Last updated 22 October 2026 · Towards China
A small amount of memory for the features you choose
Cookies are small files a website places in a browser. Local storage is another kind of browser memory that can keep information until you remove it. This policy covers both, explaining what Towards China remembers and how you control it.
You can read the magazine without an account or a saved reading list. The panda saves an article only when you choose to mark it; opening an article does not mark it as read.
On a small screen, scroll the table sideways to see all four columns.
| Purpose | Name or technology | Information and use | Duration and control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guest reading shelf | towards-china.read.v1 — local storage |
IDs of articles you mark and marking times. Remembers your shelf in this browser and lets Surprise me avoid marked articles. | No fixed expiry. Unmark articles, use Clear on your reading shelf, or clear this site’s browser storage. |
| Cookie support check | wordpress_test_cookie |
Checks whether cookies work for signing in. | A session cookie, normally removed when the browser session ends. |
| Account sign-in | wordpress_logged_in_[hash], wordpress_sec_[hash] and related WordPress authentication cookies |
Recognises your signed-in session and allows access to your own account and reading shelf. | Without Remember me, a session cookie with a usual two-day login limit. With Remember me, login normally lasts 14 days; cookie expiry includes a further 12-hour grace period. Signing out clears the login cookies. |
| Login language | wp_lang, if you choose a login language |
Remembers the language selected on the login screen. | Session. |
| WordPress interface choices | wp-settings-[user ID] and wp-settings-time-[user ID], when used by the WordPress interface |
Remembers interface preferences for a signed-in user. Does not store the reading shelf. | The standard WordPress duration is one year. |
| Google sign-in security | SESSnsl, when you start an optional Google sign-in |
Connects your sign-in request with Google’s response and helps prevent forged authentication requests. It contains a session identifier, not your Google password or reading list. | Session cookie; removed when the completed flow clears it. Associated temporary server-side authentication state has a configured one-hour expiry. |
| Privacy notice acknowledgement | towards_china_privacy_notice |
Remembers that you have dismissed the information notice. It is not permission for advertising, analytics or unrelated tracking. | 180 days. Reopen the notice using Cookie & storage information in the footer, or remove this cookie through browser site-data controls. |
The login and interface durations above describe WordPress defaults. Signing out, browser controls or security actions can end a session earlier.
Keeping accounts and forms safe
Cloudflare Turnstile loads a security check when you use protected account forms. It examines technical browser and connection signals to prevent automated abuse. This protection is used for security, not advertising, newsletter consent or a reading profile. Our verification tokens expire after five minutes and are single-use. The widget is configured without pre-clearance, so it does not issue a persistent cf_clearance cookie.
The firewall can use a secure, HTTP-only session cookie named NFWSESSID for an authorised administrator’s security session. It is a session cookie, not a visitor-tracking identifier or a reader shelf. Local rate-limiting counters are kept on the server rather than in your browser.
See Privacy Policy for security-log retention, the supplier’s role and your choices, and the Turnstile Privacy Notice for Cloudflare’s processing. Dismissing our information notice is not consent to optional analytics or marketing. Blocking a necessary security check can stop a protected form from submitting; contact info@towardschina.co.uk if it fails.
Your browser shelf and account shelf are different
A guest shelf stays in the browser where you saved it. It is not silently uploaded when you register or sign in. Signed-in readers’ chosen article IDs and marking times are saved privately with their account so their shelf follows them between devices.
Login cookies recognise the session; they do not contain your list of read articles. Clearing those cookies signs you out but does not delete an account shelf. Use Clear on My read articles while signed in to clear that shelf, or contact the adult publisher about account data.
Storage for requested features
We use sign-in storage to provide the account access you request, and guest local storage to remember a shelf when you choose to mark articles. These purposes do not require you to accept advertising or unrelated tracking. We do not classify every technology as necessary simply because it is convenient for the website.
