Cookie Policy
Every cookie and storage item this site uses, what each one does, how long it lasts, which third parties receive a request, and how to change your choices.
1. What cookies are and why sites use them
A cookie is a small text file that a website asks your browser to store. When you return, the browser sends the file back, so the site can recognise the same browser. Related technologies — local storage, session storage and pixels — do similar jobs by different means, and this policy covers all of them.
Cookies are not inherently intrusive. A cookie that remembers you chose the dark theme is very different from one that follows you across a hundred unrelated sites. This policy tells you exactly which kind we use.
2. The categories we use
| Category | Do we use it? | Needs consent? | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strictly necessary | Yes | No | Security, load balancing, remembering your cookie choice |
| Preferences | Yes | No (first-party, functional) | Remembering interface choices you made |
| Analytics | Optional | Yes | Aggregate, de-identified page and journey statistics |
| Advertising / targeting | No | — | We do not use these at all |
| Social media tracking | No | — | Social links are plain links; no embedded trackers |
| Cross-site profiling | No | — | We do not sell or share data with ad networks |
3. The full list of what we set
Every item below is first-party — set by btmpprogram.com and readable only by it.
| Name | Type | Duration | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| btmp_cookie_choice | Local storage | 12 months | Records whether you accepted all cookies or essential only, so we stop asking |
| btmp_submission | Session storage | Until the tab closes | Carries your first name and enquiry type to the thank-you page so it can greet you |
| btmp_session | Cookie (essential) | Session | Keeps you signed in to the education platform |
| btmp_csrf | Cookie (essential) | Session | Protects forms against cross-site request forgery |
| btmp_prefs | Local storage | 12 months | Remembers interface choices such as the last article filter you used |
| _btmp_stats | Cookie (analytics, optional) | 13 months | Distinguishes repeat visits for aggregate statistics; set only if you accept analytics |
If you choose "Essential only" in the cookie notice, the final row is never set and no analytics request is made.
4. Third-party requests
We deliberately keep third-party requests to a minimum, and none of them set a cookie for us.
| Destination | Why | What it receives | Sets a cookie? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web font provider | Serving the typefaces used in the design | IP address, browser information | No |
| Image delivery network | Serving photographs | IP address, browser information, image requested | No |
| Video conferencing (platform only) | Live sessions and labs | Data governed by that provider's policy | Yes, on their domain |
The font and image providers receive your IP address as an unavoidable consequence of serving a file to your browser, in the same way any web request works. Neither is used by us to identify or track you. If you would rather avoid these requests, most browsers allow you to block remote fonts and images per site; the site remains usable, with system fonts and illustration fallbacks in place of photographs.
5. Managing your choices
5.1 On this site
The cookie notice appears on your first visit and records your choice for twelve months. To change it, clear this site's storage in your browser and reload the page; the notice will reappear.
5.2 In your browser
- Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Third-party cookies, and Settings → Privacy and security → Site settings for per-site control.
- Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data.
- Safari: Settings → Privacy, and Settings → Websites for per-site rules.
- Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions.
- Mobile browsers: equivalent settings under Privacy.
5.3 Global signals
We honour the Global Privacy Control signal and the older Do Not Track header. If your browser sends either, we treat it as a decision to load no analytics, and we do not show the analytics prompt.
5.4 What breaks if you block everything
- Blocking strictly necessary cookies prevents signing in to the education platform and may cause forms to be rejected.
- Blocking local storage means the cookie notice reappears on every visit and interface preferences are not remembered.
- Blocking session storage means the thank-you page shows a generic message instead of greeting you by name.
- Nothing else on the public site depends on storage; all six articles and every policy page read normally.
6. What our analytics actually measure
If you accept analytics, we collect aggregate information to understand which pages help people and which do not. Specifically we measure:
- Page views and unique visits, by page.
- Referring source at the level of domain, not individual URL.
- Broad device category and browser family.
- Country, derived from a truncated IP address that is never stored in full.
- On-site search terms entered into the article search box.
- Whether a form was started and whether it was completed — not its contents.
We do not record mouse movements, keystrokes, session replays or form field values. We do not join analytics data to your participant record. Reports are read at the level of pages and cohorts, never individuals.
7. Changes to this policy
We update this policy whenever we add, remove or change a cookie or a third-party request. The version and review date at the top of this page always reflect the current text, and material changes reset your stored consent so that you are asked again.
This Cookie Policy should be read alongside our Privacy Policy, which explains our handling of personal information more generally, including your rights and how to exercise them.
How to contact us about this policy
Write to [email protected], or by post to the Legal Team, Black Technology Mentorship Program, 1200 Innovation Way, Suite 400, Atlanta, GA 30308, United States. We acknowledge every enquiry within five working days and aim to resolve substantive questions within thirty days.