Cookies & browser storage

Sign-in sessions and language preferences use browser storage. The strictly necessary localStorage record verfiai-analytics-consent stores an accepted or rejected choice, policy version and timestamp. We ask again after twelve months or a policy version change. Clearing essential storage can sign you out or reset your choices.

Google Analytics and PostHog stay off until you accept analytics. Before acceptance, we do not initialize these services or send cookieless consent-mode pings. After acceptance, Google Analytics can set _ga and _ga_* first-party cookies; PostHog uses ph_* identifiers and opt-in/out storage under __ph_opt_in_out_*. These measure use, not advertising. Research text and report contents are excluded from analytics, private URL identifiers are redacted, and session recording is disabled.

Global Privacy Control is treated as a refusal unless you explicitly opt in through Cookie settings. Rejection keeps analytics off. Withdrawal stops further tracking and attempts to remove accessible analytics cookies on the current and parent domains and analytics local/session storage; it leaves sign-in and language preferences alone. Already-sent or queued requests cannot be recalled.

Accepting analytics does not start research. Search or AI runs only after a research, claim-check or citation submission. Details of providers and server-side caching are in our Privacy Policy and Methodology.