What Cookies Are
Cookies are small text files a website places on your device when you visit. They let the site remember your actions and preferences (language, privacy consent, etc.) over a period of time, so you don't have to re-enter the information each time you come back.
This policy complements our Privacy Policy and focuses specifically on cookies and similar technologies (local storage, session identifiers).
Three Cookie Categories
1. Strictly Necessary
These cookies are essential for site operation. Without them, parts of the site would not work:
- Laravel session cookie (
ozarks_session) — maintains state during your visit. Expires when you close the browser or after 2 hours of inactivity. - XSRF cookie (
XSRF-TOKEN) — protects forms against cross-site request forgery attacks. - Consent cookie (
ozarks_consent, local storage) — remembers your choice of analytics and marketing cookies. Expires after 1 year.
These cookies cannot be disabled without breaking basic site functionality.
2. Analytics (Optional)
If you give consent, we use Google Analytics 4 to measure how the site is used in aggregate: pages visited, time on page, device, traffic source:
_ga— anonymous user identifier. Expires in 2 years._ga_*— property-specific session state. Expires in 2 years._gid— distinguishes users. Expires in 24 hours.
IP addresses are automatically anonymized. Data is aggregated and not used to identify individuals.
3. Marketing (Optional)
If you give consent, we may use advertising identifiers to measure campaign effectiveness. We do not currently run any active advertising campaigns, so these cookies are not set in practice, but the option exists for future support.
Consent Mode v2
We use Google Consent Mode v2 with default set to "denied". This means Google Analytics does not collect personal data until you actively accept. If you reject or close the consent banner, GA4 operates in "cookieless measurement mode" which provides only aggregate anonymous metrics.
How to Control Cookies
Site Consent Banner
On first site load, a consent banner appears with two buttons:
- Accept All — enables analytics and marketing cookies.
- Essentials Only — only strictly necessary cookies.
Your choice is remembered in browser local storage. To change it later, open browser developer tools and clear local storage for this site.
Browser Settings
You can block or delete all cookies through your browser's settings. Instructions:
Note that blocking all cookies can affect functionality on this site and on most modern websites.
Google Analytics Global Opt-Out
To opt out of Google Analytics across all sites, install the official Google opt-out add-on in your browser.
Similar Technologies
In addition to cookies, we use local storage (localStorage) to remember your consent preference. Local storage is only accessible via the site's own JavaScript — it is not accessible to third-party websites.
We do not use web beacons, third-party tracking pixels, or browser fingerprinting.
Changes to This Policy
If our cookie implementation changes (for example, we add a new analytics tool or remove GA4), we will update this page and the "Last updated" date.