Cookie Policy

This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are, how The Curious Crew uses them, the types of cookies we use, and how you can manage your cookie preferences. This policy should be read alongside our Privacy Policy.

Last updated: February 6, 2026

1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device (computer, tablet, or smartphone) when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently, to provide a better user experience, and to supply information to website owners.

Cookies can be "persistent" (remaining on your device until they expire or are deleted) or "session" cookies (deleted when you close your browser). They can be set by the website you are visiting ("first-party cookies") or by third-party services integrated into the website ("third-party cookies").

2. Legal Basis for Cookies

Our use of cookies is governed by the EU ePrivacy Directive (2002/58/EC as amended by 2009/136/EC) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Under these regulations:

  • Strictly necessary cookies may be placed without your consent, as they are essential for the website to function
  • All other cookies (analytics, marketing, third-party) require your explicit, informed consent before they are placed on your device

You can give, refuse, or withdraw consent at any time through our cookie consent banner or by adjusting your browser settings.

3. Cookies We Use

Below is a detailed overview of the cookies used on The Curious Crew website, organized by category.

3.1 Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are essential for the website to function correctly. They cannot be disabled without impacting core functionality. No consent is required for these cookies.

cookie_consentFirst-party

Provider: The Curious Crew

Purpose: Stores your cookie consent preferences so the banner is not shown repeatedly

Duration: 12 months

__Host-next-auth*First-party

Provider: Next.js

Purpose: Session management and security tokens for authenticated functionality

Duration: Session

CSRF tokenFirst-party

Provider: The Curious Crew

Purpose: Protects forms against cross-site request forgery attacks

Duration: Session

3.2 Analytics Cookies

These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting anonymized, aggregated data. They are only activated after you give explicit consent through our cookie banner. IP anonymization is enabled by default.

_gaThird-party

Provider: Google Analytics

Purpose: Distinguishes unique visitors by assigning a randomly generated identifier

Duration: 2 years

_ga_*Third-party

Provider: Google Analytics

Purpose: Maintains session state across page requests

Duration: 2 years

_gidThird-party

Provider: Google Analytics

Purpose: Distinguishes visitors within a 24-hour period

Duration: 24 hours

_gatThird-party

Provider: Google Analytics

Purpose: Throttles request rate to limit data collection on high-traffic pages

Duration: 1 minute

3.3 Security Cookies (reCAPTCHA)

When Google reCAPTCHA is active on our forms (such as the contact form), cookies may be set to distinguish between human users and automated bots. These cookies serve a security purpose and help protect the website from spam and abuse.

_GRECAPTCHAThird-party

Provider: Google reCAPTCHA

Purpose: Provides risk analysis and bot detection to protect forms from automated abuse

Duration: 6 months

rc::a / rc::b / rc::cThird-party

Provider: Google reCAPTCHA

Purpose: Distinguishes between humans and bots by analyzing browsing behavior

Duration: Session / Persistent

3.4 Payment Cookies

When you make a purchase through our website, Stripe (our payment processor) may set cookies necessary to process your payment securely and prevent fraud. These are considered strictly necessary for the transaction.

__stripe_midThird-party

Provider: Stripe

Purpose: Fraud prevention - identifies the device for secure payment processing

Duration: 1 year

__stripe_sidThird-party

Provider: Stripe

Purpose: Fraud prevention - maintains session integrity during checkout

Duration: 30 minutes

3.5 Booking Cookies

Our booking functionality uses Google Workspace. When you interact with the embedded booking widget, Google may set cookies to facilitate the scheduling process.

Google Calendar cookiesThird-party

Provider: Google Workspace

Purpose: Supports the embedded booking experience and session management

Duration: Varies

4. How We Obtain Consent

When you first visit The Curious Crew website, a cookie consent banner is displayed. This banner:

  • Clearly informs you about the categories of cookies used
  • Allows you to accept all cookies, reject non-essential cookies, or customize your preferences by category
  • Does not place any non-essential cookies until you have made a choice
  • Provides equal visual prominence to "Accept" and "Reject" options, in compliance with GDPR requirements

Your consent preference is stored in a first-party cookie (cookie_consent) so that it can be remembered on future visits. You can change your preferences at any time.

5. Managing Your Cookie Preferences

You have several options for managing cookies:

5.1 Cookie Consent Banner

You can change your cookie preferences at any time by clicking the "Cookie Settings" link in the footer of our website. This will re-open the consent banner and allow you to update your choices.

5.2 Browser Settings

Most web browsers allow you to manage cookies through their settings. You can:

  • View which cookies are stored on your device
  • Delete individual or all cookies
  • Block cookies from specific or all websites
  • Set your browser to notify you when a cookie is being placed

For instructions specific to your browser:

5.3 Opt-Out Tools

You can also opt out of specific third-party cookies:

6. Impact of Disabling Cookies

If you choose to disable or reject certain cookies, please be aware of the following:

Essential cookies

Cannot be disabled. Blocking them via browser settings may cause the website to malfunction - forms may not submit, security features may be impaired.

Analytics cookies

No impact on website functionality. We will not be able to improve our website based on usage patterns.

reCAPTCHA cookies

Forms may require additional manual verification steps. Some anti-spam protections may be reduced.

Payment cookies

Disabling Stripe cookies may prevent you from completing purchases on our website.

Booking cookies

The embedded booking widget may not function correctly if Google cookies are blocked.

7. Similar Technologies

In addition to cookies, our website may use the following technologies:

  • Local storage: Used by the browser to store small amounts of data locally for functionality purposes (e.g., theme preferences, form state). Data persists until cleared.
  • Session storage: Similar to local storage but cleared when the browser tab is closed. Used for temporary interaction state.
  • Server-side sessions: Used to maintain security state (such as rate-limiting tokens and verification codes) on our servers, without placing additional data on your device.

These technologies are subject to the same consent requirements and legal standards as cookies where applicable.

8. International Data Transfers

Some third-party cookies are set by services operated by companies headquartered outside the European Economic Area (EEA), notably Google LLC (United States) and Stripe, Inc. (United States).

Where personal data is transferred outside the EEA through cookies, appropriate safeguards are in place, including:

  • EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)
  • EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework certification (where applicable)

For more details, see our Privacy Policy - International Data Transfers.

9. Cookies and Children

Our website is designed for adults - parents, caregivers, educators, and partners. We do not knowingly use cookies to track or collect data from children under the age of 16.

Non-essential cookies (analytics, reCAPTCHA) are only activated with explicit consent, which should be provided by an adult user.

10. Changes to This Cookie Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, the cookies we use, or applicable legislation. When we make material changes:

  • We will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page
  • We will reset your cookie consent preferences and ask you to re-consent where required
  • We may post a notice on our website

11. Your Rights

Under the GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Be informed about which cookies are used and for what purpose
  • Give or refuse consent for non-essential cookies
  • Withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing
  • Request access to personal data collected through cookies
  • Request deletion of personal data collected through cookies
  • Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority in your EU member state

For full details of your rights, see our Privacy Policy - Your Rights Under GDPR.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Cookie Policy or wish to exercise your rights regarding cookies, please contact us:

Email: team@curious-crew.com

General inquiries: Contact page

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