Reader registration and sign-in, including optional Google sign-in, are available. Necessary login cookies keep your requested account session open. Your guest shelf stays in its browser and is not copied into your account; an account shelf follows you between devices. Newsletter choices are separate; email delivery is awaiting MailPoet account approval. Optional Independent Analytics statistics are separate from accounts and reading shelves; they run only after you allow Statistics. We do not use advertising trackers.
Optional Google sign-in
Choosing Continue with Google opens Google to authenticate you, then returns you to Towards China. After sign-in, the ordinary WordPress login cookies keep your reader session open. We use your email and Google account identifier to recognise the account; profile-name and photograph storage and long-term access-token storage are disabled. Temporary authentication state may be used while the flow completes.
Your reading shelf stays with Towards China. Google does not receive its saved article list through this integration, and sign-in does not subscribe you to the newsletter. Google operates its own services and storage under the Google Privacy Policy. You can use the ordinary account-login option instead.
Your privacy choices
Statistics starts off. Refusing it does not stop you reading or using the browser shelf. You can enable or withdraw Statistics in the Privacy preferences section, on desktop or mobile. Changes apply immediately in that browser; withdrawal stops subsequent collection. There is no floating privacy button or pop-up consent panel. Supported Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control signals are respected.
Complianz uses necessary first-party cmplz_* cookies to remember consent categories, the policy version and whether a choice has been saved. They expire according to the panel’s configured consent period or can be removed through your browser. They contain choices, not the private reading shelf. The earlier towards_china_privacy_notice cookie may remain until its 180-day expiry or removal; it only acknowledged the former notice and is never Statistics consent.
Independent Analytics uses no analytics cookies. With Statistics consent it sends visit information to this website, including pages, times, referring sources, device/browser categories and approximate IP-derived location. A salted browser identifier changes daily; the analytics tables do not store the raw IP address. These records are not linked to your account or shelf. Automatic pruning is set to one year; scheduled execution and hosting backups have the limits explained in the Privacy Policy. Google Analytics is not enabled.
Change your privacy preferences.
Change what this browser remembers
Tap the panda again to unmark an article, or use Clear on your reading shelf. You can also remove this site’s cookies and guest local storage through your browser’s site-data controls: select towardschina.co.uk.
Clearing a guest shelf affects only that browser. It does not erase an account shelf stored on the website. Blocking login cookies can prevent sign-in, and blocking local storage can prevent a guest shelf lasting between visits. Article reading does not depend on keeping a shelf.
Fonts, sharing and external websites
The magazine hosts its fonts itself. Its ordinary external links and WhatsApp sharing link do not embed a social feed. Choosing a sharing link opens the service you select, which has its own privacy and storage rules; your saved reading list is not included in the shared article link.
Newsletter storage
To avoid repeating the homepage newsletter invitation, we check the active newsletter membership of your signed-in account. Without sign-in, this browser can remember a completed email confirmation or your choice to close the invitation in towards-china.newsletter-prompt.v1 local storage. This contains only the type of preference and an expiry time, not your email, subscriber ID or reading history. It stops being used after 180 days and is removed when next read after expiry, or you can clear this site’s browser storage sooner. A newsletter unsubscribe on this browser clears the remembered confirmation. This display preference does not subscribe or unsubscribe you, grant Statistics consent or change your email preferences. The full form remains available on the Newsletter page.
The newsletter form is enabled. Delivery through MailPoet is currently awaiting account approval. Essential confirmation and unsubscribe links identify the relevant subscription so your request can be carried out. Account registration and reading-list storage do not subscribe you to a newsletter. Optional email tracking will be described and assessed separately before it is introduced.
Questions and changes
Adult publisher and data controller Donato Bilancia handles questions about browser storage and account information. Contact info@towardschina.co.uk. We update this policy when the technologies or their purposes change.
Read our About page, Editorial Policy, Corrections Policy and Cookie Policy, or contact the publication.