Retirement Lab privacy-choice record
- Provider
- Retirement Lab; browser local storage
- Purpose
- Remembers whether analytics and advertising are allowed
- Typical duration
- Reconfirmed after 180 days or after a policy-version change
Cookies and browser storage
Cookie Policy
Choose whether optional analytics and advertising technologies may load.
Effective and last updated: September 4, 2026
1. What this policy covers
This policy explains cookies, browser local storage, and similar technologies used on retiring.guide. A cookie is a small value a website or third party can store in a browser. Local storage is kept in the browser but is not automatically attached to every web request.
2. Categories
Necessary
Always active. Remembers privacy choices, keeps saved plan data on the device, enables imports/exports, and supports security. These functions do not depend on Google Analytics or AdSense.
Analytics
Optional. Loads Google Analytics only after permission. Typical first-party names may include _ga and _ga_*. Used for aggregated usage measurement and service improvement.
Advertising
Optional. Loads Google AdSense only after permission. Google and its partners may use identifiers for ad delivery, measurement, frequency control, fraud prevention, and reporting.
Personalized advertising
Optional and dependent on Advertising. Allows permitted data to be used to tailor ads. This is disabled when Global Privacy Control is active.
3. Technologies and typical duration
Saved retirement plan and interface preferences
- Provider
- Retirement Lab; browser local storage
- Purpose
- Allows the tool to work locally and remember the user’s plan
- Typical duration
- Until reset or browser site data is cleared
_ga , _ga_* and related analytics identifiers
- Provider
- Google Analytics
- Purpose
- Distinguishes visits and measures use after Analytics consent
- Typical duration
- Varies by Google configuration; commonly up to two years
AdSense/Google advertising technologies, which may include __gads , __gpi , IDE , NID , or similar identifiers
- Provider
- Google and advertising partners
- Purpose
- Ad delivery, measurement, fraud prevention, frequency control, and—when separately allowed—personalization
- Typical duration
- Varies by technology, consent, browser, and Google policy
The exact set can change as browsers and Google services evolve. Browser developer tools can show the values in use on a particular visit.
4. How to choose or withdraw
Use the button below, the first-visit banner, or the “Do not sell or share / Manage cookies” link in the footer. Rejecting optional categories does not prevent use of the calculator.
Changing a choice sends updated Consent Mode signals and attempts to remove known first-party optional cookies. Reloading the page creates a clean session. Browser controls can also delete all site data.
5. Global Privacy Control
When the browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, Retirement Lab disables advertising, personalized advertising, sale/sharing, and targeted-ad signals. Analytics remains off unless separately allowed.
6. Google-certified CMP requirement
This site’s own privacy center provides prior consent and state opt-out controls. Google separately requires publishers using AdSense in the EEA, United Kingdom, and Switzerland to use a Google-certified consent management platform. That platform must be activated and published through the publisher’s AdSense Privacy & messaging account or another certified provider before ads are served in those regions.
Shared plans: Google Analytics and Google AdSense are not loaded on a page while a #plan= share-link fragment is present, even when optional consent was saved previously.