Cookie Policy - STACKD

1. What cookies are, and what this policy covers

A cookie is a small text file that a website stores in your browser. It lets the site recognise your browser on the next request, so you stay logged in, your form submissions are trusted, and your preferences survive a page load.

This policy covers the cookies used by the STACKD website and the STACKD platform. It also covers similar technologies, such as data stored in your browser local storage, where we use them for the same purpose.

How we handle personal data more generally is set out in our Privacy Policy.

2. The cookies we set

This is the complete list. There is nothing on the site that is not in this table.

Cookie	What it does	Type	How long it lasts
stackd_session	Our session cookie. It identifies your browsing session so the app knows who you are between page loads and keeps you signed in while you work.	Strictly necessary	Session. It expires when you close your browser or after a period of inactivity.
XSRF-TOKEN	Holds the cross-site request forgery token. Without it, every form and every save in the app would be rejected. It is a security control, not a tracker.	Strictly necessary	Session, refreshed alongside the session cookie.
Remember me	Set only if you tick "remember me" when logging in, so you are not asked for your password every visit.	Authentication, optional	Persistent. It lasts until you log out, clear it, or it expires.
Appearance	Remembers whether you chose the light or dark theme, so the app does not flash the wrong one on load.	Preference	Persistent. It lasts until you change the setting or clear your cookies.
stackd_consent	Records the cookie choice you made in the banner. It stores three values: whether you allowed analytics, whether you allowed marketing, and the time you chose. It contains no identifier and nothing about who you are.	Strictly necessary, as the record of your consent	12 months, after which we ask again.

To be plain about it: every cookie above is either strictly necessary, an optional login convenience you asked for, a display preference, or the record of your own cookie choice. None of them profiles you and none of them follows you to another website.

3. No third-party tracking today

STACKD sets no analytics cookies, no advertising cookies and no third-party tracking cookies. There is no Google Analytics on this site. There is no Meta pixel. There is no TikTok pixel. Nothing on the site reports your visit to an advertising network.

So why is there a cookie banner at all? Because the consent gate is built and live now, before we need it. If we ever add an analytics or advertising tag, it is wired so that the tag physically cannot load unless you have already given consent for that category. Consent comes first and the script comes second, by design rather than by promise.

If that day comes, this page is updated with the cookie named in the table above before the tag goes anywhere near the site.

4. Your choices

The banner

On your first visit you see a cookie banner with two options:

Accept all. You allow the analytics and marketing categories in advance, so that if such a tag is ever added it may load.
Necessary only. You allow nothing beyond the cookies the site cannot run without.

Because we run no analytics or advertising tags today, both choices currently produce exactly the same set of cookies. We still ask, because your choice is recorded and honoured from the moment it is made.

Changing your mind

The Cookie settings link in the footer of every legal page reopens the banner. Choose again and the new choice replaces the old one straight away. You do not have to clear anything first.

What your choice is stored in

Your answer is saved in the stackd_consent cookie as three values: whether analytics is allowed, whether marketing is allowed, and when you decided. It lasts 12 months, and then we ask you again.

Declining changes nothing

Choosing "Necessary only" does not limit the site or the platform in any way. Nothing is paywalled behind consent, no feature is degraded and no nag is repeated at you. The site works the same either way.

Controlling cookies in your browser

You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings, usually under Privacy or Site settings, in Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge alike. Two things to know if you do:

blocking the strictly necessary cookies will stop you logging in, because the session and the security token are what keep you signed in;
clearing cookies also clears the stackd_consent cookie, so we will ask about cookies again on your next visit.

5. Consent and the law

Cookies in the UK are governed by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, and in the EU by the ePrivacy Directive as implemented in each country. Alongside them, the UK GDPR and the EU GDPR govern any personal data a cookie involves.

The rule is straightforward:

Strictly necessary cookies need no consent. A cookie is strictly necessary when the service you asked for cannot work without it. Our session cookie, our security token cookie and the record of your own cookie choice fall into this group.
Everything else needs consent first. Analytics, advertising and any third-party tag may only be set after you have agreed to it, and may not be set at all if you say no.

Consent has to be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous. It cannot be bundled into accepting our terms, it cannot be assumed from silence or from continued browsing, and refusing must be as easy as accepting. You can withdraw it at any time through the Cookie settings link, and withdrawing is as easy as giving it was.

For customers and users in the United Arab Emirates, we apply the same standard under the UAE Personal Data Protection Law.

6. Changes and contact

If we add, remove or change a cookie, we update this table before the change goes live, and the version number and date at the top of this page move with it. If a new cookie needs consent, you will be asked for it separately rather than being opted in by an update to this page.

Questions about cookies, or a request to see what a particular cookie holds, go to hello@stackd.bot. You can also write to STACKD at Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This policy is governed by the laws of England and Wales.

See also our Privacy Policy, our Terms of Service and our Data Deletion page.