Cookie Policy
Which cookies Stack the Magic uses, which are off until you say yes, and how to change your choice.
Last updated: October 23, 2026
The short version
- Cookies we need to run the site are always on. Everything else is off until you say yes.
- You can say yes to analytics and to advertising separately, or reject both. "Reject all" is as easy as "Accept all."
- You can change your mind any time with Privacy choices in the footer.
What cookies are
Cookies and similar technologies (such as your browser's local storage) are small pieces of data a website saves on your device. Some are needed for the site to work; others measure how it's used or help show ads.
What we use
Essential: always on. These don't need your consent because the site can't work without them, or because you asked for the feature.
| Name | Set by | What it does | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
ghost-members-ssr and ghost-members-ssr.sig | Stack the Magic (Ghost) | Keep you signed in if you have an account, and check the sign-in hasn't been altered | About 6 months (184 days) |
stm-consent (local storage) | Stack the Magic | Remembers your cookie choice | 12 months, then we ask again |
| Saved tool inputs (local storage, for example the Trip Planner) | Stack the Magic | Keeps what you typed so it's there when you come back; never sent to us | Until you clear your browser's site data |
stm-tag-cta-last (local storage) | Stack the Magic | Remembers which tools we last suggested so the next page suggests different ones | Until you clear your browser's site data |
stm-recent-tools (local storage) | Stack the Magic | Remembers the last few of our tools and games you opened so our homepage can show them again; never sent to us | Until you clear your browser's site data |
stm-saved-plans (local storage) | Stack the Magic | If you're signed in, keeps the latest plan link from each of our tools, and any plan you add to a trip, so your My plans page can list them; never sent to us | Until you clear your browser's site data |
stm-trip-countdown (local storage) | Stack the Magic | If you add trips on your My plans page, keeps each trip's date, name, where you're staying, whether you have Annual Passes and the plans you add to it, for the countdown and key dates; never sent to us | Until you remove it or clear your browser's site data |
stm-high-scores (local storage) | Stack the Magic | If you're signed in, keeps your best score in each of our games for the game's page and your My plans page; never sent to us | Until you clear them on your My plans page or clear your browser's site data |
ghost-history (session storage) | Stack the Magic (Ghost) | Notes pages you visit this session so a sign-up can credit the story that brought you; never leaves your device unless you sign up | Until you close the browser |
Analytics: off until you say yes.
| Name | Set by | What it does | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga, _ga_<ID> | Google Analytics | Tells one visitor from another and groups a visit's page views | Up to 2 years |
Advertising: off until you say yes.
| Name | Set by | What it does | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
_fbp, _fbc | Meta Pixel | Identifies the browser so Meta can measure our Facebook and Instagram ads and show them to people who visited | Up to 90 days |
_gcl_au, _gcl_aw | Google Ads | Measures what happens after someone clicks one of our Google ads | Up to 90 days |
Where advertising isn't offered. We don't offer the advertising category, and never load the Meta, Google Ads or LinkedIn tags, if your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal or reports a European timezone (the UK, the EU and the rest of Europe, including Switzerland). Our ads are aimed at the United States. A timezone is not a location, so this is a best-effort rule, and analytics stays your choice everywhere.
If you say yes to advertising, Google, Meta and LinkedIn may also set or read cookies on their own domains (for example when you're signed in to them). The LinkedIn Insight Tag can also set one cookie on our own site, li_fat_id, for up to 30 days, when a visit starts from a click on one of our LinkedIn ads. Cookies on those domains are governed by each company's policies (LinkedIn's is at linkedin.com/legal/cookie-policy): Google, Meta.
Not cookies, and always on: Ghost's site statistics run without cookies or any browser storage, and count visits without identifying you. The code that runs our site's features loads from Cloudflare at assets.stackthemagic.com, which sets no cookies and stores nothing on your device. We also measure our ads with Meta's Conversions API: when you create an account, we send Meta a hashed copy of your email address to count signups from our advertising. This happens independently of the cookie choices above. If you said yes to advertising and arrived from one of our Facebook or Instagram ads, the signup also carries the ad's click ID (the _fbc value above): when you submit a sign-up form, your browser sends our server that click ID with a hashed copy of the email address you typed, and we keep the pair for up to a day, until your signup is confirmed, then delete it.
Your choices
- Banner. On your first visit you can choose "Reject all," "Accept all," or "Choose" to switch analytics and advertising on or off separately. Nothing optional loads until you do.
- Change it later. "Privacy choices" in the footer reopens the choices. Turning a category off removes its cookies from our site and reloads the page.
- Global Privacy Control. If your browser sends it, we start you at "Reject all" and don't let advertising be switched on.
- Europe. Advertising isn't offered to browsers in a European timezone (see above).
- Your browser. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings; parts of the site that depend on sign-in won't work without the essential ones.
- Google, Meta and LinkedIn (ad settings at linkedin.com/psettings/advertising). Google's ad settings, Meta's ad preferences, Google Analytics opt-out add-on.
We ask again after 12 months, and sooner if we change what we collect.
More
How we handle information more broadly is in our Privacy Policy. Questions: contact@stackthemagic.com.