Cookie Policy
The cookies and similar technologies on africasveryown.com, and the choices you have.
This policy explains the cookies and similar technologies used on africasveryown.com, the website of Africa’s Very Own Magazine (AVO), and the choices you have. It describes what the website actually does today.
The short version
- AVO does not use analytics, advertising or social media tracking cookies, and does not follow you around other websites.
- A few small items are needed for the website to work and stay secure. They are always on.
- The only optional technology is embedded media: video and audio players from YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud and Audiomack inside some stories. They stay off until you choose to load them.
- You can change your choice at any time with Cookie settings, at the bottom of every page.
What cookies and similar technologies are
Cookies are small text files a website asks your browser to keep. Browsers also offer similar storage, such as local storage, that works in much the same way. In this policy “cookies” covers both. Some are set by the website you are visiting (first-party); others are set by another company whose content appears on the page (third-party).
Necessary: always on
These are needed for the website to work, to keep it secure, or to do something you have asked for. They do not track you and cannot be switched off in Cookie settings, though you can still clear them in your browser.
Your cookie choice
Name: avo-consent (local storage). Provider: AVO. Purpose: remembers whether you allowed embedded media, when you chose, and which version of this policy you saw, so we don’t ask again on every page. It holds only those details, nothing that identifies you, and it is never sent to AVO. Duration: until you change your choice or clear your browser’s storage. We ask again if this policy changes in a way that affects your choice.
Light or dark display
Name: avo-theme (local storage). Provider: AVO. Purpose: remembers whether you chose the light or dark look. It is stored only when you press the light/dark switch. Duration: until you clear your browser’s storage.
Security check on forms
Provider: Cloudflare (Turnstile). Purpose: when you use the newsletter sign-up, the Contact form, the Write for AVO form or a sign-in form, a brief check confirms a person is sending it, not an automated script. It runs only on those forms and usually happens without you noticing. Cloudflare processes technical information about your browser and connection to do this.
Hosting and security
Provider: Cloudflare, which hosts and protects the website. Purpose: Cloudflare may set a short-lived security cookie (for example __cf_bm) when it needs to tell people apart from automated traffic. Duration: typically 30 minutes.
Staff sign-in
Name: avo_session. Provider: AVO. Purpose: keeps AVO staff signed in to the studio, the private area where the magazine is edited. Readers never receive it. Duration: 30 days, or until the person signs out.
Optional: embedded media
Some stories include a video or audio player from YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud or Audiomack. When a player loads, your browser connects to that company, which can set its own cookies, see that you visited the page and link it to an account you hold with them. AVO does not control those cookies; each company’s own privacy and cookie policies apply.
So players do not load until you allow them. Until then you see a placeholder with three choices: load that one player, allow embedded media on every page, or open the content on the provider’s own website. YouTube players use YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode (youtube-nocookie.com), which limits YouTube cookies until you press play.
If you allow embedded media and later turn it off, players stop loading straight away. Cookies those companies have already set stay in your browser until they expire or you delete them; AVO cannot remove another company’s cookies. As an example, when we checked, Spotify’s player set a cookie lasting a year as soon as it loaded.
Links to Instagram, X, TikTok and other networks appear as plain links. Nothing is loaded from those networks unless you follow the link.
What AVO does not use
- No analytics or measurement cookies.
- No advertising or marketing cookies.
- No social media pixels or tracking tags.
- No fingerprinting or other attempts to recognise your device without cookies.
If that ever changes, we will update this policy first and ask for your consent before anything optional is used.
Other services the website uses
Fonts: the website’s typefaces are served from AVO’s own website, so showing them involves no request to Google or any other company.
Newsletter: our emails do not contain tracking pixels, and links in them are not tracked.
How to change your choice
Use Cookie settings, here or at the bottom of every page, to see and change your choice. Your browser’s settings also let you delete cookies and stored data, or block them. Blocking necessary items may stop parts of the website, such as the forms, from working.
Changes to this policy
We will update this policy when the website changes. If a change affects the choices you have made, we will ask you again.
Contact
If you have questions about this policy, email .
Last updated: 8 October 2026.