Last updated: July 2, 2026
This Cookie Policy explains how Black Lab Development uses cookies and similar technologies on blacklabdev.com (the “Site”), and complements our Privacy Policy. It's more technical and specific than the Privacy Policy's cookie section — if you just want to change your preferences, use in the footer.
What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files a website stores in your browser. They let a site remember information about your visit — like preferences or whether you've seen a particular message — the next time you come back, or let it recognize your browser across pages during a single session. “Similar technologies” includes things like browser local storage, which we use to remember your cookie choice.
How We Use Cookies
We use cookies to keep the Site working properly, understand how visitors use it, and — only if you opt in — measure and personalize marketing. We don't use cookies to sell your data to third parties.
On your first visit, every optional cookie category defaults to off. We use Google Consent Mode v2 so that Google's own tags (Analytics, Ads) respect your choice before any cookie is set.
Cookie Categories
- Necessary — always on, can't be disabled. Required for the Site to function, including remembering your cookie choice itself.
- Analytics — optional. Helps us see which pages get used and how, in aggregate, so we can improve the Site.
- Advertising — optional. Used to measure ad performance and personalize the marketing you see from us on other sites.
Cookies We Use
Necessary
| Name | Provider | Purpose | Storage | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cookie-consent | Black Lab Development (first-party) | Remembers your cookie category choices so we don't ask again on every visit. | Browser local storage | Until you change your choice or clear browser data |
Analytics (only if you opt in)
These are set by Google Analytics through Google Tag Manager, only after you enable the Analytics category. Exact cookie names can change as Google updates its tags; the table below reflects Google Analytics 4's standard cookies at the time of writing.
| Name | Provider | Purpose | Storage | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| _ga, _ga_* | Google Analytics | Distinguishes unique visitors and tracks sessions for aggregate usage reporting. | Cookie | Up to 2 years |
| _gid | Google Analytics | Distinguishes unique visitors on a shorter, per-day basis. | Cookie | 24 hours |
Advertising (only if you opt in)
These are set by Google Ads / Google Marketing Platform through Google Tag Manager, only after you enable the Advertising category.
| Name | Provider | Purpose | Storage | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| _gcl_au, IDE, test_cookie | Google Ads / DoubleClick | Measures ad conversions and personalizes marketing shown to you on other sites. | Cookie | Up to 3 months |
Cookieless Analytics
Two tools we use don't set cookies at all and aren't gated by your cookie choice, because they aren't designed to track you individually across sites:
- Aptabase — privacy-first product analytics that reports aggregate page views and navigation without persistent identifiers or cross-site tracking.
- Vercel Web Analytics & Speed Insights — measures aggregate traffic and page performance (like load times) without cookies or a visitor-level profile.
We also use Cloudflare Turnstile on the contact form to filter spam. Turnstile is designed to avoid tracking cookies and does not require you to solve a CAPTCHA; it may briefly use device signals purely to confirm you're not a bot, not for advertising.
Managing Your Preferences
You can change your cookie choice at any time by clicking in the footer of any page. This reopens the same panel you saw on your first visit, with your current choices pre-filled, so you can toggle Analytics and Advertising independently and save.
Browser-Level Controls
Most browsers also let you block or delete cookies directly, or clear local storage. Doing so through your browser settings will remove our remembered choice too, so the consent banner will appear again on your next visit. Browser help pages for common browsers:
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy as the tools and tags on the Site change. We'll update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page when we do.
Contact Us
Questions about this Cookie Policy? Reach out:
- Send us a message through our contact form