Cookie Policy

Last updated: 2026-10-06

This Cookie Policy explains 4Dev.net's current use of cookies and similar technologies.

1. Cookies 4Dev.net Sets Itself

4Dev.net sets four cookies of its own:

  • lang - stores which language version of the site you're shown (one of the languages offered in the site's language switcher). Expires after 1 year.
  • cookie_consent - records whether you accepted or declined cookies via the banner shown on your first visit, so the banner isn't shown again. Expires after 1 year. This one is set regardless of which button you click - remembering a "no" requires storing that answer somewhere.
  • analytics_consent - records whether you allowed Google Analytics (see section 2), so it's only loaded with your permission. Expires after 1 year.
  • ads_consent - records whether you allowed personalised ads (see section 3); without granted, only non-personalised ads are requested. It only ever contains granted or denied. Expires after 1 year. Visitors in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland answer in Google's consent message instead, which keeps its own record (see section 3).

lang is set two ways, and only after you've answered the consent banner (declining means it's never set automatically - see below):

  • You pick a language yourself from the language switcher in the navigation bar - your choice is saved immediately (this also counts as accepting cookies, since it's a direct request from you) so it follows you to every page from then on.
  • Automatically, on your first visit, based on the country your connection appears to come from - but only if you've accepted the cookie banner. This uses IP-derived, country-level geolocation performed by our hosting network at the network edge - not the precise, device-level location a browser's Geolocation API would ask permission for (GPS, Wi-Fi positioning, etc.). No location permission prompt appears because none of that is used; only a coarse, country-level signal already present in how the request reaches our servers. If your country doesn't correspond to a supported language, the signal isn't available, or you've declined or not yet answered the cookie banner, you're shown English by default and no lang cookie is set.

Once lang is set - by either method - it's what's read on every later visit; the automatic country-based check is not repeated. Picking a different language at any time overwrites it immediately.

No other data is stored in these cookies, and no separate record of your IP address or country is kept alongside them - lang only ever contains a language code (e.g. es), cookie_consent only ever contains accepted or declined, and analytics_consent only ever contains granted or denied.

2. Google Analytics (Only If You Accept)

If you click Accept on the cookie banner, 4Dev.net loads Google Analytics 4, a Google service, to produce aggregate statistics about how the site is used - such as which pages and tools are visited, how visitors arrive, and approximate country and device type. If you click Decline, or haven't answered yet, the Google Analytics script is not loaded at all and none of the cookies below are set. Picking a language from the language switcher saves your language only - it does not turn on Google Analytics.

After you accept, Google Analytics sets these cookies on 4dev.net:

  • _ga - a random identifier that distinguishes one browser from another. Expires after 2 years.
  • _ga_TJN2DMV0EF - keeps track of the current visit (session). Expires after 2 years.

Google Analytics is configured for measurement only: Google signals and ad personalization are turned off, and the data is not used for advertising. Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses, and nothing you type or paste into a tool is sent to it. Google may process this data outside your country, including in the United States - see how Google uses data from sites that use its services.

Changing your choice: you can open the cookie settings at any time to see the banner again. Choosing Decline there deletes the Google Analytics cookies and stops analytics immediately. You can also use Google's opt-out browser add-on.

Cloudflare Web Analytics (no cookies). Separately from the above, Cloudflare, which hosts the Website, measures page views and page-load speed with a script that uses no cookies. It stores nothing on your device, so it is not controlled by the cookie banner. See the Privacy Policy for what it collects.

3. Advertising (Google AdSense)

4Dev.net shows ads served by Google AdSense. Google and its advertising partners may set or read cookies and similar identifiers on your device to show ads, limit how often you see the same ad, measure ad performance and prevent fraud. How this works depends on where you are:

  • European Economic Area, United Kingdom and Switzerland - instead of this site's banner, you see Google's consent message, a consent platform certified under the IAB Transparency and Consent Framework. Your choices there decide whether ads are personalised and which partners may use cookies, and also whether this site may set its language cookie and load Google Analytics. Google stores your answer in its own cookies on this site (such as FCCDCF and FCNEC).
  • Everywhere else - clicking Accept on the banner allows personalised ads; Decline, or no answer yet, means only non-personalised ads are requested. Non-personalised ads are chosen from the page content and approximate location, not from your browsing history, but may still use cookies for frequency capping, reporting and fraud prevention.

Advertising cookies Google may set on 4dev.net include __gads, __gpi and __eoi; others are set on Google's own domains (such as doubleclick.net). See Google's list of advertising cookies, and use Ads Settings to control ad personalisation across sites. Nothing you type or paste into a tool is shared with Google or any ad partner.

Changing your choice: the cookie settings link reopens whichever consent message applies to you.

4. Local Storage and Similar Technologies

Some tools may use your browser's local storage (not a cookie, and not sent to our server) purely to hold in-progress input while you're actively using a tool on your own device. This data stays in your browser and is not transmitted to us.

5. Browser Controls

Your browser lets you block or delete cookies at any time via its settings. Blocking lang only means the site can't remember your language choice between visits (the consent banner will keep reappearing too, since cookie_consent would also be blocked) - every tool still works fully either way.

6. Contact

Questions about this Policy can be sent via the Contact and Error Reporting page.