Cookie Policy

1. What cookies are

Cookies are small text files stored on your device while you browse. We also use your browser's local storage (localStorage) to remember your preferences.

2. Consent and default mode

Google AdSense ad serving is currently paused, and the AdSense script is not loaded. Our own banner collects consent only for analytics cookies (Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity) in all regions. The Microsoft Clarity script is not loaded until you consent. You can change your choice through Cookie settings in the footer. Google Consent Mode v2 signals default to denied. Google Analytics may connect and send cookieless signals before consent.

3. Necessary items (always active)

• cookie-consent (localStorage): stores only the analytics choice where our banner collects consent. Before Google AdSense ads are enabled, this covers all regions. After activation, it covers the area outside Google’s European consent panel. It does not grant advertising consent.
• theme (localStorage) — remembers your selected interface color theme.

4. Analytics cookies (optional, with consent)

Google Analytics 4 provides statistics about visits and how people use our maps and tools. These help us decide what to improve on the site.

Microsoft Clarity lets us replay visits to the site (clicks, mouse movements, scrolling and how the pages looked) and create heatmaps. We only load it after you consent. Text typed into form fields is hidden, and on the “Dig through the Earth” page we also hide the coordinates of the chosen place. Microsoft receives your IP address and browser data. Our Privacy Policy has more information about data recipients and how your data is processed.

Once you consent, Google Analytics 4 and Microsoft Clarity may set the following cookies:

• _ga — distinguishes users; typically stored for up to 2 years.
• _ga_<ID> — persists session state for a given data stream; typically stored for up to 2 years.
• _clck (Clarity, first-party): stores the Clarity user ID and its preferences on our site.
• _clsk (Clarity, first-party): connects a user’s page views into a single session recording.
• CLID (Microsoft, third-party): marks the first time Clarity saw the user on any site using Clarity.
• MUID (Microsoft, third-party): identifies web browsers visiting Microsoft sites. According to Microsoft, these cookies are used for advertising, site analytics and other operational purposes.
• SM and MR (Microsoft, third-party): SM synchronizes MUID across Microsoft domains, and MR indicates whether to refresh MUID.
• ANONCHK (Microsoft, third-party): indicates whether MUID is transferred to ANID, a cookie used for advertising. Clarity does not use ANID, so the value is always 0.
• Lifetimes of the Clarity and Microsoft cookies are listed in Microsoft’s documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/clarity/setup-and-installation/clarity-cookies

5. Google advertising technologies

Once ads are enabled, Google AdSense and advertising partners may use the following cookies for ad delivery and measurement, subject to required consent and regional privacy settings. Declining personalization does not exclude limited ads. When these are enabled, Google may use device storage to detect invalid traffic. Google’s privacy panel also stores user decisions.

• __gads: Google ad delivery and measurement; up to 13 months.
• __gpi: an identifier used by Google AdSense for advertising; up to 13 months.
• IDE: advertising on non-Google sites; up to 13 months in the EEA, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, and up to 24 months elsewhere. DSID: respecting a signed-in user’s personalization settings; up to 2 weeks.
• Current information about Google’s technologies and retention periods: https://policies.google.com/technologies/cookies

6. Affiliate links and external websites

Our affiliate cards do not store cookies or data on your device. After you click a link, the external seller or affiliate programme provider may use its own cookies and other technologies to attribute a purchase to a referral.

Its policies and consent settings apply on its websites. Consent to analytics or Google advertising on RealSize.World is not consent to a partner’s technologies.

7. How to manage cookies

• In our analytics banner, choose “Necessary only” to decline analytics cookies. This button does not change advertising preferences. When Google’s panel is active, use it to decline consent or change individual purposes.
• Cookie settings in the footer opens our local analytics preferences in all regions. Once Google AdSense ads are enabled, Google’s panel will manage preferences for those ads, with a separate Do Not Sell or Share link for users covered by US state regulations.
• You can opt out of personalized ads by visiting Google Ads Settings (https://myadcenter.google.com/ or https://www.google.com/settings/ads).
• You can manage multi-vendor advertising preferences via Your Online Choices (https://www.youronlinechoices.eu/) or AboutAds (https://www.aboutads.info/choices/).
• You can also delete and block cookies in your browser settings.
• Google additionally provides an official browser add-on that blocks Google Analytics.

8. Changes and contact

This Cookie Policy may change. The current version, together with its date, is always published on this page.

If you have questions, email: contact [at] realsize.world.