Cookie Policy
Last updated: 31 August 2026
This page lists everything that can be stored in your browser by Stella Memoria, who puts it there, and how long it stays. It is the long version of the question the banner asks you on your first visit.
The short version: we use a small number of first-party cookies and browser storage so the site works. Google Analytics uses cookies after consent in the EU, EEA and UK, and loads directly elsewhere unless declined. Microsoft Clarity runs without cookies on selected public pages. Neither tool is ever loaded on a memorial page.
What we store so the site works
See every cookie and storage item
| Name | Kind | What it does | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
sm_pref | Cookie | Remembers the partner you arrived through, so attribution and your gifts are kept until checkout. It does not change the price. | 90 days |
sm_psrc | Cookie | Remembers whether a partner visit came from a printed QR code or an ordinary link. | 90 days |
sm_account | Secure sign-in cookie | Keeps an owner signed in between visits. Page scripts cannot read it. | 30 days, refreshed when used |
sm_owner_… | Secure owner cookie | Recognises a page you own without storing the edit token itself. Page scripts cannot read it. | 90 days, refreshed when used |
sm_cookie_consent | Local storage | Remembers Accept or Decline, so we do not ask on every page. | Until cleared |
| Sign-in session | Local storage | Keeps you signed in to your account. | Until sign-out or expiry |
sm.signin.email | Local storage | Remembers the email address last used on the sign-in screen. | Until cleared |
sm-create-stash | Session storage | Keeps an unfinished create form in the current tab. | Up to 6 hours |
| Partner reference and gift | Session storage | Keeps partner attribution and your gifts during the current tab. | Until the tab closes |
| Visit attribution | Session storage | Keeps campaign details for the current visit. | Until the tab closes |
These entries are used whether or not you accept analytics cookies because they make the service, sign-in, attribution and your choices work.
Measurement
See every cookie and storage item
| Tool | Set by | What it does | Browser storage | When it loads |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Analytics 4 | Counts visitors and shows which public pages are read, in which country, on which kind of device. | _ga, _ga_<id> cookies, typically up to 2 years; a local marker prevents the same purchase being counted twice | In the EU, EEA and UK, only after Accept. Elsewhere, directly unless declined | |
| Microsoft Clarity | Microsoft | Shows where people get stuck on selected public marketing and guide pages. All text is masked before it leaves your browser. | No cookies; storage is denied | Cookieless, without waiting for Accept |
| Meta pixel | Meta | Advertising measurement | None | Not used at the moment |
If you decline, Google Analytics does not load. Microsoft Clarity remains cookieless and receives no text.
What never loads, whatever you answer
There are routes on this site where no analytics script runs at all, no matter what you clicked on the banner:
- memorial pages
- the writing screens where you build a page
- the contribution form family and friends use
- your account
- page settings
- payment and fulfilment pages
This is not a setting we might change quietly. It is the reason the rest of the policy is short. What you write about your mother is not measured, is not sent anywhere, and is not something we would like to know more about than you tell us.
Declining is as easy as accepting
The banner has a decline button next to the accept button — same size, same place, one click each. There is no version of this page where refusing takes longer than agreeing.
You can change your answer by clearing the cookies and site storage for Stella Memoria in your browser, which every browser lets you do. On your next visit from the EU, EEA or UK, the banner asks again. Clearing stored analytics cookies removes what is already held in that browser.
One thing we want to be straightforward about
If you are visiting from outside the European Union, the United Kingdom or the EEA, Google Analytics currently loads without asking you first, unless you decline. Inside the EU, the UK and the EEA, Google Analytics does not load until you accept. Microsoft Clarity is cookieless in every region.
We could have left that out of this page. It is how the site actually behaves, so it is written down.
Where this fits
What we do with the information itself — including how long we keep it and what you can ask us to delete — is in the Privacy Policy. If a cookie question is not answered here, write to forever@stellamemoria.com and we will answer it plainly.