America Forever Bytes
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AFBytes sets exactly one cookie: a first-party functional cookie that remembers your preferred display timezone. AFBytes also uses limited device-local storage (a service-worker cache for Progressive Web App functionality and one localStorage entry for the install-prompt dismissal) described below. AFBytes uses no analytics cookies, no advertising or social media pixels, and no cross-site tracking. AFBytes does log server-side outbound-click events when readers follow 'Read full story' links (see the Privacy Policy); that log uses no cookies and is not cross-site behavioral tracking.
AFBytes is a read-only site with no accounts or personalized dashboards. We deliberately avoid analytics, advertising, and tracking technologies. The single cookie we set is functional and is created only when you interact with the timezone control, so under Article 5(3) of the EU ePrivacy Directive we do not need a consent banner.
Name: afbytes_timezone. Purpose: remember the timezone used to display article timestamps. Type: first-party functional. It is created only when you auto-detect or manually choose a timezone, lasts about twelve months, and is flagged Secure and SameSite=Lax. It stores only a timezone identifier (for example "America/New_York") and contains no personal identifiers or profiling data.
AFBytes uses no Google Analytics or other analytics cookies, no advertising network cookies, no Facebook, X, or other social media pixels, no cross-site or retargeting trackers, and no device fingerprinting. Our recon-visible responses set no tracking cookies at all.
When you visit AFBytes, your browser registers a service worker that may cache static assets, previously-viewed pages, and the offline fallback page in your browser's local CacheStorage so the site loads faster on repeat visits and continues to render previously-viewed pages when your device is offline. This caching happens regardless of whether you install AFBytes as a Progressive Web App. AFBytes also stores a single small localStorage entry named 'afb-pwa-install-dismissed' to remember that you dismissed the 'install AFBytes' prompt so the prompt does not re-appear for thirty days. CacheStorage and localStorage entries live entirely on your device and are not transmitted back to AFBytes. You can clear them at any time through your browser's site-data controls. These are functional / non-essential storage technologies, not cookies, and do not perform tracking.
Some article pages embed posts from X (Twitter). When such an embed is present, your browser loads X's widgets script from platform.twitter.com / platform.x.com, and X may set its own cookies, fetch its own images, and exchange data directly with your browser to render the embed. On those pages AFBytes relaxes its Content Security Policy to permit the X widgets script and the network calls X needs to render the embed. AFBytes does not control X's cookies or telemetry and does not receive the data exchanged between your browser and the embed host. X widgets are loaded only on pages where an embed is present, not site-wide.
If we later place the site behind a CDN, web application firewall, or similar security layer, that provider may set strictly necessary technical cookies needed for delivery and protection. We do not currently rely on any such provider-set cookies, and any that appear would be essential rather than for tracking.
You can view, block, or delete cookies in your browser settings at any time. Clearing the afbytes_timezone cookie simply resets timestamps to auto-detected local time; the site remains fully functional without it. Because we set no tracking cookies, there is nothing else to opt out of.
If AFBytes ever introduces non-essential analytics or advertising cookies, we will first add a compliant consent mechanism for visitors in the relevant regions and update this policy and its "last updated" date before any such cookie is set.
The table below lists the cookies and device-local storage entries AFBytes itself may set, plus the categories of provider-set technologies and third-party embeds that may appear on the site.
| Name / Type | Set by | Purpose | Duration | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| afbytes_timezone | AFBytes (first-party) | Remembers selected or auto-detected display timezone for article timestamps. Secure, SameSite=Lax. | About 12 months | Functional / non-essential |
| afb-pwa-install-dismissed (localStorage) | AFBytes (first-party) | Records the timestamp at which the visitor dismissed the 'install AFBytes' prompt so the prompt is suppressed for the next 30 days. | 30 days from dismissal | Functional / non-essential |
| Service-worker CacheStorage entries | AFBytes (first-party) | Caches static assets, previously-viewed pages, and the offline fallback page for faster repeat loads and offline rendering. | Until the visitor clears site data or the cache version rotates | Functional / non-essential |
| Hosting / CDN / WAF technical cookies | Hosting, CDN, and security providers | Routing, caching, load-balancing, rate-limiting, and abuse / bot detection needed to deliver and protect the site. Not currently relied on. | Varies by provider (typically session to short-term) | Strictly necessary / operational |
| Third-party X embed cookies | x.com / twitter.com (third-party) | Set only on article pages that embed X (Twitter) posts, by X's widgets script. AFBytes does not control these cookies. | Set and controlled by X | Third-party social embed |
Cookie names and provider-set technologies may evolve as infrastructure changes. AFBytes does not independently audit every cookie set by its hosting, CDN, or security providers; the categorization above reflects the providers' described purposes. This inventory reflects the cookies and storage AFBytes is aware of as of the 'Last updated' date above.
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