1. The short version
Swift Digest does not use third-party advertising cookies, behavioral retargeting, or cross-site tracking pixels. Site analytics are anonymized and cookieless via Plausible Analytics. The cookies we do set are first-party only and used strictly to operate the site — your theme choice, your member-account session, and a small number of preferences you've explicitly made.
If you've arrived expecting a banner asking permission to track you across the web, there isn't one — because there's nothing to track.
2. What is a cookie
A cookie is a small piece of text a website asks your browser to store, and which the browser sends back on later visits. "Similar storage" means the same idea using newer browser features (localStorage, sessionStorage) — for the purposes of this policy we treat them the same way.
3. Cookies set by Swift Digest
The full list of first-party cookies and storage keys this site may set:
- sd-theme — remembers whether you've selected the Light, Dark, or Vibrant theme. Stored in localStorage. Lifetime: until you clear your browser storage.
- sd-session — keeps you signed in to your member account if you have one. HttpOnly, Secure, SameSite=Lax. Lifetime: typically 30 days; refreshed each visit.
- sd-csrf — anti-forgery token for member-account form submissions. Set only when you're signed in. Lifetime: per-session.
- sd-consent — records your consent state if applicable in your jurisdiction. Lifetime: 12 months.
- sd-prefs — small first-party blob for site preferences you've explicitly toggled (e.g., dismissing a banner). Lifetime: until you clear your browser storage.
4. Analytics
Swift Digest uses Plausible Analytics for aggregate site metrics — page views, referrer, country at a coarse level. Plausible is cookieless by design and does not use personal identifiers, IP-based fingerprints, or cross-site profiles. There is no third-party advertising network embedded on the site.
5. What we do not use
Swift Digest does not use, and has never used:
- Third-party advertising cookies or programmatic ad networks.
- Behavioral retargeting pixels (Meta Pixel, Google Ads, TikTok Pixel, etc.).
- Cross-site tracking, fingerprinting, or device-graph services.
- Session-replay tools that record on-page mouse movement or keystrokes.
- Any service that sells reader data or builds profiles for resale.
6. Embedded content
Articles occasionally embed third-party media — for example a YouTube video, a tweet, or an audio clip from a podcast platform — when that content is itself the subject of reporting. When you interact with an embed, the third party may set its own cookies governed by its own policy. Where reasonable, embeds are configured in their privacy-friendly mode (e.g., youtube-nocookie.com).
7. Your controls
All modern browsers let you view, restrict, or delete cookies. You can also block first-party cookies for swiftdigest.com — though doing so will prevent member-account sign-in and theme persistence from working.
On most browsers: Settings → Privacy → Cookies and site data. The Electronic Frontier Foundation's Privacy Badger and uBlock Origin are both reasonable defaults if you'd like an extra layer.
8. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control
Swift Digest honors the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal where applicable. Because the site does not run third-party advertising or behavioral retargeting, there is little for GPC to opt you out of — but the signal is recognized as a clear expression of preference and is treated accordingly.
9. Changes to this policy
If the cookies the site uses ever change in a meaningful way, this page will be updated and the "last updated" date above will reflect the change. We will not introduce third-party tracking quietly.
10. Contact
Questions about how Swift Digest uses cookies, or how to exercise a privacy right, should go to [email protected].