US state privacy laws permit, and you can opt out at any time. If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal we treat it as a binding opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information and switch advertising off before you arrive.
- Everywhere else. We apply the stricter European standard by default.
We do not use a cookie wall. Declining everything costs you no content and no functionality. Your choice is stored for six months, after which we ask again.
Categories
Strictly necessary (always on)
These make the site work: they keep you signed in, protect forms against cross-site request forgery, and store the privacy choice you are making right now. They set no advertising or measurement identifiers and are exempt from consent under the ePrivacy Directive, so there is no switch for them.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
gag_consentfirst-party cookie | Geeks Around Globe | Stores which cookie categories you allowed, and when. | 6 months |
gag_memberfirst-party cookie | Geeks Around Globe | Keeps you signed in to your Academy account. | Session / 30 days |
gag_oauth_state, gag_oauth_verifier, gag_oauth_nextfirst-party cookie | Geeks Around Globe | Single-use tokens that stop sign-in requests being forged. | 10 minutes |
payload-tokenfirst-party cookie | Payload CMS | Authenticates editorial staff in the admin area. Not set for readers. | 2 hours |
Preferences
Stores small choices so the site behaves the way you left it — light or dark theme, dismissed prompts, course progress display. Nothing here is shared with anyone else.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
themelocalStorage | Geeks Around Globe | Light or dark appearance. | Until cleared |
Analytics
Tells us which pieces are read, how people arrive, and where they stop reading, so we can decide what to write next. We look at these numbers in aggregate. Declining costs you nothing.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
_gafirst-party cookie | Distinguishes one browser from another. | 2 years | |
_ga_*first-party cookie | Holds the analytics session state. | 2 years | |
_clckfirst-party cookie | Microsoft | Persists a Clarity user identifier. | 1 year |
_clskfirst-party cookie | Microsoft | Groups page views into one session. | 1 day |
_hjSessionUser_*first-party cookie | Hotjar | Recognises a returning browser. | 1 year |
_hjSession_*first-party cookie | Hotjar | Holds the current session. | 30 minutes |
Advertising
Advertising pays for the journalism on this site. With this on, our ad partners may use cookies and similar identifiers to select and measure ads, including personalised ones. With it off, our ad partners are not loaded at all in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland; elsewhere you will see contextual, non-personalised advertising instead.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
Various third-party ad cookiesthird-party cookie | Mediavine and its demand partners | Frequency capping, ad selection, click measurement and fraud prevention. The full partner list is published by Mediavine. | Up to 13 months |
_fbpfirst-party cookie | Meta | Identifies a browser for ad attribution. | 3 months |
Where the data goes
The site and its database run on a server in Germany. Some of the companies listed below are outside the EEA; transfers to the United States rely on the EU–US Data Privacy Framework where the recipient is certified, and on the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses otherwise. BrandFactory LLC is itself established in the United States, and our affiliate operates from Sri Lanka — see the privacy policy for how we handle those transfers.
- Geeks Around Globe — BrandFactory LLC — self-hosted on a server in Germany. Privacy notice
- Theme and reading preferences — Stored in your browser only — never transmitted.. Privacy notice
- Google Analytics 4 — Google Ireland Ltd / Google LLC (US) — EU Data Privacy Framework. Privacy notice
- Google Tag Manager (configured but not currently enabled — it sets nothing today) — Google Ireland Ltd / Google LLC (US). Privacy notice
- Microsoft Clarity (configured but not currently enabled — it sets nothing today) — Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd / Microsoft Corp (US). Privacy notice
- Hotjar (configured but not currently enabled — it sets nothing today) — Hotjar Ltd (Malta, EU). Privacy notice
- Mediavine — Mediavine Inc. (US) and its listed ad partners. Privacy notice
- Meta Pixel (configured but not currently enabled — it sets nothing today) — Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd. Privacy notice
Companies that never set a cookie but still handle personal data — our host, object storage and mail delivery — are listed in the privacy policy, because they are outside the scope of a consent choice but still have to be disclosed.
Advertising and personalisation
Advertising pays for the writing on this site. If you allow it, our advertising partner and the demand partners they work with may set cookies to select, cap and measure ads. If you decline it in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, those partners are not loaded at all. In the United States, opting out stops the sale and sharing of your personal information; you will still see advertising, but it will be contextual rather than personalised.
Serving personalised advertising to readers in the EEA additionally requires a Google-certified consent framework provider. Where that provider is active on this site, its vendor choices are recorded alongside the choice you make here.
Browser-level controls
Independently of this site, every major browser lets you block or delete cookies, and most offer a Global Privacy Control setting or extension that we honour automatically. Blocking strictly necessary cookies will sign you out and stop the Academy from working. All About Cookies explains how, browser by browser.
Questions
See our privacy policy for your full rights and how to exercise them, or write to privacy@geeksaroundglobe.com, or by post to BrandFactory LLC, 1942 Broadway, Suite 314C, Boulder, CO 80302, United States.