Reader terms
Effective 8 October 2026
Cookie Policy
This page explains how cookies and similar technologies are used on vinnykeates.com. It sits alongside our Privacy Policy, which covers personal data more broadly, and it applies to every reader of the Global Brief — the same way it applies whether you arrived for world affairs, market coverage, or the Shipley Do-Nuts franchise beat.
If something here is unclear, write to NicholasWillis@vinnykeates.com and we will answer with plain specifics rather than policy language.
Reading time
About six minutes, plus the browser settings you may want to change afterwards.
Applies to
Every page on vinnykeates.com, including the archive and each beat section.
Questions
Email the newsroom and tell us which cookie or page you are asking about.
Ground rules
What cookies are
Cookies are small text files that a site stores in your browser. They let a site recognize your browser on later visits and remember settings or state between page loads. A cookie is not a program, it cannot open files on your device, and it cannot read data from other websites you have open in the same browser.
Similar technologies — local storage, session storage, and small browser-side caches — serve comparable functions and are covered by this policy. Where we write "cookies" below, the same commitments apply to those technologies, because the practical effect for you as a reader is the same: something small is stored in your browser and read back later.
Our practice
Nothing here profiles individual readers
How we use cookies
We keep the cookie set small. Essential cookies keep the site working — for example, remembering form state while you are part-way through a submission so your text is not lost if a page reloads. Where analytics are in use, they help us understand which sections readers actually finish and how people move between beats. We do not use cookies to build advertising profiles of individual readers, and we do not sell cookie data.
What it does
Why it is there
- Remembering form state Keeps a draft contact or newsletter submission in place while you finish typing, and clears once the message is sent.
- Keeping a session stable Lets the server recognize the same reading session as you move between a story and the archive.
- Counting page visits Aggregated figures that tell us which beats are read most and where readers tend to leave.
- Storing your display choices Remembers a text size or reading preference so you are not asked to set it on every visit.
- Embedded service requirements Any cookie set by a third-party embed, such as a video player, is controlled by that provider and listed in its own policy.
Types of cookies on this site
Essential cookies
Required for the site to work at all. They carry a session, protect form submissions, and route you back to the right story after a page refresh. These cannot be switched off through site controls — a browser setting is the only way to block them.
Preference cookies
Remember choices you have made, such as a text size, a reading layout, or a dismissed notice. They carry no identifying information about you and expire after a set period of inactivity.
Analytics cookies
If present, they collect aggregated information about page visits — which sections get read, how far down a long report people scroll, and which entry points bring readers in. Reports are reviewed in aggregate, never per person.
Third-party cookies
Set by an embedded service rather than by us — a video player, for instance. Those cookies are controlled by the provider's own policy, and the provider's settings page, not ours, is where you manage them.
Because the site is a single publication rather than a shop, there is no cart or checkout cookie at all. If a future feature changes that, this page and the Privacy Policy will be updated together, with a new effective date at the top.
Why this sits on a policy page
Cookies are the back-end of a reading habit built on city streets like this one.
The Global Brief is filed from Brooklyn and reported from wherever a story lands. The cookie set we keep is deliberately small because the newsroom's resources go into reporting, not into tracking readers between sections. Everything on this page reflects the same standard we publish under in our Editorial Standards: clear terms, explained plainly, checked before they go out.
Managing cookies
Every mainstream browser lets you review what is currently stored, delete individual cookies, and block future ones either site by site or entirely. The exact route differs between browsers, and the built-in help documentation for your browser will name the current menu path. This is the only layer at which some of these controls exist — a preference we have no way to override from our side.
Blocking essential cookies has real consequences. Forms may refuse to submit, a session may drop mid-article, and page state will not survive a reload. If you want to keep reading while limiting what is stored, blocking only non-essential cookies is the usual compromise, and it is entirely your call.
What you do
What changes
- Review what is stored You see each cookie, its site, and its expiry without changing anything yet.
- Block all cookies Site still loads, but forms and session state will not work reliably.
- Block non-essential cookies only Reading is unaffected. Site improvement reporting gets less complete.
- Delete cookies already stored Saved preferences reset. Nothing else changes for you as a reader.
Consent is asked before, not after
Where consent is legally required for a non-essential cookie, we ask for it before that cookie is set — not retroactively, and not buried in a paragraph of terms. Until you agree, the site runs on essential cookies alone. You can withdraw consent at any time, either through your browser settings or by writing to us and saying which category you want turned off.
Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before you withdrew it, and it does not reduce your access to any story. It only stops the relevant cookie category from being set on future visits.
Changes and questions
Updated on this page, with a new effective date
Changes to this policy
Updates are published here with a revised effective date at the top of the page, so you can see at a glance whether anything has moved since your last visit. If a change affects how an existing cookie works, the explanation will say which category and what the practical difference is for you. Questions about a specific cookie, or how to opt out of it, go to NicholasWillis@vinnykeates.com — tell us which page you were on and we will explain what the cookie does.
Does the site use cookies to show me advertising? Open Close
No. We do not use cookies to build advertising profiles of individual readers, and we do not sell cookie data. Analytics, where in use, exists to tell us which sections get read — reviewed as aggregate figures, never per person.
What breaks if I block all cookies? Open Close
Reading mostly continues. What stops working is anything that depends on remembering state: contact and newsletter forms may fail to submit, your position in a long report may reset on refresh, and a display preference will not be remembered between visits.
I opened a story about the Shipley Do-Nuts franchise beat — is that treated differently? Open Close
No. The same cookie set covers every section of the site — world affairs, politics, economy, justice, consumer business, and the franchise coverage. Which story you read does not change which cookies are set, and it is not used to sort readers into categories.
How do I tell you which cookie I want to complain about? Open Close
Email NicholasWillis@vinnykeates.com with the page address and, where you can see it in your browser, the name of the cookie. We will reply with a plain explanation of what it does and how to remove or block it.
Publication details
Vinny Keates — Global Brief
- 315 E 29th St, Brooklyn, NY 11226, USA
- +1 718 469 7363
- NicholasWillis@vinnykeates.com
- Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Related policies
Where to carry on
If you came here from a story, the archive is the quickest way back to it. For anything about your own data, contact is the right desk.