Cookie Policy

1. What cookies are

A cookie is a small file a website asks your browser to store. Related technologies — localStorage, sessionStorage and pixels — do much the same job and are covered by this policy too.

We use as few as we can get away with. The tools on this site run entirely in your browser, so there is no login, no shopping basket and no session to keep track of.

2. Categories we use

Strictly necessary

These cannot be switched off, because the site does not function without them. They store your own settings on your device and are never sent anywhere.

Name	Type	Purpose	Duration
`wmiai-consent`	localStorage	Remembers your cookie choices so we stop asking	12 months
`ipcheck-theme`	localStorage	Remembers light or dark mode	Until cleared
`ipcheck-self-v1`	sessionStorage	Caches your lookup result so moving between pages does not repeat the request	Until the tab closes

Analytics — optional

If enabled and you allow it, Google Analytics gives us aggregate counts of which pages are visited and which tools are used. IP addresses are truncated before processing. We never use it to identify an individual, and nothing is shared with data brokers.

Name	Provider	Purpose	Duration
`_ga`	Google	Distinguishes one browser from another for visit counting	2 years
`_ga_<id>`	Google	Maintains session state	2 years

Advertising — optional

Advertising pays for this site. With your consent, Google AdSense and its partners set cookies to choose which ads to show you, cap how often you see the same one, and measure whether an ad worked.

Name	Provider	Purpose	Duration
`__gads`, `__gpi`	Google	Ad selection, frequency capping and measurement	Up to 13 months
`IDE`, `test_cookie`	Google (doubleclick.net)	Ad personalisation and conversion measurement	Up to 13 months
Partner cookies	Third-party ad vendors	Set by networks bidding on ad space	Varies by vendor

If you decline advertising cookies, you still see ads — they simply become non-personalised, chosen from the page content rather than from anything about you, and served without advertising cookies. That is how the site stays free either way.

3. How your choice is applied

We implement Google Consent Mode v2. Before any Google tag loads, the page declares whether advertising and analytics storage are permitted. Nothing is requested until that declaration is in place, so declining is not an after-the-fact cleanup — the data is never collected.

Specifically:

In the EEA, the UK, Switzerland and Brazil, advertising and analytics stay switched off until you actively agree.
In the United States, they operate on an opt-out basis in line with the CCPA and comparable state laws, and you can decline at any time.
Everywhere else, we show the notice and honour whatever you choose.
If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, we treat it as an opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information automatically, before any ad request is made.

4. Changing your mind

Use the button above or the link in the footer of every page. Changes take effect immediately.

You can also clear cookies in your browser settings, which resets everything and means we will ask again on your next visit. Blocking all cookies at the browser level will not break any tool on this site, though your theme choice will stop persisting.

5. Third-party opt-outs

Independently of this site, you can opt out at the source:

Google Ads Settings — control personalisation across Google's services
aboutads.info — the US industry opt-out
youronlinechoices.eu — the European industry opt-out
Google Analytics opt-out add-on — blocks Analytics on every site

6. Re-asking

We ask again once a year, and sooner if we materially change what we collect. That is a deliberate design choice: consent given indefinitely is not meaningful consent.

7. Contact

Questions about cookies: hello@example.com. See also our privacy policy.