Cookies
Last updated 3 November 2026.
A cookie is a small file a website stores in your browser. UK law (the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, PECR) says a site must ask before setting one, unless the cookie is strictly necessary for something you asked the site to do.
We only set cookies of that kind, and only when you use the feature that needs them. Reading the site sets none. That's why there is no cookie banner.
The cookies we set
| Cookie | What it does | When it is set | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
sb-…-auth-token (sometimes split into parts ending .0, .1) |
Keeps you signed in | When you sign in | 30 days from your last visit, or until you sign out |
sb-…-auth-token-code-verifier |
Completes signing in with Google safely | When you choose "Continue with Google" | Removed once you are signed in |
gs_signed_in |
Says only that you are signed in (the value is 1), so the page can show your account at the top instead of "Sign in". It holds nothing about you |
When you sign in, and removed when you sign out | 30 days, the same as the sign-in cookie |
gs_toast |
Shows "Signed in" once on the page you go back to after signing in. It holds only the words signed-in |
When you sign in | Removed as soon as the note shows, and after one minute at most |
gs_scout |
A random number that counts your Ask the Scout questions for the day, so the daily allowance works. It is sent only to Ask the Scout. | When you ask your first question | One year |
All five are set by thegridscout.com itself (no other company can read them) and are sent only over an encrypted
connection. The page's scripts can't read any of them except gs_signed_in, which holds nothing but "yes", and
gs_toast, which holds nothing but the note to show.
What we don't use
- No advertising, tracking or social media cookies.
- No cookies to count visits. Vercel Analytics counts pages viewed without cookies or anything that identifies you.
- No cookies from YouTube until you press play. Videos load only when you press play, and then from youtube-nocookie.com, YouTube's privacy-enhanced mode, under Google's privacy policy. Until then, a video's picture is fetched from YouTube by our server and shown from our own site, so your browser contacts YouTube only when you press play.
- No cookies from social networks. Share and follow buttons are plain links; nothing loads from a social network until you click one.
The shop, at shop.thegridscout.com, is run by Fourthwall and sets its own cookies, explained in its own cookie notice.
Controlling cookies
You can see and delete cookies in your browser's settings. If you block the cookies above, you can still read the whole site, but you won't be able to stay signed in or use Ask the Scout.
Changes
If we ever want to set a cookie that isn't strictly necessary, we will ask you first, and update this page.
Questions: hello@thegridscout.com. Our privacy policy explains what we do with personal data.