The small files we store in your browser, why they exist, and how you can control them. We keep it minimal and explain everything in plain English.
Last updated: 22 April 2026
Effective date: 22 April 2026
This Cookie Policy explains how StrangerMeetup uses cookies and similar technologies on strangermeetup.cam. It should be read alongside our Privacy Policy. This Policy is governed by the laws of the Netherlands and the EU ePrivacy Directive.
A cookie is a small text file stored in your browser when you visit a website. Cookies let sites remember things between visits — for example, that you already passed an age gate, or what language you prefer. Similar technologies include local storage, session storage, and pixels. For simplicity, this Policy refers to all of them as “cookies.”
Cookies can be:
Under EU and Netherlands law, cookies are grouped into four categories. Each has different consent rules:
| Category | Consent required? | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | No | Strictly necessary for the Service to function. Without these, the site won’t work. |
| Functional | No* | Remember preferences like language or display settings. *Limited exemption under Dutch law. |
| Analytics | Yes | Help us understand how users interact with the site in aggregate. |
| Advertising | Yes | Used for targeted advertising (we do not currently use these). |
These cookies are strictly necessary for StrangerMeetup to function. They cannot be disabled without breaking the site.
| Name | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
sm_age_verified |
Remembers that you passed the 18+ age gate so we don’t show it on every visit. | 30 days | Local storage |
PHPSESSID |
Temporary session identifier used by WordPress. | Session only | First-party cookie |
wordpress_* |
WordPress-related cookies for logged-in administrators (not regular users). | Session / 2 weeks | First-party cookie |
cookieyes-consent |
Remembers your cookie preferences once you set them via the consent banner. | 12 months | First-party cookie |
Essential cookies are exempt from the consent requirement under Article 11.7a of the Netherlands Telecommunications Act (Telecommunicatiewet) and the EU ePrivacy Directive, because they are strictly necessary for us to deliver a service you have explicitly requested.
Functional cookies remember choices you make on the site to give you a better experience. We currently use very few, but may add more if we introduce features like language selection or display themes.
| Name | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|
sm_country_preference |
Remembers the country filter you selected for random matching (if you set one). | 30 days |
Analytics cookies help us understand how people use StrangerMeetup in aggregate so we can improve it. These cookies only run if you give your consent through our cookie banner.
If we use analytics in the future, it will be through a privacy-friendly provider that anonymises IP addresses and does not track you across other websites. Candidates include Plausible, Fathom, or a similarly configured Google Analytics 4 setup.
| Potential cookie | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga |
Google Analytics | Distinguish unique users (only with consent). | 2 years |
_ga_* |
Google Analytics | Persist session state (only with consent). | 2 years |
_pk_id |
Matomo (self-hosted) | Store visitor ID (only with consent). | 13 months |
You can withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the “Cookie settings” link in our footer or by clearing the cookie banner preference and reloading the page.
We do not currently use advertising cookies on StrangerMeetup. We don’t run retargeting campaigns, we don’t load advertising networks’ tracking scripts, and we don’t share browsing data with data brokers.
If this changes in the future, we will:
Some content on StrangerMeetup is delivered by third parties whose own cookies may be set when you interact with their content:
| Provider | Why we use it | Their privacy policy |
|---|---|---|
| Google Fonts | Delivers the Inter and Syne fonts used across the site. | policies.google.com/privacy |
| Affiliate partners | If you click a link to an affiliate site, that site may set its own cookies when you arrive there. | See the affiliate’s own policy |
Clicking a link to a third-party site takes you outside StrangerMeetup and subjects you to their cookies and privacy practices. We have no control over those cookies.
You have several ways to control cookies:
When you first visit the site, you can accept or reject non-essential cookies through our consent banner. You can change your choice at any time by clicking “Cookie settings” in the footer or clearing your cookieyes-consent cookie.
Every modern browser lets you view, block, or delete cookies. Guides for the major browsers:
Blocking essential cookies will prevent the site from functioning — for example, the age gate will appear on every visit. Blocking analytics or advertising cookies does not affect site functionality.
Industry opt-out tools: You can opt out of interest-based advertising from many networks at once via youronlinechoices.eu (Europe) or optout.networkadvertising.org (global).
Some browsers include a “Do Not Track” (DNT) setting that lets you signal websites not to track you. Because there is no consistent industry standard for honouring DNT, we currently rely on our cookie banner for consent management instead. If this changes, we will update this Policy.
If you are in California, the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal is treated as a valid opt-out request under the CCPA.
We may update this Cookie Policy when we add, change, or remove cookies on the site. When we make material changes we will:
Questions about this Cookie Policy, our cookie practices, or a specific cookie on the site:
For further information about cookie law in the Netherlands, you can contact the Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM) at acm.nl, which oversees cookie enforcement, or the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens at autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl for data protection matters.
Thank you for reading. Privacy matters — and we keep the cookies to the bare minimum.