This Cookie Policy explains how Keel and Cleat ("we", "us", "our", accessible at keelandcleat.com) uses cookies, localStorage, and similar technologies when you visit our website. It explains what these technologies are, why we use them, and your rights to control our use of them.
What Are Cookies and Local Storage?
Cookies are small text files placed on your device by websites you visit. Local storage (specifically, your browser's localStorage) is a similar technology that allows a website to store small amounts of data directly in your browser, without an expiry date, until it is manually cleared. We use a combination of both, as described below.
How We Use These Technologies
Keel and Cleat keeps its use of tracking technologies deliberately minimal. We do not use cookies for advertising, retargeting, or to sell your data to third parties. Our use falls into two categories:
1. Essential Local Storage (Consent Preferences)
When you first visit keelandcleat.com, a cookie consent banner appears asking whether you accept or decline non-essential analytics cookies. Once you make a choice, that decision is saved using your browser's localStorage under a key that records your accept/decline preference. This allows us to remember your choice on future visits so you are not asked again every time you load the site.
- Purpose: Remembering your cookie consent preference.
- Type: Strictly necessary (localStorage, not a traditional cookie).
- Duration: Persists until you clear your browser storage or manually reset it.
- Can this be disabled? No, because it is required for the consent mechanism itself to function. However, it stores only your preference (accept or decline) and no personal or identifying information.
2. Analytics Cookies (Only If You Accept)
If you click "Accept" on our cookie banner, we load a privacy-conscious analytics script that sets cookies to help us understand how visitors use our boating and marine accessories reviews, buying guides, and comparison pages. This helps us identify which gear reviews are most useful, spot broken links, and improve site navigation.
- Purpose: Aggregate, anonymized site usage statistics (pages visited, time on page, referring sites, approximate region, device type).
- Type: Third-party analytics cookies.
- Duration: Typically between 24 hours and 2 years, depending on the specific cookie set by our analytics provider.
- Can this be disabled? Yes. If you click "Decline" on the banner, no analytics cookies are set, and no analytics script is loaded at all.
We do not use these analytics cookies to build individual advertising profiles, and we do not share this data with data brokers.
Third-Party Cookies
The only third-party cookies used on keelandcleat.com come from our analytics provider, and only after you have given consent via the banner. These providers may process data according to their own privacy policies. We select analytics partners who offer IP anonymization or similarly privacy-respecting configurations where available. We do not embed third-party advertising networks, social media trackers, or remarketing pixels on this site.
Do We Use Any Other Tracking?
Aside from the consent-preference entry stored in localStorage and the optional analytics cookies described above, Keel and Cleat does not use tracking pixels, fingerprinting scripts, or cross-site tracking cookies. Embedded videos or external images (for example, product photos linked from manufacturer sites) may, in rare cases, involve their own cookies set by the external domain hosting that content; these are governed by that third party's own cookie policy, not ours.
How to Withdraw or Change Your Consent
You are free to change your mind about analytics cookies at any time. Because your choice is stored in your browser's localStorage rather than a traditional cookie, the most reliable way to reset or withdraw your consent is to clear your browser's site data for keelandcleat.com. You can generally do this as follows:
- Chrome: Open Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data, or click the padlock/info icon in the address bar while on keelandcleat.com and select "Site settings" to clear cookies and site data for this domain specifically.
- Firefox: Open Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data > Manage Data, search for keelandcleat.com, and remove it.
- Safari: Open Preferences > Privacy > Manage Website Data, search for keelandcleat.com, and remove it.
- Edge: Open Settings > Cookies and site permissions > Manage and delete cookies and site data, then search for and remove keelandcleat.com.
- Mobile browsers: Most mobile browsers offer an equivalent "Site settings" or "Clear browsing data" option within their privacy or history menus.
Once your browser storage for our domain is cleared, the consent banner will reappear the next time you visit, and you can make a fresh choice. You can also disable cookies entirely through your browser's general settings, though doing so may affect the consent banner's ability to remember your preference, meaning it may reappear on each visit.
Do Not Track Signals
Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" (DNT) signal. Because our analytics only activate after explicit opt-in consent via our banner, we treat your banner choice as the authoritative signal of your preference. We do not currently respond separately to browser DNT signals, but declining analytics cookies on our banner achieves the same practical outcome: no analytics script is loaded.
Changes to This Cookie Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the technologies we use or for legal, operational, or regulatory reasons. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this Cookie Policy or how Keel and Cleat handles your data, please get in touch through the contact page on keelandcleat.com. We're happy to clarify anything regarding cookies, localStorage, or our analytics practices.