This page describes what the Matters codebase actually does today. This policy details the cookies and tracking scripts used by Matters, how we respect Google Consent Mode v2, and how you can withdraw or change your consent at any time.
Legal
Cookie Policy
What this page covers
This page lists the cookies and similar storage Matters uses. See our Privacy Policy for how we handle personal data more generally.
Strictly necessary
- Session / refresh token cookies — keep you signed in to your account. Without these, features like submitting content, saving, and following would not work.
These are required for the platform to function, so we do not ask for consent to set them.
Local storage (not a cookie)
Your light/dark theme preference is stored in your browser’s local storage, not a cookie — it stays on your device and is never sent to our servers.
What we don’t use
No advertising or third-party tracking cookies. [TODO] Confirm and list any analytics tooling if one is ever added.
Managing cookies
You can clear or block cookies through your browser settings. Blocking the session cookie will sign you out.
Your Consent Settings
You can review, update, or revoke your cookie choices at any time. When you click the button below, the consent banner will reopen, allowing you to modify your preferences.
Overview of Cookies, Storage & Services Used
1. Strictly necessaryAlways active
Login sessions, security tokens, and light/dark theme preference.
| Name | Provider | Type | Purpose | Duration / Domains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| matters_consent | Matters | Cookie | Stores the visitor's consent choices per category. | 180 days |
| matters_auth | Matters | Cookie | HttpOnly JWT session cookie set by the site server for signed-in members. | session |
| matters_refresh | Matters | Cookie | HttpOnly refresh token cookie used to renew member sessions. | session |
| matters-theme | Matters | Local storage | Remembers the light/dark theme choice. | persistent |
| watch-progress | Matters | Account data | Resume position, likes, follows and favorites stored server-side per account. | account lifetime |
2. Functional
Interface preferences such as your sidebar layout.
| Name | Provider | Type | Purpose | Duration / Domains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| matters-sidebar-collapsed | Matters | Local storage | Remembers whether the navigation sidebar is collapsed. | persistent |
3. Analytics
Anonymous statistics on viewer counts and episode completions.
| Name | Provider | Type | Purpose | Duration / Domains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Analytics 4 | Script (consent-gated) | Audience measurement: page views, referrers, watch counts.Cookies: _ga, _ga_* | www.googletagmanager.com, www.google-analytics.com, region1.google-analytics.com, analytics.google.com | |
| Google Tag Manager | Script (disabled) | Tag container; can load additional measurement scripts. | www.googletagmanager.com |
4. Marketing & Social
Campaign attribution and social referrals from Instagram and Facebook.
| Name | Provider | Type | Purpose | Duration / Domains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meta Pixel | Meta | Script (consent-gated) | Campaign attribution and conversion measurement for social promotion.Cookies: _fbp, _fbc | connect.facebook.net, www.facebook.com |
5. Embedded media
Video and audio players hosted by third parties such as YouTube.
| Name | Provider | Type | Purpose | Duration / Domains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube player embeds | Script (consent-gated) | Video playback for films, series episodes, podcasts and the live deck, via the YouTube IFrame API.Cookies: VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE, YSC, PREF | www.youtube.com, www.youtube-nocookie.com, youtube.googleapis.com, googleads.g.doubleclick.net | |
| YouTube thumbnails | Resource | Poster images for YouTube-hosted content. Image requests disclose the visitor IP to Google; they carry no cookies. | i.ytimg.com, img.youtube.com |