Site policy

Cookie Policy

This policy explains how Demboria Digital uses cookies and similar technologies on demboria.digital, what they do, and how you can control them.

Effective date
12 October 2026
Applies to
demboria.digital, all readers
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What this page covers

Cookie questions reach the newsroom regularly, and most of them come down to the same few things: what is being stored, who set it, and how to switch it off. This page answers those in plain language and in one place, so you do not have to hunt through browser menus to find out what our site does when you open an article.

We keep the list short. Essential cookies hold the site together and record your cookie choice; analytics cookies tell us which reporting gets read. Third-party services can set their own cookies when they appear on a page. Each of those groups is described below, along with the steps available to you if you would rather limit them.

What cookies are

A cookie is a small text file stored on your device by your browser. It lets a site remember information between visits, such as your preferences or whether you have seen a notice.

Cookies are not programs and cannot run on their own. They hold small pieces of information that the site reads back on your next visit: a language preference, a dismissed notice, a short identifier that helps distinguish one browsing session from a million others happening at the same time. If you delete them, that stored information disappears with them, and the site treats your next visit as a first one.

  • A name how the site finds the right record again on your next request
  • A value the small piece of information being stored, such as a saved choice
  • An expiry how long the file stays before your browser removes it
  • A domain the site the file belongs to, whether ours or a provider we work with

Cookies we use

We use essential cookies to keep the site functioning and to remember your cookie choices. We use analytics cookies to measure traffic and understand which pages readers use. Analytics data is aggregated and is not used to identify you personally.

  • Essential cookies

    These carry the parts of the site that have to work: loading pages, keeping forms and embedded media steady, and remembering whether you accepted or rejected the cookie notice so it does not ask again on every visit. They stay on by default because without them the site cannot run as intended.

    Always active
  • Analytics cookies

    These tell us which articles, briefings and explainers readers spend time on, roughly where traffic comes from, and which pages send people away. Reports are aggregated: we look at counts and trends across many visits, not at a single reader. You can reject this group through the cookie notice or block it in your browser.

    Optional
  • Preference cookies

    A small set of choices are kept on your device so the site does not reset them: text size, a collapsed navigation panel, a reading list you started. Clear your browser cookies and these return to their defaults the next time you load a page.

    Optional
  • Third-party cookies

    Embedded media clips and the analytics provider may place their own files when their features appear on a page. Those files belong to the provider, not to us. Full details of each group are set out in the two sections below.

    Set by providers

Two groups are optional, and turning them off does not cut you off from any article, briefing or explainer on the site.

Third-party cookies

Some features may rely on third-party services, such as embedded media or analytics providers. Those providers may set their own cookies, and their policies govern their use.

We do not control third-party cookies. What we can do is keep the list of providers short and tell you when one of their features loads on a page, so the decision to continue reading is yours.

Embedded media
A clip or audio player embedded in an article loads from the provider's own service. That request can place a file on your device so the player remembers playback position or remembers you between clips.
Analytics provider
The measurement service behind our traffic reports sets its own identification cookies. We receive aggregated reports from it; the provider holds the raw records under its own policy.
What this means for you
To learn what a provider stores, read its privacy notice. To stop those files being set at all, block third-party cookies in your browser settings; some embedded features may then stop working on the page.
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Your choices

You can accept or reject non-essential cookies through the site's cookie notice. You can also block or delete cookies through your browser settings. Blocking essential cookies may affect how the site works.

Rejecting analytics and preference cookies keeps you out of our traffic reports entirely. Nothing about reading an article, opening the midterm race tracker or following a policy explainer changes when those groups are off; the pages simply stop carrying the measurement scripts with them.

Through the notice

Set your preference once when the cookie notice appears, and change it later from the same control.

Through the browser

Most browsers list stored cookies per site and let you delete one, delete all, or refuse third-party files outright.

What changes

Your choice is remembered per browser and per device, so the same setting will not carry over if you switch to another one.

Managing cookies by browser

Most browsers let you view, delete, and block cookies in their settings. The exact steps vary by browser and device, and a setting changed on a phone does not follow you to a laptop.

View
Browser settings usually hold a list of cookies by site, with the name, the site that set it, and its expiry date.
Delete
Clearing cookies may sign you out of sites and reset preferences you set earlier, including your cookie choice on this site.
Block
You can refuse all cookies or only third-party ones. Refusing everything can interrupt logins, embedded media and any feature that keeps a setting between pages.
Private mode
A private window holds cookies only for that session and drops them when you close it, which also means preferences reset every time.

For help with the specific steps, check your browser's documentation. Browser makers update their settings menus fairly often, so their own instructions are the reliable source.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes in the cookies we use or in the law. The effective date will change when we do. Continued use of the site after an update means you accept the revised policy.

When a change affects what the site stores rather than only how it is described, we will note it in the policy itself instead of leaving it to the effective date alone. Older versions are not published separately; the current text on this page is the version in force.

Effective 12 October 2026 Reviewed whenever the cookie set changes
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Questions about cookies, answered by the desk that sets them.

If something on this page does not match what you see in your browser, write to the newsroom and tell us the page and the browser. Cookie questions can go to the newsroom through the contact page, and we will point you to the right part of this policy.

Readers who want the wider picture can read the Privacy Policy, the Terms of Service and the remaining site policies in the footer.

Reach the newsroom

Phone
+1 202-488-1112
Address
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500
Hours
Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM ET
Policy current as of 12 October 2026