Cookie Policy

1. How We Use Cookies

We use cookies for authentication, security, personalization, and performance analysis. Disabling cookies will break critical site functionalities, such as the ability to log in, bookmark tools, or submit reviews.

2. Types of Cookies We Use

A. Essential Security & Authentication Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our site:

• Authentication Sessions: We use secure HTTP-only cookies and access tokens (e.g., `accessToken`, `refreshToken`) to establish and maintain your login session.
• CSRF Protection: We use a `csrf_token` cookie (configured with `SameSite: Lax` and `Secure` attributes) to protect all state-changing endpoints (such as `POST`, `PUT`, `DELETE` operations) from Cross-Site Request Forgery.
• Security Audits: Cookies may track login attempts and security states (such as active session IDs for revocation).

B. Functional & Preference Cookies

These cookies are used to enhance the performance and functionality of our website but are non-essential to its basic use:

• Bookmarks Context: We use localStorage to track guest bookmark selections prior to registration. On login, these are securely synced to the database.
• Theme Settings: Cookies or local storage variables save your theme preferences (e.g., Dark Mode) so they persist on subsequent visits.
• View Count Audits: We use a local storage tracker (`viewedTools`) to count tool page views accurately without inflating metrics.

C. Third-Party Integration Cookies

Some external services we integrate with may place cookies on your device:

• Stripe, Inc.: During checkout and billing portals, Stripe places essential fraud prevention and payment processing cookies on your browser.
• Video Embeds (YouTube / Vimeo): When viewing video demos on tool pages, the embedded players set tracking cookies to monitor playback statistics and bandwidth.

D. Performance & Analytics Cookies

These cookies help us count visits and analyze traffic sources (such as Google Analytics or local analytics events) to measure and improve our site's performance. They help us discover which tools are popular and how users navigate.

3. Managing Cookies

You can control and manage cookies in your browser settings. To learn how to delete or block cookies, visit:

• www.aboutcookies.org
• www.allaboutcookies.org

4. Changes to This Policy

We may update our Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our technology or legal requirements. Any updates will be posted directly on this page, and the date at the top will be revised.