Cookie Policy

Last updated: September 30, 2026

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. Similar technologies may include pixels, tags, scripts, local storage, and tracking URLs.

Your Choice Comes First

The cookie notice lets you accept or decline optional cookies with equally prominent buttons. Google Analytics 4 is the only optional cookie purpose configured by this website. It does not load before you accept. Scrolling, following a link, or continuing to browse does not count as consent.

Declining leaves optional analytics off and does not prevent browsing or use of the contact form. Your choice concerns optional cookies and analytics, not agreement to this policy or a condition of receiving our services.

Storage Used by This Website

Preference storage — necessary to remember your choice

Stage 4 stores stage4-analytics-consent-v1 in this browser’s local storage after you make a choice. This is a preference record, not an analytics cookie. It records acceptance or refusal and an expiry time. New choices also record the time and policy version. We use it only to apply your cookie preference.

The choice is valid for up to 180 days, unless you change it or clear browser storage sooner. We ask again on a later visit after it expires. If storage is unavailable, your choice applies to the current page only. With JavaScript disabled, optional analytics remains off.

Google Analytics cookies — optional

After acceptance, Google Analytics may set first-party cookies named _ga and _ga_* on this website. The first distinguishes users; the second maintains session state. They help measure visits, phone and email link clicks, and accepted contact or callback submissions. Link clicks do not confirm completed calls or sent emails, and callback requests are not bookings.

Our site sets a 180-day analytics cookie expiry and disables automatic renewal on repeat visits. Browser restrictions can shorten storage. Cookies created under an earlier configuration may have a different expiry; you can remove them through Cookie Preferences or your browser settings.

With analytics acceptance, campaign labels from a tagged link help identify which marketing source brought a visit. The site passes only selected short labels to Analytics, not the full query string or fragment, and creates no campaign storage before acceptance. These labels should describe the campaign, never a person.

Our analytics events do not include your submitted name, email address, or message. This website’s configuration disables advertising storage, Google signals, and ad personalization. Read Google’s explanation of Analytics cookies and Google’s Privacy Policy for more about the provider’s processing.

Hosting and Contact Services

The website assistant uses stage4-consultant-chat-v1 in this tab’s session storage to remember your conversation, draft details, submission status, and whether you dismissed its invitation while moving between Stage 4 pages. Refreshing the page starts fresh, as does returning after you leave the website or close its tab; switching tabs or apps does not clear the conversation. The record also expires after eight hours and is discarded on the next read after expiry. Clear conversation removes its contents sooner. If storage is blocked, it works on the current page only. The assistant remains usable when you decline optional analytics.

stage4-chat-invitation-v1 remembers visible browsing time. On desktop screens, the chat can open once after ten seconds when the cookie notice is closed, whether you accepted or declined analytics. On smaller screens, it opens only when you select the chat button. Closing it keeps it minimized as you browse. Refreshing or starting a new visit resets the timer; the record also expires after eight hours. stage4-chat-page-handoff-v1 preserves your conversation between pages for up to one minute. These records stay in your browser and are not sent to analytics or the chat service.

Consultation requests are processed by Web3Forms only when you select Send request. See the privacy policy for the assistant’s data handling and any enabled AI processing.

Hostinger delivers and protects the website and may apply security cookies or browser checks through its hosting service. These are separate from optional analytics. Web3Forms processes the information you send when submitting the contact form, including when you decline optional cookies. See the Hostinger Privacy Policy and Web3Forms Privacy Policy.

Change or Withdraw Your Choice

Open Cookie Preferences here or in the footer of any page, then select Accept Cookie Policy to allow optional analytics cookies or Decline Cookie Policy to keep them off. View Cookie Policy opens this explanation without making a choice. All three buttons remain available when you reopen Cookie Preferences.

Declining after acceptance disables further collection by this site’s Google Analytics tag and removes accessible _ga cookies. It does not erase information already sent to Google. You can also remove cookies and local storage through your browser settings. A choice applies to this browser; make it separately on other browsers or devices.

For questions or requests about your information, see our privacy policy or contact Stage 4.