Cookie policy
Last updated: 24 September 2026
Cookies are small pieces of data a website stores in your browser. This page lists every cookie and similar browser-storage entry the Academy uses, and lets you change the choice you made in the cookie banner. Analytics and advertising cookies are only used if you allow them. How we handle personal data in general is in the privacy policy.
Change your choice
Your current choice is shown below. Saving reloads the page so the change takes effect straight away. Turning analytics off also deletes the Google Analytics cookies from this site.
Your privacy choices
Necessary cookies (always on)
The site cannot work properly without these, so they don't need your consent. None of them is used for advertising or shared with anyone.
| Name | What it does | How long |
|---|---|---|
| bta-consent | Remembers your cookie choice, so we don't ask again on every page. | 1 year |
| NEXT_LOCALE | Remembers which language version of the site you last used. | Until you close your browser |
| __Secure-authjs.session-token | Keeps you signed in. Set only when you sign in; removed when you sign out. | Up to 30 days after your last visit |
| __Host-authjs.csrf-token | Protects the sign-in forms against forged requests from other sites. | Until you close your browser |
| __Secure-authjs.callback-url | Remembers which page to return you to after signing in. | Until you close your browser |
Referral cookie
This cookie is set without asking, and only when you arrive through a referral link. It is used for nothing except crediting the member who referred you. If you don't want it, open the site without the ?ref= part of the link, or delete the cookie in your browser.
| Name | What it does | How long |
|---|---|---|
| bta_ref | Set only when you open a member's referral link (?ref=…). Holds that referral code so the member gets credit if you create an account. It is read only by the Academy. | 30 days |
Analytics cookies (only with your consent)
If you allow analytics and Google Analytics is switched on for the site, your browser loads Google Analytics 4 and Google sets these cookies. They help us see which lessons and pages are used, so we know what to improve. Google also offers its own Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.
| Name | What it does | How long |
|---|---|---|
| _ga | Google Analytics: tells one visitor's page views apart from another's. | 2 years |
| _ga_<id> | Google Analytics: keeps track of the current visit. | 2 years |
Marketing cookies (only with your consent)
Our ad spaces normally show our own “Advertise here” placeholder, which sets no cookies and loads nothing from anyone else. If third-party ads are switched on and you allow marketing cookies, ads are loaded in a frame from the A-Ads network (a-ads.com), which may set its own cookies under A-Ads' privacy policy. Without marketing consent, no ad network is contacted.
Bot check (only when switched on)
If Cloudflare Turnstile is switched on, the Login Key sign-up form loads it from Cloudflare to tell people from bots. Cloudflare processes browser signals for that check under its own privacy policy.
Browser storage
These entries live in your browser's local or session storage. They are not cookies and are not sent with each request; other websites cannot read them. The only one ever sent to our server is the guest preview score described below.
| Name | What it does | How long |
|---|---|---|
| bta_sound | Whether you turned sound effects on. | Until you clear it |
| bta_sessions, bta_install_dismissed | Counts your visits so the “install the app” suggestion appears only after a few, and remembers if you dismissed it. | Until you clear it |
| bta_counted | Stops the same visit being counted twice (session storage). | Until you close the tab |
| bta_guest_v1 | Your score from the Scam Spotter guest preview. When you next sign in it is sent to your account once, as a note (never as XP), and deleted from the browser. | Until you sign in or clear it |
| bta-verify-code | Holds your one-time forum verification code while you paste it into your profile (session storage). Removed when verification finishes. | Until you close the tab |
The site also registers a service worker, which keeps copies of some pages and files on your device so the site loads faster and can show an offline page when you lose your connection.
Other ways to control cookies
- Every browser lets you see and delete cookies and site data in its settings.
- Deleting the
bta-consentcookie makes the cookie banner appear again on your next visit. - Blocking necessary cookies will stop sign-in from working.