Cookie Policy

Cookies are small text files a website stores in your browser. They let a site remember choices you have made and function correctly. This policy explains the cookies we use, why, and how to control them. It sits alongside our Privacy Policy.

We keep cookies to a minimum and we never sell data collected through cookies. We use Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity to understand how visitors find and use the site, and only if you accept them — both are switched off until you choose Accept all. We do not use social media pixels or cross-site advertising trackers.

On your first visit, a banner lets you Accept all cookies or keep only the Necessary ones. If you choose Necessary only, no analytics cookies are set and Google Analytics does not load at all. Either choice lets you use the whole site — there is no cookie wall. Your choice is remembered so we do not ask again, and you can change it any time with the Cookie settings link at the bottom of every page.

Strictly necessary

gos-cookie-consent

Stores your cookie choice so the banner does not reappear. No consent required (exempt). Persists up to 1 year.

gos-legal-version

Records which version of our terms and policies you accepted, so we can ask again when they change. No consent required (exempt). Persists up to 1 year.

Functional (preference)

gos_currency

Remembers the display currency you select (EUR, USD, GBP, or MAD). Set only when you change currency. Persists up to 1 year.

Analytics — set only if you Accept all

The following are set by Google Analytics (GA4), and only after you choose Accept all. Choose Necessary only and none of these are ever set. They help us see, in aggregate, which pages and tours visitors are interested in, and whether our ads bring the right people — we do not use them to identify you personally.

_ga

Distinguishes one visitor’s browser from another so visits can be counted. Set by Google Analytics. Persists up to 2 years.

_ga_<container>

Keeps the state of your session for Google Analytics 4. Persists up to 2 years.

_gid

Distinguishes visitors over a short window. Set by Google Analytics. Persists up to 24 hours.

Also only after Accept all, Microsoft Clarity shows us, in aggregate and as anonymised replays, where visitors click and scroll, so we can fix pages that confuse people. Clarity masks what you type into forms. Its cookies:

_clck

Keeps the Clarity user ID and preferences for this site. Set by Microsoft Clarity.

_clsk

Connects the pages of one visit into a single session. Set by Microsoft Clarity.

CLID, MUID, ANONCHK, MR, SM

Third-party cookies on Microsoft domains that Clarity uses to recognise a browser; Clarity does not use them for advertising (ANONCHK is always 0). See Microsoft’s list of Clarity cookies.

We also count clicks on the trip suggestions inside our articles. For each click we record only the date, the language, the article and the tour clicked — no cookie, no IP address and nothing that could identify you — so it runs whatever you choose on the banner.

In the same way we count taps on our WhatsApp buttons: only the date, the language, the page and which button. Never your number or anything you write in WhatsApp.

Separately from the analytics cookies above, we use Vercel Analytics and Vercel Speed Insights to measure site performance. These are privacy-friendly and do not use cookies or fingerprinting — they collect only anonymised, aggregated metrics (page views, visitor counts, Core Web Vitals), always run, and cannot identify you. See Vercel’s Privacy Policy.

When you accept all cookies, Google (Google Analytics, and Google Ads conversion measurement) sets the cookies listed above and may use them to measure the performance of our advertising. This is governed by Google’s cookie policy and privacy policy.

When you accept all cookies, Microsoft (Clarity) sets the cookies listed above. This is governed by the Clarity cookie list and the Microsoft Privacy Statement.

Some pages also embed or link to other third-party services that may set their own cookies when you interact with them — for example PayPal when you follow a payment link we send you, or WhatsApp / Meta if you start a chat. These are governed by those providers’ own cookie and privacy policies, not ours.

You are always in control:

• Choose Necessary only on the consent banner to avoid the functional and analytics cookies — Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity will not load.
• To withdraw consent after accepting, use Cookie settings at the bottom of any page. It deletes the analytics cookies this site set, and the banner reappears so you can choose again. Clearing this site’s cookies in your browser does the same, and also resets your currency choice.
• Set your browser to block or warn about cookies. The site will still work, though it may not remember your currency.

Most browsers explain how to manage cookies in their Help section (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge).

We may update this Cookie Policy as our site evolves or the law changes. The date at the top reflects the most recent revision.

Questions about cookies? Contact us at info@thegatesofsahara.com.