Cookie Policy
Last updated: September 2026
This page explains the cookies and similar browser storage SysAlbania uses, what each one does, and how you control them. It sits alongside our Privacy Policy, which covers what personal data we hold and why.
What cookies are
A cookie is a small text file a website asks your browser to store. It is sent back with later requests, which is how a site remembers that you are signed in or what you chose last time. We also use local storage, a similar facility that stays in your browser and is not sent to our servers with each request.
How we ask for your consent
The first time you visit, a banner asks whether you accept optional cookies. Essential cookies are always on because the site cannot work without them; everything used for analytics or advertising is optional.
- In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, optional cookies stay off until you choose Accept all.
- Elsewhere, they are on by default and Reject optional turns them off.
Your choice is remembered in your browser. You can change it at any time — the Cookie settings link in the footer reopens the banner, or use the button below. Rejecting also deletes the analytics cookies already set.
Essential cookies
These are needed for the site to function and cannot be switched off.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
__Secure-next-auth.session-token | SysAlbania | Keeps you signed in. | 7 days |
__Host-next-auth.csrf-token | SysAlbania | Protects sign-in and forms against cross-site request forgery. | Session |
__Secure-next-auth.callback-url | SysAlbania | Returns you to the page you were on after signing in. | Session |
sa-locale | SysAlbania | Set only when you pick a language, so pages arrive in that language instead of switching after they load. | 1 year |
__cf_bm, cf_clearance | Cloudflare | Set by Cloudflare, which protects the site, to tell people apart from automated traffic. | 30 minutes to a few days |
Stored in your browser
These live in your browser’s local storage. They are not sent to us automatically and are never used for advertising.
| Key | Purpose |
|---|---|
sa-consent, sa-consent-at | Your cookie choice and when you made it, so the banner does not ask again. |
sa-reduce-motion | Whether you switched on “Reduce motion” in the footer. |
locale | The language you picked for the interface. |
darkMode | Your display theme preference. |
likedArticles | Which articles you liked, so the button shows the right state. |
sa-streak-ping | When your daily reading streak was last recorded (signed-in readers). |
Analytics cookies
With your consent we use Google Analytics 4, loaded through Google Tag Manager, to understand which pages are read and how people find them. We look at this in aggregate; it is not used to identify you.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga | Distinguishes one visitor from another. | 2 years | |
_ga_<ID> | Keeps track of the current session. | 2 years |
If you reject optional cookies, these are not set and any already present are removed. Google’s tags then run in consent mode, sending limited signals without cookies.
Advertising cookies
Our free content is funded partly by Google AdSense. Google and its partners use cookies to serve ads, to limit how often you see the same one, to detect fraud, and — only with your consent — to personalise ads based on your visits to this and other sites. Cookies such as __gads, __gpi and __eoi may be set on our domain, and IDE or test_cookie on doubleclick.net.
If you reject optional cookies, the ads you see are not personalised, and where the law requires consent for any advertising cookie, Google serves limited ads that do not use one. You can read how Google uses information from sites that use its services at policies.google.com, manage personalised advertising in Google Ad Settings, and opt out of many third-party vendors at aboutads.info or youronlinechoices.eu.
Pro members see no ads at all.
Embedded videos
Videos are embedded from YouTube in its privacy-enhanced mode (youtube-nocookie.com). YouTube does not store cookies from an embed until you press play; after that, YouTube’s own privacy policy applies to that video.
Payments
Purchases are handled on Stripe’s own checkout page. Stripe sets its own cookies there, for fraud prevention, only when you go to check out. We never see or store your card details.
Managing cookies in your browser
Besides the Cookie settings link, every browser lets you view and delete cookies and site data, and block them for particular sites. Blocking essential cookies will stop sign-in from working. Clearing site data for sysalbania.com also clears the local-storage keys above, including your cookie choice, so the banner will ask again.
Changes and contact
If we add a cookie or change how one is used, this page is updated and the date at the top changes. Questions about cookies or your data can go to sysalbania@gmail.com, or through the contact page.