Cookie policy

Last updated: September 29, 2026

This policy explains what the English-language pages of izotov.agency (all pages under /en/) store in your browser, what Yandex Metrica and Google Analytics collect if you allow them, and how to change your choice.

Analytics does not load until you click "Accept analytics" in the cookie banner. Every page and the contact form work without it.

1. What the site stores in your browser

The English pages store up to three technical values in your browser. None of them contains your name, email address, phone number or the text of a request, and they are stored regardless of what you choose in the cookie banner.

Values in local storage stay until you delete them; values in session storage are cleared when you close the tab. These values are not sent anywhere, with one exception: if you send the contact form, the UTM tags go with it so I can see where the request came from.

• payload-theme (local storage) – the light or dark theme, if you chose one.
• izotov_consent_en (local storage) – your choice in the cookie banner, "granted" or "denied", and the date of the list of analytics services you chose for.
• izotov_utm (session storage) – the UTM tags (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term, utm_content) of the link that brought you to the site, if it had any.

2. Yandex Metrica

Yandex Metrica is a web analytics service from Yandex, a Russian company. On the English pages, it loads only after you click "Accept analytics" in the cookie banner. It measures visits, traffic sources and how people use the pages. I have set it up to build a click map, record clicks on external links and measure time on page, which makes the bounce rate more accurate.

Depending on its settings, Metrica may process cookies and other identifiers, your IP address and connection details, device and browser data, the pages you view, where you came from, and events and actions on the page.

Metrica sets cookies with names starting with _ym_, such as _ym_uid and _ym_d, and may use other Yandex identifiers. Some are session cookies; others are kept longer to recognize repeat visits – according to Yandex documentation, the main identifiers last up to one year. Yandex decides the exact list and may change it.

For this processing, I am the controller, and Yandex processes the data on my behalf under the terms of the service. The privacy policy explains where the data is stored and who else can access it.

3. Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a web analytics service from Google. It runs only on the English pages and loads only after you click "Accept analytics" in the cookie banner, together with Yandex Metrica. It measures visits, traffic sources, including visits from AI assistants, and how people use the pages.

It sets two first-party cookies: _ga, which distinguishes visitors, and _ga_ followed by the property ID, which keeps the state of the session. According to Google documentation, both last up to two years. Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses.

Advertising features are off: Google signals and ad personalization are disabled, and the site does not allow advertising cookies. The data is used for statistics only.

For this processing, I am the controller, and Google processes the data on my behalf under the Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which cover Google Analytics. Google may process the data in the United States – the privacy policy explains the transfer.

4. Session recording is off

Session Replay (also known as Webvisor) is a Metrica feature that records a visit – mouse movements, clicks and scrolling. It is turned off on this site, and no sessions are recorded.

The form fields for your name, contact details, website and message are also marked in the page code to be excluded from recording. I have kept this marking in case the feature is ever turned on – the contents of these fields would then be replaced with asterisks.

5. How your choice works

The cookie banner appears the first time you open an English page and stays until you make a choice.

• Until you choose, neither Metrica nor Google Analytics loads, and they set no cookies.
• "Accept analytics" loads Metrica and Google Analytics on the English pages – right away and on future visits.
• "Decline" is remembered, and the banner does not appear again.
• To change your choice, use the "Cookie settings" link at the bottom of any English page. If you withdraw consent you gave earlier, the page reloads so that both services stop right away.
• Withdrawing consent stops any further collection. Cookies that Metrica and Google Analytics have already set stay in your browser until you delete them in your browser settings.
• If you accepted analytics before September 29, 2026, when the English pages used Metrica only, the banner asks you again: your earlier consent does not cover Google Analytics.
• If your browser blocks local storage, your choice cannot be saved, and the banner will ask you again next time.
• Declining analytics does not affect anything else – you can still read every page and send the contact form.

6. The Russian-language pages

The Russian-language pages of this site (everything outside /en/) have their own cookie policy, in Russian. On those pages, Yandex Metrica loads as soon as a page opens, and the site shows a notice with no option to decline. If you decline analytics here and then open a Russian-language page, Metrica will run on that page. Google Analytics does not run on the Russian-language pages.

The Russian-language pages may also store the following values in your browser.

• izotov_cookie_notice (local storage) – a record that you have seen the cookie notice, along with the policy version date, so the notice does not appear again until the policy changes.
• izotov_channel_hidden_until (local storage) – the date until which the Telegram channel note at the edge of the screen stays hidden after you close it (30 days).
• izotov_view_… (session storage, one value per blog article) – a record that your view of an article has already been counted in this session.
• izotov_sem_phrases (session storage) – the number of keywords you entered in the price calculator on the Russian keyword research page, so the request form on the same page can fill it in.

7. What analytics is used for

Analytics shows me which pages people read, where visitors come from, which parts of the interface cause problems and which pages lead to requests. I do not use it to sell personal data or to pass the content of requests to advertising networks or data brokers.

8. How long data is kept

Values in your browser are kept as described in section 1. How long Metrica cookies last depends on the type of cookie, the Metrica settings, your browser and the rules Yandex sets; Google Analytics cookies last up to two years, and Google Analytics keeps the collected data for no longer than 14 months. I keep the analytics data I have access to only as long as I need it for statistics, improving the site, security and meeting legal requirements.

9. Other ways to opt out

Besides the banner, you can limit data collection in the following ways. Blocking all cookies may affect how some other websites work, but the pages of izotov.agency and the contact form do not need analytics cookies.

• Delete and block cookies in your browser settings, usually under privacy or site data.
• Install the official Yandex Metrica opt-out browser add-on, which turns off Metrica on all websites.
• Install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, which turns off Google Analytics on all websites.
• Use private browsing mode.

10. Contact and changes

If you have questions about cookies or analytics, email order@izotov.agency. When technical or analytics data can identify you directly or indirectly, the privacy policy applies to it as well.

I update this policy when there are changes in the technologies I use, the analytics settings or the law. The current version is always on this page with its date.