● 01 · What a cookie does here

The mechanics, without the hand-waving

A cookie is a short text record a site asks your browser to keep and hand back on the next request. Local and session storage do a similar job without travelling with every request. We use both sparingly.

01

Strictly necessary

Keys that keep the site functioning — load balancing, abuse protection and remembering that you already dismissed a notice. These are set without consent because the site cannot be delivered reliably without them.

02

Preference

Small records of choices you made yourself, such as a language or a collapsed panel. They exist so the interface does not reset every time you move between pages.

03

Measurement

Aggregate counts of page views and referrers, used to see which service pages earn attention. Reports are read at the level of a page, never at the level of a named person.

04

First party by default

Anything set from this domain is ours. Where a third-party asset is embedded, it is named in the inventory below rather than hidden behind a generic vendor label.

05

Not used for profiling

We do not build behavioural profiles, we do not sync identifiers with ad exchanges, and we do not follow you onto other websites. Our client work happens off this domain, not through your browser.

06

Consent and its limits

Non-essential storage relies on your consent, which you may withdraw at any time. Withdrawal applies going forward and does not undo processing that was already lawful when it happened.

● 02 · Inventory

What this site can write to your device

Categories, purposes and typical lifetimes. Where a lifetime says "session", the record disappears the moment you close the tab.

Session integrity

Strictly necessary. Keeps a single visit coherent across pages and protects form submissions from replay. Lifetime: session.

Notice state

Strictly necessary. Records that you have already seen and dismissed a policy or consent notice so it is not shown again on every page. Lifetime: up to 12 months.

Interface preference

Preference. Stores display choices you make on the site, held in local storage rather than sent with requests. Lifetime: until you clear site data.

Aggregate analytics

Measurement. Distinguishes a repeat page view from a new one so visit counts are not inflated. No cross-site identifier. Lifetime: up to 13 months.

Embedded fonts & assets

Third party. Web fonts are requested from a font host, which sees your IP and user agent as part of delivering the file. No cookie is set by us on that request.

Tag container

Conditional. If a tag container is enabled on this property, it loads only measurement tags listed in this policy. It is never used to inject advertising pixels.

● 03 · Refusing & clearing

Turning it off, and keeping it off

Control sits with you, in the browser, and nothing on this site is gated behind accepting non-essential storage.

  1. 01

    Refuse before anything is set

    Decline non-essential storage on the notice, or configure your browser to block cookies for this domain before you browse further. Strictly necessary keys may still be written, as the law permits.

  2. 02

    Clear what is already there

    Every major browser exposes a "clear site data" or "cookies and site data" control under privacy settings. Clearing removes both cookies and local storage for afiled.com immediately.

  3. 03

    Change your mind later

    Withdrawing consent takes effect from the moment you act. Clear the notice-state key and the choice is presented again on your next visit, so a decision made once is never permanent.

If you block everything: the pages still render, the navigation still works and the brief form still submits. You may lose small conveniences — a dismissed notice reappears, a display preference resets — but no content or service is withheld. This policy is reviewed whenever the site's stack changes; the version and effective date at the top of the page tell you which revision you are reading.

Questions on cookies?

Ask for the current list. We answer in writing.

Want the live inventory, a processor name or confirmation that a key was cleared? Email hello@afiled.com with "COOKIES" in the subject.