Cookie Policy
This policy explains every cookie, localStorage item, and tracking technology used on seogeo360.com — what it is, why it exists, and how to control it.
1. What Are Cookies
Cookies are small text files placed on your device by a website. They allow the site to remember information about your visit — such as whether you are logged in, your preferences, or how you navigated the site. Cookies are not programs and cannot carry viruses.
In addition to cookies (stored in your browser's cookie store), we also use localStorage — a browser feature that stores data locally on your device. Unlike cookies, localStorage data is not sent to our server with every request.
2. Our Approach
We categorise our cookies into three groups:
- Essential — required for the site to function. Cannot be disabled.
- Analytics — help us understand how people use the site. Require consent for EEA, UK, and Switzerland users.
- Functional — remember your preferences. Non-essential but improve your experience.
We do not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels for ad retargeting, or third-party behavioural profiling cookies.
3. Essential Cookies
These are strictly necessary for the website to function. They cannot be opted out of because without them the service cannot be provided.
| Name | Type | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
wordpress_logged_in_* | Cookie | Authenticates your WordPress login session. Without this, you cannot stay logged in. | Session / 14 days |
wordpress_sec_* | Cookie | WordPress security cookie — restricts access to admin area paths. | Session |
wp-settings-* | Cookie | Stores WordPress admin UI preferences for logged-in users. | 1 year |
sgeo_ext_token | Cookie (httpOnly) | Chrome extension authentication token — a random string linking the extension to your account. Not your password. | 1 year |
| CSRF nonces (form submissions) | Server-side token (not a cookie) | WordPress nonce tokens embedded in forms to protect against Cross-Site Request Forgery attacks. | 12 hours |
4. Analytics Cookies (Google Analytics 4)
When analytics cookies are active (after consent for EEA/UK/CH, or by default for other regions), Google Analytics 4 sets the following cookies:
| Name | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga | Distinguishes unique users by assigning a randomly generated number. Used to calculate visit, session, and campaign data for site analytics. | 2 years | |
_ga_XXXXXXXXXX | GA4 session and event persistence. Contains no personally identifiable information. | 2 years |
GA4 collects: page URLs visited, referrer URL, browser type and version, device type, screen resolution, general geographic location (country and city — derived from anonymised IP), session duration, pages per session, and events triggered (page views, button clicks we explicitly track).
IP anonymisation is enabled — Google receives a truncated version of your IP address and does not store the full IP on our behalf.
Data is processed by Google LLC under their Privacy Policy and our Data Processing Agreement with Google.
5. Functional Storage (localStorage)
The following items are stored in your browser's localStorage. They never leave your device and are not transmitted to our servers.
| Key | Purpose | Value stored |
|---|---|---|
sgeo_cookie_consent | Stores your cookie consent choice so you are not shown the banner on every page. | "accepted" or "rejected" |
sgeo_strip_dismissed | Remembers that you dismissed the top announcement banner so it does not reappear. | "1" |
sgeo_popup_shown | Ensures a promotional popup is shown only once per session (if a popup is configured). | "1" |
6. Community Platform Tracking
When you are logged in and use the Community platform, we track the following events in our internal database (separate from GA4 cookies):
- Thread created, answer submitted, answer approved/rejected
- Best answer selected, thread viewed, vote cast, bookmark added
- AI suggestion used, AI auto-fill used, content reported
Each event records: event type, your WordPress user ID, the relevant thread or answer ID, a timestamp, an anonymised session identifier, and a SHA-256 hash of your IP address (the raw IP is never stored — only a one-way hash used for deduplication, combined with a server-side secret salt that makes reversal computationally infeasible).
This tracking operates under our legitimate interest in understanding platform quality and usage. It is active for all logged-in users and is not controlled by the cookie consent banner.
Realtime event records are pruned after 48 hours. Aggregated daily statistics are retained for 2 years.
7. Third-Party Cookies
Google Fonts
We load the Plus Jakarta Sans typeface from Google Fonts. When the font loads, your IP address is transmitted to Google's servers. Google may set performance-related cookies. See Google's Privacy Policy.
Lemon Squeezy (payments)
When you visit a Lemon Squeezy checkout page (hosted on their domain), Lemon Squeezy sets their own cookies for payment processing, fraud prevention, and their own analytics. We have no control over these cookies. See Lemon Squeezy's Privacy Policy.
Lemon Squeezy checkout pages open in a separate window/tab on the lemon squeezy.com domain. Their cookies do not apply to seogeo360.com.
No advertising cookies
We do not use Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, Twitter/X Pixel, or any other advertising network cookies. We do not engage in behavioural retargeting advertising.
8. Google Consent Mode v2
We implement Google Consent Mode v2, which adjusts how GA4 behaves based on your consent choice:
- When analytics_storage is DENIED (EEA/UK/CH users who have not accepted, or who rejected): GA4 does not set cookies and does not store your client ID. It sends anonymous, cookieless "pings" to Google containing only aggregate signals (not linked to any individual). Google uses these pings for statistical modelling to estimate overall site behaviour without identifying you.
- When analytics_storage is GRANTED (non-EEA users by default, or users who accepted): GA4 sets the
_gaand_ga_*cookies and tracks your sessions normally.
The four Consent Mode parameters we control:
analytics_storage— controls GA4 analytics cookiesad_storage— controls advertising cookies (always denied — we do not run ads)ad_user_data— controls sending user data to Google for advertising (always denied)ad_personalization— controls personalised advertising (always denied)
Even in "denied" mode, anonymous aggregate pings may be sent to Google. These contain no identifying information and cannot be linked back to you as an individual.
9. Full Cookie Reference
| Cookie / Key | Category | First / Third party | Duration | Can opt out? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
wordpress_logged_in_* | Essential | First | Session / 14 days | No — breaks login |
sgeo_ext_token | Essential | First | 1 year | No — breaks extension |
_ga | Analytics | Third (Google) | 2 years | Yes — reject in banner |
_ga_* | Analytics | Third (Google) | 2 years | Yes — reject in banner |
sgeo_cookie_consent (localStorage) | Essential / Functional | First | Persistent (localStorage) | Delete via browser settings |
sgeo_strip_dismissed (localStorage) | Functional | First | Persistent (localStorage) | Delete via browser settings |
sgeo_popup_shown (localStorage) | Functional | First | Session | Clears on browser close |
10. Managing Your Cookies
Via our cookie banner
When you first visit seogeo360.com, our cookie banner appears at the bottom of the screen. Click "Accept All" to allow analytics cookies, or "Reject Non-Essential" to block them. Your choice is stored in localStorage under the key sgeo_cookie_consent.
Change your choice
To change your consent choice at any time: open your browser's Developer Tools (F12) → Application tab → Local Storage → seogeo360.com → delete the sgeo_cookie_consent key. Reload the page — the banner will reappear.
Via browser settings
All modern browsers allow you to manage, block, or delete cookies:
- Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Cookies and other site data
- Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
- Safari: Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data
- Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions
Note: blocking essential cookies will prevent you from logging in and using dashboard features.
Google Analytics opt-out
You can also install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on to prevent GA4 from collecting data across all websites you visit.
11. Policy Changes
We will update this Cookie Policy when we add new cookies or change how existing ones work. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the date of the most recent change. We will notify registered users by email of any material changes.
12. Contact
Questions about this Cookie Policy: help@seogeo360.com (subject: Privacy Request)
General privacy queries: see our Privacy Policy