COOKIES
Cookie policy
Every cookie this site uses, and how to turn analytics off. In the EU, the UK, the EEA, and Switzerland we ask first. Everywhere else you can still change that from Cookie settings.
Your controls
The cookie desk offers three decisions: accept analytics, keep essential cookies only, or customize. Customize locks Necessary on and lets you tick Analytics. Save writes that choice for a year.
Open Cookie settings from this page, the footer, or add ?cookies=1 to any URL. Your browser can also clear cookies and site data; that signs you out and forgets the choice, so the desk may ask again.
Analytics never load if you refuse them. The map, claims, and guestbook keep working either way.
Necessary
These make the service work. They are not used to measure other sites.
| Name | Where / how long | Why |
|---|---|---|
| named_atlas_explorer | Cookie, 1 year | After you sign in, this session keeps claims, guestbooks, and the atlas with you. Before sign-in it only identifies this browser — it does not create an explorer. |
| named_atlas_consent | Cookie + local storage, 1 year | Remembers whether analytics are on, and when you decided. |
| named_atlas_currency | Cookie + local storage, 1 year | Display and checkout currency. Listed values stay in pounds; USD and EUR use the September 2026 observatory rate. |
| named-atlas-resume / named-atlas-atlas / named-atlas-v1 | Local storage | Resume token and a cache of the sky if the live atlas blips. |
| named-atlas-claim / named-atlas-pay | Session or local storage | Keeps a claim wizard and an open Stripe desk across a reload. Not sent to Google. |
Analytics
Only if you allow analytics. Named Atlas then loads Google Tag Manager, which can load Google Analytics 4. Those products set their own cookies.
| Name | Where / how long | Why |
|---|---|---|
| _ga, _ga_*, _gid | Google Analytics, up to 2 years | Distinguish explorers and sessions after you allow analytics. |
| _gat, _dc_gtm_* | Google, minutes | Throttle request rate. Only present while a Google tag is running. |
| In-page event list | This page only | A short-lived list of page events used only while this tab is open. Not a cookie. |
Advertising storage stays denied. We do not turn on Google ads personalization from this desk.