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How Evidence First uses essential storage and optional analytics.
Consent model
Evidence First uses a consent-first configuration for Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Microsoft Clarity. Neither analytics tag is loaded until a visitor explicitly accepts analytics. Choosing “Continue without analytics” leaves both services disabled. Advertising-related consent remains denied even when analytics is accepted.
The consent control can be reopened at any time through the Analytics settings control in the site footer. Withdrawing consent disables future GA4 and Clarity collection on the next page lifecycle, sends a denied analytics-storage signal to Clarity when it is active, and attempts to remove first-party analytics cookies accessible to the site.
Consent preference storage
The site stores the analytics choice locally in the browser under evidencefirst.analytics-consent.v1. This local-storage entry is used only to remember whether analytics was accepted or rejected and when the choice was made. The site treats the choice as valid for up to 180 days, after which it may ask again.
Google Analytics 4
When the production GA4 measurement stream is configured and the visitor accepts analytics, Evidence First loads Google Analytics 4 using Google Consent Mode v2. The implementation is measurement-only: Google Signals and advertising-personalization signals are disabled by the site configuration.
| Storage | Purpose | Configured lifetime |
|---|---|---|
_ga | Distinguishes browser instances for analytics. | About 13 months, without renewal on each page load. |
_ga_<container-id> | Persists GA4 session state. | About 13 months, without renewal on each page load. |
Browser restrictions may shorten these lifetimes. Google Analytics is not used by Evidence First for advertising, remarketing or cross-site behavioral profiling.
Microsoft Clarity
When analytics consent is granted, Evidence First loads Microsoft Clarity and sends Clarity Consent API v2 an analytics-storage granted signal while keeping ad storage denied. Clarity is used for heatmaps, interaction analytics and session playback to understand usability of the publication site.
| Storage | Purpose | Type |
|---|---|---|
_clck | Persists a pseudonymous Clarity user identifier and preferences for this site. | First-party |
_clsk | Links multiple page views into a Clarity session. | First-party |
Microsoft may also use service-domain cookies in connection with Clarity. Evidence First does not use Clarity for advertising and explicitly sends ad storage as denied.
Cloudflare Web Analytics and technical delivery
Cloudflare Web Analytics remains enabled for aggregate traffic and campaign measurement. Infrastructure and security services used to deliver and protect the site may also process strictly necessary technical information. These mechanisms are separate from the optional GA4 consent described above.
Changing your choice
You can change or withdraw your analytics choice at any time using the footer control. You can also clear site storage and cookies in your browser. Clearing the stored preference causes the consent choice to be requested again on a later visit when GA4 is active.
Related information
See the Privacy Policy and Legal & Independence notice for additional information.
Last updated
21 September 2026.