What is a cookie?
A cookie is a tiny text file your browser stores when you visit a website. They are used to remember things like whether you are signed in, what theme you prefer, or whether you have already seen our consent banner. Karostartup also uses a related browser feature called localStorage, which serves the same purpose.
The cookies and storage we use
Essential — always on
- sb-...-auth-token — set by Supabase, lets you stay signed in across page loads. Expires when your session does.
- k:cookie-consent (localStorage) — records whether you accepted or declined cookies, so we don't show the banner again. Stored on your device only; we never read it.
- k:categories, k:profile:* (sessionStorage) — short-lived caches that keep the site fast across page transitions. Cleared when you close the tab.
Analytics and advertising
- _ga, _ga_* — set by Google Analytics to count page views and where readers come from.
- Advertising — our home, article, category, company and feature pages show ads served by Google AdSense. Google and its partners set cookies (such as __gads, __gpi, and IDE on doubleclick.net) to serve and measure ads and, where permitted, to personalise them based on your visits to this and other sites. Readers in the EEA, UK and Switzerland are only shown personalised ads after giving consent. You can opt out of personalised ads in Google Ads Settings or at aboutads.info.
Third-party content
When we embed third-party content (YouTube, Vimeo, Spotify, Twitter/X), those services may set their own cookies on the embed iframe. We have no control over them — please refer to each provider's cookie policy.
How to control cookies
The consent banner on your first visit gives you a choice between "Essential only" and "Accept all". You can change your mind at any time by clearing your browser's site data for this domain — the banner will return on your next visit.
All modern browsers also let you block or delete cookies in their settings. Be aware that disabling essential cookies will sign you out and break some features (bookmarks, commenting, admin).
Do Not Track
We respect the Do Not Track (DNT) header. If your browser sends DNT, we do not load any optional analytics regardless of your consent banner choice.
Updates
If we add or remove a cookie we will update this page and revise the date at the top.
Contact
Questions about cookies: our contact form. See also our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.