A plain-English explanation of every cookie and storage mechanism Big Five Personality Test uses, why we use it, and how you can disable it.
2026/05/06
This page explains every cookie and similar storage mechanism used on Big Five Personality Test, why each one exists, how long it persists, and how to disable it. We try to keep the list short. If you spot anything missing, email us at support@bigfivepersonality.me and we will update this page.
A cookie is a small text file that a website asks your browser to store on your device. The browser sends the cookie back to the same site on subsequent visits, so the site can remember things — like whether you are logged in, what language you prefer, or whether you have dismissed a banner.
Modern websites also use related technologies that are technically not cookies: localStorage (a per-site key-value store in your browser), sessionStorage (the same, but cleared when you close the tab), and server-side analytics (which records traffic counts without setting any cookie at all). This page covers all of them, because the practical question — "what does this site remember about me?" — is the same regardless of the underlying mechanism.
We try to use as little client-side storage as possible. Here is everything Big Five Personality Test currently sets, by category.
These are required for the site to function. There is no way to use the site without them.
NEXT_LOCALE cookie — remembers your language choice (e.g. en, zh, es) so we serve the right language on subsequent visits. Persists for 1 year. Set by the site itself; not shared with anyone.theme cookie / localStorage entry — remembers whether you chose light or dark mode. Persists indefinitely. Set by the site itself.bigfive_ (e.g. bigfive_answers, bigfive_current_question). This data never leaves your device unless you explicitly choose to generate a shareable result link. You can wipe it any time by clearing your browser storage for this site.We use anonymous analytics to understand how the site is used in aggregate.
_ga, _ga_* cookies) — pageview counts, country-level location, device type. Persists up to 2 years. We do not enable Google Signals, advertising features, or cross-device tracking. You can opt out across the web by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.We display Google AdSense ads to fund the site.
__gads, IDE, NID) — set by Google when ads load on the page. Used to limit how often you see the same ad and, if you have personalised ads enabled in your Google account, to show ads that are more relevant to you. Persists up to 13 months.For clarity, here is what is not running on this site:
| Mechanism | Lifetime | Mechanism type |
|---|---|---|
NEXT_LOCALE | 1 year | First-party cookie |
theme | Indefinite | First-party cookie / localStorage |
Test progress (bigfive_*) | Until you clear it | localStorage |
Google Analytics (_ga, _ga_*) | Up to 2 years | Third-party cookie |
AdSense (__gads, IDE, NID) | Up to 13 months | Third-party cookie |
You have several ways to reduce or eliminate cookie storage on this site:
If you block cookies or block ads, the test still works. The only thing you lose is the cross-session memory of your language preference and your in-progress test (you would have to restart the test if you closed the tab).
This site is for general audiences. We do not knowingly set advertising or analytics cookies for users under 13. If you are a parent and believe your child has used the site, you can clear all storage from the browser as described above.
If we add or remove any cookie or storage mechanism, we will update this page and bump the date at the bottom. Material changes will also be noted in our changelog.
Questions about cookies or any other data handling on this site? Email support@bigfivepersonality.me. We try to reply within 24 hours on business days.
Last updated: May 6, 2026