Cookie policy
Last updated: 26 June 2026.
This policy explains how What's Next uses cookies and similar technologies, and how you can control them. It sits alongside our Privacy Policy.
1. What cookies are
Cookies are small text files a website stores on your device. They let the site work, remember you between visits, and understand how it's used. "Similar technologies" — like local storage and pixels — do comparable things, and we mean those too when we say "cookies".
2. Whether we use them
Ghost, the platform What's Next runs on, sets a small number of essential cookies — for example to keep you signed in and to remember your cookie choices. It doesn't set non-essential cookies by itself. A couple of the services we use — our video player and our payment checkout — also set cookies in order to deliver what you asked for. We do not run analytics or advertising cookies.
3. The categories we use
Our cookie banner groups cookies into three categories:
- Necessary — needed for the site to work: signing in, security, the video player, checkout, and remembering your consent. These are always on and don't require consent.
- Functional — remember choices you make to improve your experience. Off unless you turn them on.
- Analytics — would help us understand how the site is used. We don't run any analytics cookies today; if that changes, they stay off until you agree.
We don't currently run advertising cookies. If that ever changes, this policy and the banner will reflect it.
4. The cookies we set
The cookies we currently set are listed below. We maintain this list and review it periodically; the "last updated" date above shows the latest version.
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Category | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost session / membership | What's Next (first-party, via Ghost) | Keeps you signed in and secures your session | Necessary | Session to ~6 months |
cc_cookie | What's Next (first-party) | Remembers your cookie consent choices | Necessary | ~6 months |
| Cloudflare Stream player | Cloudflare | Delivers and plays the video you requested | Necessary | Session |
| Stripe checkout | Stripe | Fraud prevention during payment | Necessary | Per Stripe (up to ~1 year) |
5. Managing your consent
When you first visit, you'll see a banner letting you accept or reject the optional cookie categories. Optional cookies (Functional and Analytics) are off by default, and you can change your choices at any time using the Cookie settings link — in the site footer and here. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings, though some essential cookies are needed for the site to work properly.
6. Third-party cookies
Some cookies are set by the third-party services we use to run What's Next — our video delivery (Cloudflare) and payment checkout (Stripe). Those providers use the data as described in their own privacy notices; we list who they are in our Privacy Policy.
7. Changes
We may update this policy as the cookies we use change. The "last updated" date above shows the latest version.
8. Contact
Questions about cookies or this policy: [email protected].