Cookies

What gets stored in your browser on Echo Lane — and what does not.

Quiet canal path lined with trees in soft afternoon light
Small paths, small choices — same spirit as cookie settings.

Last updated: 2026-08-11.

This page explains how Echo Lane uses cookies and browser storage. I keep it separate from the Privacy page so you can find technical details quickly. I am Marcus; there is no marketing team rewriting this to sound friendly while hiding trackers — because there are no trackers here beyond optional map embeds you control.

Summary

The consent cookie

Name: sg_blog_consent. Mirror key: cookie_consent_v1. Value is JSON URL-encoded, version 1, with fields essential, functional, analytics, and ts (timestamp). Max-Age about 180 days (six months), Path=/, SameSite=Lax, Secure on HTTPS.

Essential is always true — it reflects that the site must store your choice to respect your choice. Functional controls whether Google Maps iframes receive a src attribute. Analytics is off by default; the toggle exists for future compatibility but I am not loading analytics scripts today.

How the banner works

On first visit you see a bottom strip with Accept all, Reject all, and Customise. Accept all enables functional embeds (maps). Reject all keeps maps behind a placeholder with a "Load map" button. Customise opens toggles for functional and analytics storage.

Your selection is written to both the cookie and localStorage so reloads stay consistent even if one storage type is cleared. You can reopen the panel anytime via "Manage cookie preferences" on this page or the margin notes page.

Approach (a) — placeholder maps

Echo Lane uses approach (a): maps are treated as functional embeds, not silently essential. Until you accept functional storage or click Load map on a placeholder, map iframes have no src and do not contact Google. This differs from sites that always load maps; I document the difference here so you know what Reject all means in practice.

Clicking Load map on any placeholder grants functional consent for the whole site session storage period — the same as enabling functional in customise mode. I designed it that way so you are not forced to hunt the banner again on every page.

Google Maps cookies

When a map loads, Google may set its own cookies or use similar technologies under Google's policies. I do not receive those identifiers. I embed standard Maps iframes without API keys. If you reject functional consent, those Google requests should not occur until you change your mind.

Google Fonts

Typefaces load from Google Fonts servers. That is a separate HTTP request from map embeds. I classify fonts as part of page delivery rather than a stored consent category, because blocking them would require a self-hosted font rebuild. If you use a browser extension that blocks Google Fonts, fallback system fonts apply.

What I do not use

No Facebook Pixel. No Google Analytics tag at this time. No heatmaps. No A/B frameworks. No social login. No comment cookies. No session cookies for accounts because accounts do not exist here.

Clearing or changing choices

Use the manage button below, or clear site data in your browser settings for echoswiftpro.pro, or delete the sg_blog_consent cookie manually. Clearing storage resets you to the first-visit banner state. localStorage and cookie are independent; clearing one may leave the other until both are removed — the script checks cookie first, then localStorage.

Consent record example

After accepting functional only, stored JSON resembles:

{"essential":true,"functional":true,"analytics":false,"ts":"2026-08-11T06:30:00.000Z","v":1}

Children and shared devices

If you share a device, remember that consent applies to the browser profile, not the human. Someone else using the same profile inherits your map settings until cleared.

Testing consent

To verify the banner yourself: open the site in a private window, choose Reject all, confirm maps show placeholders, then click Load map on one page and confirm other pages load maps without asking again until storage expires or you clear data.

Relationship to Privacy page

The Privacy page covers email, logs, and contact data. This Cookies page covers browser storage only. Both apply together on Echo Lane.

Updates

If I add analytics or change map policy, this page updates before the feature goes live. Version bumps in stored JSON will increment v so old records do not silently apply to new rules.

Contact

Questions about cookies: [email protected] with subject "Cookies". Postal address on the side door page.

Maps load only with functional consent.