Last updated ·
This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are, which cookies Miles Mosaic uses, why we use them, and how you can manage them. It complements the Privacy Policy and uses the same terminology.
1. What cookies are
A cookie is a small text file that a website stores on your device the first time you visit it. The next time you come back, your browser sends the cookie back to the site, which lets the site remember things like that you are logged in, what your preferences are, or that you have already seen a particular message. Modern sites also use related technologies such as local storage and session storage, which we treat the same way as cookies for the purposes of this policy.
Cookies come in two relevant flavours. First-party cookies are set by the site you are visiting (in our case, milesmosaic.com). Third-party cookies are set by a different domain whose script the site loads, for example, the Google AdSense or Google Analytics scripts we include.
2. The four categories we use
We group the cookies on milesmosaic.com into four categories, and we ask for separate consent for each non-essential category through our cookie banner. You can update your choices at any time from the preferences section below.
2.1 Strictly necessary cookies
These cookies are required for the site to work. Without them you can’t log in, the consent banner can’t remember your choices, and we can’t defend the service against some forms of automated abuse. They are set on the legal basis of contract performance and don’t require consent under EU law.
| Name | Purpose | Provider | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHPSESSID | Keeps you signed in across pages within a session. | milesmosaic.com (first-party) | Session |
| mm_consent | Records the categories of cookies you have consented to. | milesmosaic.com (first-party) | 12 months |
| mm_csrf | Protects against cross-site request forgery on form submissions. | milesmosaic.com (first-party) | Session |
2.2 Analytics cookies
Analytics cookies tell us, at an aggregate level, which pages are read, which articles convert to signups, and where the product is performing badly. We use Google Analytics 4 in Consent Mode v2; if you decline this category, the tag still loads but no identifiers are transmitted and only aggregate modelled signals reach Google.
| Name | Purpose | Provider | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Distinguishes unique visitors. Used by Google Analytics 4. | Google (third-party) | 2 years |
| _ga_<property> | Persists session state for our specific GA4 property. | Google (third-party) | 2 years |
| _gid | Distinguishes users for the duration of a single day. | Google (third-party) | 24 hours |
2.3 Advertising cookies
Advertising cookies allow Google AdSense to serve and measure ads on the Explorer tier. Pro accounts are ad-free. For authenticated Pro users we do not load the AdSense tags at all, so the cookies in this category are not set. Advertising cookies are also not loaded on policy pages, auth pages, the contact page, or the dashboard.
| Name | Purpose | Provider | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|
| _gads | Used by Google to measure and serve ads. | Google (third-party) | 13 months |
| _gac_<id> | Stores campaign-related information for ad measurement. | Google (third-party) | 90 days |
| IDE | Used by Google DoubleClick to measure ad performance. | doubleclick.net (third-party) | 13 months |
2.4 Preferences cookies
Preferences cookies remember small choices that make the site nicer to use, like your colour theme or the locale you prefer, but the site still works without them.
| Name | Purpose | Provider | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|
| mm_theme | Stores your selected theme (e.g. light/dark/auto). | milesmosaic.com (first-party) | 12 months |
| mm_locale | Stores your preferred locale and number formatting. | milesmosaic.com (first-party) | 12 months |
3. Why we use cookies
To summarise the categories above: we use cookies (i) to keep you signed in and the consent state remembered, (ii) to measure how the site is used so we can improve it, (iii) to fund the free Explorer tier through advertising, and (iv) to remember preferences that make the site more comfortable to use. Each of these jobs is mapped to a separate category so you can keep one and decline another.
4. Third-party cookies
The advertising and analytics cookies above are set by Google through scripts our pages load. Google may, in line with their own privacy and cookie notices, combine that data with information it holds about the same browser or account across the rest of its products. Their notice is at policies.google.com/privacy.
Payment processing for Pro is handled by our payment processor, who may set their own cookies on the checkout pages they host. Those cookies are described in their cookie notice; we link to it from the checkout flow.
5. Opting out per category
You can opt out of any non-essential cookie category in any of the following ways:
- Use the cookie banner the first time you visit the site, or click Update your preferences further down to change them later.
- Use the Google Ads Settings page to control personalised advertising across the wider Google network.
- Use the Digital Advertising Alliance opt-out or the YourOnlineChoices portal to opt out of multiple advertising networks at once.
- Configure your browser to block cookies, or to ask you for each one. This may break the site. In particular, blocking the
PHPSESSIDcookie will prevent you signing in.
6. Update your preferences
Click the button below to re-open the cookie preferences drawer. Your choices are recorded in the mm_consent cookie for 12 months. We’ll ask you again after that, or sooner if the categories materially change.
7. Updates to this policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time, for example when we change vendor or add a new feature that introduces a new cookie. The ‘Last updated’ stamp at the top of this page records the date of the most recent change. For material changes (the introduction of a new category or a new third-party recipient) we will reset the consent state so you are asked again.
8. Contact
Any cookie-related question goes to the same place as any other privacy question.
Privacy contact
Email: privacy@milesmosaic.com
Post: Postal address pending incorporation. Please use email.
You can also use our contact form to reach out to us.