Cookie and Tracking Notice
Last updated: August 10, 2026
This page lists everything civicsguide.com stores in your browser and everything it measures. It is deliberately specific, because “we use cookies to improve your experience” tells you nothing.
The short version
This site sets no cookies of its own. There is no login, no shopping cart, and no personalization to remember. The only cookies that can appear are Google Analytics ones, and only when analytics is enabled for the site.
What can be stored in your browser
Analytics cookies (Google Analytics 4)
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga | Distinguishes one browser from another so a returning visit is not counted twice | 2 years | |
_ga_<container> | Keeps GA4 session state | 2 years |
These are only present when a Google Analytics Measurement ID is configured for the site. Without one, no analytics script is loaded at all and neither cookie is set. That is a real switch in the code, not a promise.
Consent preference
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|
cg_consent | CivicsGuide | Remembers your analytics choice so you are not asked again | Until you clear site data |
This is stored in your browser and never sent to us.
No advertising cookies
We do not run advertising on this site, and we do not set advertising, retargeting, or social media tracking cookies. There is no Meta pixel, no TikTok pixel, and no LinkedIn Insight tag. See the Advertising Disclosure for what would change if that ever does.
What Google Analytics measures
When analytics is on, we record:
- page views, including which language version of a page you read,
- clicks on the app store buttons and the waitlist calls to action,
- which FAQ questions get opened,
- how far down the page people scroll,
- waitlist form submissions and form errors, as counts,
- clicks on links that lead off this site,
- file downloads.
We never send your email address to Google. The waitlist form posts your address to our own API and stores it in our own database. What analytics sees is that a signup happened and which form it came from, not who signed up. That separation is in the code: the analytics module is told “a lead occurred at this location”, and is never handed the field’s value.
We do not use Google Signals, we do not enable advertising personalization, and we do not build cross-site profiles.
Consent
We use Google Consent Mode v2, and the site declares consent defaults before any
analytics loads. Where consent is required, analytics storage begins denied and
only becomes granted after you opt in, and your choice is remembered in
cg_consent.
How to turn it off
- In your browser. Blocking third-party cookies, or using a content blocker, stops Google Analytics entirely. Nothing on this site breaks if you do; there is no analytics-gated content.
- Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control. If your browser sends one of these signals, treat it as a request we want to honour, and tell us at [email protected] if you find it is not being respected.
- Clear site data. This removes
cg_consentand any analytics cookies, and you will be treated as a new visitor.
Changes
If we add anything that stores data in your browser, it gets added to the tables above and the date at the top changes. Related reading: our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.