Cookie Policy
Last updated: 14 September 2026.
1. What are cookies
Cookies are small text files a website places on your device during your visit. A website can also use
local storage (localStorage) to remember preferences in your browser. This statement explains
which cookies and local storage we use and why, on both fwrd.digital and the FWRD platform.
2. Our principles
- We place only strictly necessary and functional cookies without your consent.
- For analytics and ad-measurement cookies we ask for your consent up front. Until you consent, we do not place them and do not load the associated scripts.
- Beyond the ad-measurement pixels described below (Reddit and Google Ads), we use no advertising cookies, no social-media trackers, and no cross-site profiling of our own.
3. Which cookies and storage we use
3.1 Strictly necessary (no consent required)
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|
__cf_bm | Cloudflare | Bot management at the hosting edge. Prevents automated abuse of the site. | 30 minutes (rolling session) |
| Turnstile tokens | Cloudflare | Invisible bot challenge when submitting a form. No profiling. | Short session, usually < 5 minutes |
| Session / authentication cookies | FWRD platform (Supabase) | Keep you signed in to your account on app.fwrd.digital. Only set once you log in. | Session / until sign-out |
__preview | FWRD (server-side) | Activates Sanity preview mode. Only set for editors via an authenticated preview link. | Session |
fwrd_consent | FWRD | Cookie on .fwrd.digital that records your cookie choice (granted or denied), so fwrd.digital and app.fwrd.digital both respect it. | 12 months |
3.2 Functional: cookies and local storage (no consent required)
| Name | Type | Purpose | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|
fwrd-cookie-consent | Local storage | Remembers your cookie preference (accepted, rejected or by category). Prevents the banner reappearing on every visit. | 12 months |
locale | Cookie | Remembers your language choice so we can show the right language version of the site. | 12 months |
fwrd-lang-suggest-dismissed | Local storage | Remembers that you dismissed the language suggestion, so it does not keep coming back. | Until you clear your browser storage |
fwrd:theme | Local storage | Remembers whether you want the site light or dark, if you chose that yourself. | Until you change the choice or clear your browser storage |
fwrd-blog-read | Local storage | Remembers how far you read a blog article, so you can pick up where you left off. It stays on your device and is never sent to us or anyone else. It holds only the article and a percentage, for at most 30 articles. | 90 days per article |
3.3 Analytics & ad measurement (only after explicit consent)
We use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) via Google Tag Manager (GTM) to get aggregated insight into visits to our site. Via GTM we also load the Reddit and Google Ads measurement pixels, which measure whether our advertisements lead to visits and sign-ups (on fwrd.digital and app.fwrd.digital).
The GTM container itself loads on every page, but starts in the no consent state (Google Consent Mode v2). Until you consent, no cookies are placed and Google receives only a cookieless signal carrying no recognisable identifier; the Reddit and Google Ads pixels measure nothing in that state. Only after you actively consent via the cookie banner or the "Cookie preferences" link at the bottom of every page are cookies placed and do the advertising pixels start measuring.
If you leave an email address after consenting (a sign-up or enquiry), we send along a hashed version of it — an irreversibly encrypted representation — so that Reddit and Google can match a conversion to the right ad click. We never share the email address itself, and we do not use this data for profiling of our own.
Which cookies are then set (only relevant after consent):
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga / _ga_* | Google (LLC) | Distinguishes unique visitors (anonymised) for visit statistics. | Up to 24 months |
_gid | Google (LLC) | Distinguishes visitors within 24 hours. | 24 hours |
_rdt_uuid | Reddit, Inc. | Recognises your browser on fwrd.digital and app.fwrd.digital to measure whether a Reddit advertisement led to a visit or sign-up (conversion measurement). | 3 months |
After consent, we remember in your browser's sessionStorage (key
fwrd:campaign) which campaign link brought you in, so a sign-up later in the same visit
can be attributed to that campaign. This storage disappears when you close the tab.
Transfer of visit data to Google outside the EEA takes place under the Standard Contractual Clauses (Implementing Decision 2021/914). We activate GA4/GTM only in Consent Mode v2 with default-deny, so that no identifiers are exchanged without consent. Transfer of ad-measurement data to Reddit, Inc. (United States) likewise takes place under the Standard Contractual Clauses; see Reddit's privacy policy for how Reddit processes this data.
4. How to manage your preferences
- On your first visit we show a cookie banner where you can accept or reject analytics cookies. Your choice lasts twelve months or until you change it.
- You can change your choice at any time via the "Cookie preferences" link at the bottom of every page.
- You can also delete or block cookies in your browser settings. Blocking strictly necessary cookies may cause forms or the platform sign-in to stop working.
5. Fonts and external scripts
We self-host our typeface (the Inter font) from our own environment, so no font request is made to a third party and no IP address is shared with a font provider for that purpose. If we later add an external script, we update this statement and — where consent is required — gate it behind the cookie banner.
6. Questions
Questions about this cookie policy or your preferences? Email hey@fwrd.digital. For a broader picture of what data we process, see our privacy policy.
7. Changes
We may amend this cookie policy when we add, remove or replace cookies or scripts. We announce material changes via the cookie banner. The date at the top shows the last change.