Cookie Policy

Overview

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a site. They help the site function, remember your choices and understand how it is used. We use only the cookies described here and ask for consent before setting any that are not essential.

What Cookies Are

A cookie stores a small amount of information that a site can read back on later visits. Similar technologies, such as local storage and pixels, work in comparable ways. In this policy we refer to all of them together as "cookies".

Why We Use Them

We use cookies to keep the site secure and working, to remember your cookie preferences, and to understand in aggregate which pages are read so we can improve them. We do not use cookies to build advertising profiles.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are required for the site to function and cannot be switched off. They include cookies that remember your consent choices and keep the site secure. Without them, parts of the site would not work correctly.

Analytics Cookies

With your consent, we use analytics cookies to count visits and see how the site is used, in aggregated form. This helps us decide which guides and templates to improve. You can decline these without affecting how the site works.

Preference Cookies

Preference cookies remember choices you make, such as dismissing the cookie banner. They improve your experience but are not essential for the site to load, and you can decline them in the settings.

Third-Party Cookies

Some cookies are set by providers we use for analytics or hosting. These providers process data under contract and their own policies. We keep the number of such providers to the minimum needed to run the site.

Duration

Session cookies are deleted when you close your browser. Persistent cookies remain for a set period, typically up to twelve months for preference cookies and up to twenty-six months for analytics cookies, unless you clear them sooner.

Managing Cookies

You can change your choices at any time through the cookie settings control in our footer. You can also manage or delete cookies in your browser settings, though disabling essential cookies may affect how the site works.

Consent

When you first visit, we ask you to accept all, reject non-essential, or open settings. We set non-essential cookies only after you consent, and we record your choice so we do not ask again unnecessarily.

Do Not Track

Some browsers send a "do not track" signal. Because there is no shared standard for how sites should respond, we do not change behaviour based on it, but we honour the choices you make in our own cookie settings.

Updates

We may update this policy as our use of cookies or the law changes. We will revise the date above and, where appropriate, prompt you to review your preferences again.

Common Questions

Do I have to accept cookies?

Only strictly necessary cookies are required; everything else is optional.

How do I change my choice later?

Use the cookie settings control in the footer at any time.

Do you use cookies for advertising?

No. We do not use cookies to build advertising profiles.

Will declining break the site?

No. Declining non-essential cookies leaves the site fully functional.

Contact

For questions about cookies, call (415) 555-0192 or write to VistaForge, 2450 Market Street, Suite 310, San Francisco, CA 94114. We will be glad to help.