Adult TrafficCookie Policy
Last updated: 31 July 2026
This page lists every cookie associated with thesidedoor.co.uk by name, says who sets it, what it does and how long it lasts. The site runs one measurement tool, Google Analytics 4, and that tool is the only source of first-party cookies here: there is no advertising script, no social widget, no session handling, no preference storage and no use of local storage. A second, separate group of cookies can reach you after you leave the site by following a sign-up button, and those are set by the destination rather than by us. Everything below is checkable in your own browser in about ten seconds, and this page tells you how.
What a cookie is, briefly
A cookie is a small text file that a site asks your browser to store, so that something can be remembered between requests: a language preference, a session, or the fact that a visit arrived from a particular source. Cookies cannot execute code, cannot carry a virus and cannot read other files on your device. They divide by lifetime into session cookies, deleted when the browser closes, and persistent cookies, which last a set period; and by origin into first-party cookies set by the site you are on, and third-party cookies set by another domain. The distinction that matters on this site is origin, because the first-party column is empty.
Cookies set by this site
Two, both from Google Analytics 4, both first-party and both analytics rather than advertising. They tell us how many people read a page and which pages get read at all; they do not build an advertising profile, are not shared with any ad network, and are not used to show you anything anywhere.
| Cookie | Category | Set by | Purpose | Type | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Analytics | Google Analytics 4 | Generates a random identifier so that repeat visits from the same browser are counted once rather than as new people each time | Persistent | 2 years |
| _ga_J5475ML98C | Analytics | Google Analytics 4 | Holds session state for this specific property, so that a visit split across several pages is recorded as one session | Persistent | 2 years |
There are no strictly necessary cookies, because the pages are static HTML and CSS with no session to maintain; no functional cookies, because there is no language switch, theme or preference to remember; and no advertising cookies, because the site sells no advertising. What Google Analytics receives is page views, session duration, referrer, device and browser family, and an approximate location derived from your IP address; Google states that IP addresses are not logged or stored in Analytics 4.
What happens when you follow a sign-up button
The sign-up buttons on this site point to AdsCompass and carry campaign parameters that identify thesidedoor.co.uk as the referrer, which is how the affiliate relationship described in the affiliate disclosure is attributed. Those parameters live in the URL, not in a cookie, and they describe the source of a click rather than the person making it. Once you arrive at the destination, that platform may set its own cookies for attribution, session and security purposes, under its own cookie and privacy policies. Nothing set at that point is readable by this site, and nothing about your visit here is transmitted to it beyond the fact that a click came from this domain.
Other outbound links
Links to regulators, company newsrooms and platform documentation exist so that a reader can verify a figure without trusting us. They earn nothing and are not tracked by us, but the destination is an independent site that will apply its own cookie practices from the moment you arrive. This is true of every external link on the web, and it is worth restating only because a policy that ignored it would be incomplete.
How to inspect, block and clear cookies
- Google Chrome. Settings, then Privacy and security, then Third-party cookies and Site data. You can block third-party cookies entirely, clear data for a single site, or set the browser to delete everything on exit. Reference: support.google.com/chrome
- Mozilla Firefox. Settings, then Privacy & Security, where Standard, Strict and Custom modes control cookie and tracker blocking; Manage Data clears storage per site. Reference: support.mozilla.org
- Apple Safari. Settings, then Privacy, where cross-site tracking is blocked by default; Manage Website Data removes storage for an individual domain. Reference: support.apple.com
- Microsoft Edge. Settings, then Cookies and site permissions, with Basic, Balanced and Strict tracking prevention levels and per-site controls. Reference: support.microsoft.com
- Mobile. On iOS, Settings then Safari then Block All Cookies and Clear History and Website Data. On Android, Chrome then Settings then Privacy and security then Third-party cookies.
Checking this for yourself
A cookie policy is worth exactly as much as your ability to test it, so here is the test. In Chrome or Edge press F12, open the Application panel and select Cookies in the left column; in Firefox open the Storage panel; in Safari enable the Develop menu and open the Storage tab. With this domain selected you should see the two entries above and nothing else. If you ever see a cookie on this domain that is not in the table, that is a bug or a policy failure on our side, and telling us will get it investigated the same week.
Opting out of analytics
Three routes, all of which we consider legitimate and none of which affects your access to anything here. Block third-party and first-party cookies for this domain using the browser instructions below, which stops both entries in the table from being written. Install Google’s own Analytics opt-out browser add-on, which blocks measurement across every site that uses the product. Or use any content blocker that filters googletagmanager.com, since the tag is loaded from that domain and nothing else on the page depends on it.
If the tooling changes
Adding any further script would create new cookies, and it is not something that would happen quietly. Before another tool is deployed this table will be extended with each cookie by name, provider, purpose, type and lifetime, and the privacy policy will be updated with the lawful basis for it. The documentation changes first and the tool second, which is the only version of that promise that can be checked afterwards.
What blocking cookies does to this site
Nothing at all. Every page renders identically with all cookies blocked, all storage disabled and JavaScript switched off, because the content is static text, CSS and images with no client-side state. Blocking the analytics cookies costs us a count and costs you nothing; blocking third-party cookies additionally means an affiliate referral may not be attributed, which costs us a commission and again costs you nothing. Both trades are disclosed here rather than hidden, in line with the privacy policy, and questions go to contact.
For the rest of the site: the comparison those rules apply to is the Adult Traffic page, who publishes this and why is on the about page, the background of the person writing it is on the author page, the sourcing method behind every figure is in how we check. Beyond that, the standards each page is written to are in the editorial policy, what can and cannot be bought is in the advertising policy, use of the site is governed by the terms and conditions.