Charleston County SC is the home page for this record directory. This page lists the cookies the site sets, what each one does, and how to clear them. The Privacy Policy page covers the wider rules on personal data and retention.
A cookie is a small file that a website asks a browser to store. This policy explains which cookies appear on charlestoncounty-sc.org and what each one does. The site publishes information about court records and county offices in Charleston County, South Carolina. Reading an article never requires a login. Cookies here support basic functions, remember a preference, and measure traffic. A reader can refuse optional cookies without losing the text. Write to info@charlestoncounty-sc.org with any question about this page. One email is enough.
What a Cookie Is
A cookie holds a short string of text, a name, and a date. A site sets it through a response header, and the browser returns it on later requests. Some cookies last for one visit and vanish when the browser closes. Others carry an expiry date months ahead. A cookie cannot run a program, read a file, or pull a name from a device. It identifies a browser, not a person. A reader can inspect and delete every cookie from browser settings.
Why This Site Uses Cookies
The site uses a small number of cookies for three jobs. A necessary cookie keeps a security token valid during a form submission. A preference cookie remembers a text size or a display choice. An analytics cookie counts visits so the publisher knows which articles readers open. None of these files sells a product, and none builds a profile for a broker. A reader who wants a lean visit can refuse the optional groups and keep reading. Text stays open either way.
Necessary Cookies
Necessary cookies keep the site working. One guards a form against a cross-site request forgery. Another holds a session during a correction submission. A load balancer may set a cookie to send each request to the same server. These files carry no advertising purpose, and they do not track a reader across other sites. A browser that blocks them may break a form. The rest of the articles still load without a problem. No page depends on advertising to render.
Preference Cookies
A preference cookie stores a choice so a reader need not repeat it. Text size, contrast, and a collapsed menu are typical examples. The file stays for up to a year if a reader does not clear it. It carries a setting, not a name. A reader can remove it and pick a new setting on the next visit. A preference cookie does not follow a reader to another domain. Clearing it resets the display and nothing more. That outcome suits most visitors.
Analytics Cookies
An analytics cookie helps count visits and page views. It may hold a random identifier that separates one browser from another. Reports show a total, a trend, and a popular article. They do not name a reader or reveal a street address. The publisher uses the numbers to decide which office pages need a rewrite. A reader can block the analytics script and lose nothing but the count. The articles still open at full length. No content sits behind that script.
Advertising Cookies
Advertising may fund hosting. An ad network can place a cookie that limits repeat impressions or measures a click. The network acts under its own notice, and the publisher does not see the profile it keeps. A sponsor has no say in editorial text. A reader who dislikes behavioral ads can opt out through the network’s tool. Blocking the ad script leaves a blank space where the ad would sit. The rest of the page renders in the usual way.
Third-Party Cookies
A page may include a video, a map, or a font served by another company. That company can set a cookie when the item loads. We try to limit embeds to a small set and to load a heavy item only after a click. A reader who never clicks avoids the file. A privacy notice on the provider’s site explains its purpose. We list known providers on this page and update the list when an embed changes. The list stays short by design.
Local Storage and Pixels
A browser offers local storage too, which holds more text than a cookie and sends nothing to a server on its own. A tracking pixel is a tiny image that records a view. This site uses local storage for a draft note in a form and for a dismissed banner. A pixel may appear inside a sponsored slot. A reader can clear local storage from the same settings panel that clears cookies. Clearing it removes a saved draft. Nothing else changes.
Cookie Duration
Session cookies expire when a reader closes the browser. A persistent cookie carries a date and stays until that date or until a reader deletes it. Necessary cookies here last for a session. Preference cookies last up to a year. Analytics cookies last up to two years on the vendor’s schedule. Advertising cookies follow the network’s own calendar. A reader who wants a clean slate can delete all stored files at any time. A fresh start takes one click. No request is needed.
Consent and Choice
A banner may ask a visitor to accept or refuse optional cookies. The choice is stored in a cookie of its own. Refusing costs nothing and blocks nothing except analytics and ads. A reader can change a choice later by clearing the banner cookie or using the settings link in the footer. Consent never covers a necessary cookie, since the site cannot run a form without one. A refusal does not reduce the number of articles a reader may open.
How to Clear Cookies
Open the browser menu and look for a privacy or history section. Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari each place the control in a slightly different spot. Choose the option that deletes cookies and site data, then confirm. A reader may delete everything or only the files tied to this domain. Clearing a single site keeps other logins intact. A mobile browser often hides the same control under settings, privacy, and then clear browsing data. A restart applies the change. Most browsers finish in seconds.
Blocking Cookies by Browser
A reader can block every cookie or allow only the ones set by the current site. Chrome and Edge offer a global block plus a per-site exception list. Firefox offers a strict mode that clears many tracking files. Safari blocks cross-site tracking by default on some versions. A private or incognito window discards cookies at the end of a session, which limits long-term storage. Each option is a setting, not a subscription. No fee and no account apply. A reader stays in control.
Effect of Blocking
Blocking all cookies changes a few things. A form may reject a submission without a security token. A text size choice resets on the next page. A banner appears again, since the site cannot recall the earlier answer. Articles, links, and contact details still work. A blocked ad may leave a gap in the layout. A reader who needs a form to submit should allow necessary cookies for this domain and leave the optional groups off. One exception solves the problem.
Do Not Track Signals
Some browsers send a do-not-track header. No shared standard tells a site how to obey it, and enforcement varies. This site does not alter its cookie behavior when that header arrives. A reader who wants a firm limit should block optional cookies in the browser, which works regardless of a header. We keep the topic on the review list for future updates. A clear setting serves a reader better than a signal with no agreed meaning. That approach avoids guesswork.
Cookies and Email
Email does not set a cookie. A message sent to info@charlestoncounty-sc.org travels through mail servers and lands in an inbox. A link inside a newsletter may carry a code that counts a click. This site does not run a newsletter at present. A reply from the desk carries no tracking pixel. A reader who opens an attachment should check the file type first. The privacy policy describes how a message is stored and when it is deleted. That page covers retention in detail.
Children and Cookies
This site does not target children and does not build accounts for them. A cookie here never asks for a birth date, a school, or a home address. A parent who finds a stored file from this domain can delete it through browser settings. A note to the desk can request an explanation of each cookie in plain language. We answer such a request within a week. A parent’s question gets the same care as any other privacy question. No proof of age is collected.
Updates to This Policy
A new cookie, a vendor change, or a legal shift can cause an edit. The revised page appears here with a later effective date. A material change gets a footer note for thirty days. A reader who visited before an update keeps the choice recorded at that time. We archive older versions for reference. A future entry in the cookie list will name its purpose, its duration, and the company that sets it. That entry gets dated. Readers can check it at any time.
Contact About Cookies
Send a cookie question to info@charlestoncounty-sc.org. Name the browser, the device type, and the page where a banner appeared. A screenshot of the banner helps. We explain what each file does and how to remove it. A reader who wants a site free of optional cookies can set the browser to block them for this domain. We answer within five business days and take no fee for a reply. No account is needed to ask. A plain note works best.