A cookie is a small file a website stores in your browser. Some are needed for the site to work. Others tell us how the site is used. This notice covers cookies and the similar technologies we use, including local storage and pixels.
Nothing but the strictly necessary runs until you accept it. On your first visit you will see a banner with two clear choices, and whatever you choose, the site works the same.
What this site sets
Here is the whole list. If you decline analytics, everything in the analytics rows below is never loaded, so those cookies are never set at all.
| Name | Type | What it does | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| vo-consent | Strictly necessary | Remembers whether you accepted or declined analytics, so we do not ask again on every page | 12 months, in your browser’s local storage |
| vo-theme | Strictly necessary | Remembers whether you chose light or dark mode | Until you clear your browser, in local storage |
| _ga, _ga_<id> | Analytics (Google Analytics 4) | Counts visits and tells apart a returning browser from a new one, so we know how many people read a page | Up to 2 years |
| _clck, _clsk | Analytics (Microsoft Clarity) | Links a session’s page views together for heatmaps and session replay | Up to 1 year and 1 day |
| CLID, MUID, ANONCHK, SM | Analytics (Microsoft) | Set by Microsoft when Clarity loads, to identify a browser and check the recording service is working | Up to 1 year |
Google Maps, the Google appointment booking window and the Google Preferred Sources button appear on some pages. When one of those loads, Google may set its own cookies under its own policy. We have no control over them, and you can avoid them by not using those features.
Why we use analytics at all
We write long guides. Knowing that eight hundred people read a page and that most of them stop halfway down is how we decide what to rewrite. Session replay in Microsoft Clarity shows the same thing visually: where people scroll, what they click, where a layout confuses them.
We have Clarity configured to mask text and form input, so what you type is not recorded. We do not use either tool to identify you, we do not build advertising profiles from them, and we do not sell or share what they collect. See the Privacy Policy for the full picture.
What we do not use
No advertising cookies. No retargeting pixel, no Meta pixel, no LinkedIn Insight tag, no ad network tags of any kind. We do not sell personal information and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
How to change your choice
Use the Cookie settings link at the bottom of any page. It reopens the banner, and your new choice takes effect immediately. Declining after you accepted also stops the tags loading on every page after that; to remove cookies already set, clear them in your browser.
You can also control cookies in your browser settings, where you can block them, delete them or be warned before one is set. Blocking everything may break features on other sites, though this one will still work.
We honour Global Privacy Control. If your browser or extension sends a GPC signal, we treat it as a decline and analytics never loads, whatever the banner says.
The providers’ own policies
Google explains its cookies at policies.google.com/technologies/cookies, and you can opt out of Google Analytics in any browser with its opt-out add-on. Microsoft explains Clarity in its privacy statement.
Changes
If we add or remove a tag, this page changes with it and the date at the top moves. If a change adds a category you have not consented to, the banner will ask you again.
How to reach us about this
Questions, corrections or requests about this page go to hello@visibleowl.com, or call (512) 553-9675. Postal mail: Visible Owl LLC, Round Rock, TX 78665. A real person answers, usually the same business day.