Last updated: 16 October 2026
Cookies are small files a website stores in your browser. Some websites also keep information in your browser's local storage, which works in a similar way. This page lists everything our website stores, and why.
We only use cookies and storage that are strictly necessary for the website to work: to keep our forms secure, to let you pay safely, and to remember settings you choose yourself. We don't use any for advertising or for tracking you, which is why we don't ask for your consent or show a cookie banner.
Our visitor statistics don't use cookies either. See
our Privacy Policy for how they work.
If you turn them off there, your browser keeps one setting in its local storage,
sfb-stats-optout, so we know not to count you. It never leaves your device,
and it's only saved if you ask for it.
Cookies
| Name | Set by | What it's for | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHPSESSID | Us | Keeps the booking and contact forms secure: it stops other websites sending forms in your name, and lets us keep what you typed if a form needs correcting. | Until you close your browser |
| __stripe_mid | Stripe | Fraud prevention for card payments. Only set on the booking page, where Stripe's payment form is. | 1 year |
| __stripe_sid | Stripe | Fraud prevention for card payments, as above. | 30 minutes |
Stripe explains its cookies in Stripe's Cookie Policy.
Settings the star map remembers
The Sky Tonight keeps a few of your own choices in your browser's local storage, so they're still set next time. They never leave your device.
| Name | What it remembers |
|---|---|
| sfb_redlight | Whether you switched on red light mode |
| sfb_highcontrast | Whether you switched on high contrast |
| sfb_dark_timer | A dark-adaptation timer you started, so it survives a page reload |
| sfb_rn_seen | Which release notes you've already seen, so they aren't shown again |
| sfb_nightview | Whether you switched the time slider from night (noon to noon) to day (midnight to midnight) |
| sfb_placenames | The town names of up to 50 places you've shown on the map, so the map doesn't have to look them up again (see the star map in our Privacy Policy) |
| sfb_iss_tle | The Space Station's latest orbit, for its passes in the Events panel. Nothing about you; refreshed every 12 hours |
| sfb_place | The place the map last showed the sky from (rounded to about 1 km), so it opens there next time |
| sfb_recent_places | Up to five places you looked up with "Change place", to pick from again |
| sfb_horizon | How high the trees and buildings reach round you, if you set "My Horizon" |
| sfb_fov | The binoculars or telescope you picked in "Binocular View" |
| sfb_tour_offered | That the first-night tour has been offered, so it isn't offered again |
| sfb_smallbodies | The latest comet and asteroid orbits. Nothing about you; refreshed every 12 hours |
The star map also saves its own files in your browser, so it opens quickly and works when you're somewhere dark with no signal. This is the same for any web app that works offline.
Removing them
You can delete cookies and stored site data at any time in your browser's settings, usually under Privacy or Site data. You can also block them, but the booking and contact forms won't work without the first cookie above, and card payments may be refused without Stripe's.
Questions
Email class@stargazingforbeginners.co.uk. For everything else about your information, see our Privacy Policy.