Cookie Policy
Which cookies InstantVisualizer sets, what each one is for, and how to change your choice at any time
Version 1.8 · Last updated 2026-10-05
1. What cookies and similar technologies are
A cookie is a small text file that a website asks your browser to store on your device. On each later request the browser sends it back, which is how a site can remember which language you picked, or that you are signed in.
"Similar technologies" covers anything else that stores or reads information on your device, or that identifies your browser without storing anything, such as local storage or a script that measures page views. We use the phrase throughout this policy because one of the analytics tools listed below works without setting any cookie at all, and the law still applies to what it does.
This policy covers instantvisualizer.com. It does not cover the sites we link to, or the pages our payment provider hosts on its own domains.
2. The cookies we set
The tables below list the cookies InstantVisualizer sets directly, together with the analytics cookies our providers set on our instructions. They are not an exhaustive list of everything a third party may set: where a provider sets further cookies of its own, we say so and link to that provider's documentation rather than reproduce a list we have not verified.
Which of these you actually get depends on what you do on the site and on which features are switched on: you will not receive a session cookie unless you sign in, and you will not receive any analytics cookie unless you have consented to the analytics category.
Set by InstantVisualizer
| Name | Category | What it is for | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
PARAGLIDE_LOCALE | Strictly necessary | Records the language you chose, so that pages load in that language on your next visit | 400 days |
cookie_consent | Strictly necessary | Records your cookie choice: the version of the notice, whether you allowed the analytics category, and when you decided. It is what stops the banner appearing again, and what the site checks before loading any analytics script | 365 days |
sidebar_state | Strictly necessary | This cookie is written when you expand or collapse the sidebar on a desktop-sized screen. It is currently written but not read back: the sidebar always loads collapsed, so the value has no effect on what you see. We keep writing it because restoring that preference is a change we may make, and the value is a single word you chose yourself | 7 days |
better-auth.session_token | Strictly necessary | This cookie holds your session token and is what keeps you signed in between requests. Over HTTPS the browser receives it under the name __Secure-better-auth.session_token; the __Secure- prefix is added in production and is absent only on plain-HTTP local development | 7 days |
better-auth.session_data | Strictly necessary | This cookie is a short-lived cache of your session, used so that the service does not have to query the database on every single request | 5 minutes |
Set by our analytics providers
These are only set if you have consented to the analytics category, and only if that particular tool is configured for this site.
| Name | Category | What it is for | How long it lasts | Set by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
_ga | Analytics | Distinguishes one visitor from another | 2 years | Google Analytics 4 |
_ga_<container-id> | Analytics | Keeps the state of the current analytics session | 2 years | Google Analytics 4 |
Plausible sets no cookies at all. It measures page views without writing anything to your device (no cookie, no cache entry, no local storage) and without a persistent identifier. Because nothing is stored on or read from your device, the consent rules that apply to cookies do not apply to it, and it runs on our legitimate interest in knowing which pages are used. It processes your IP address to work out an approximate country and then discards it; it builds no profile of you and follows you to no other site.
The Plausible instance behind this site is our own. We run the open-source software ourselves, on a server we rent in the United States, so the company that publishes Plausible receives none of this data. Section 7 of the Privacy Policy names the company that hosts that server.
This means the analytics toggle does not control Plausible. It governs the cookie-setting provider listed in the table above. Declining, or never answering the banner, stops that provider and leaves the cookieless measurement running. Section 4 explains what you can do about that.
Cookies we do not control
This policy covers what happens on instantvisualizer.com. It does not cover cookies set on a third-party site we link to, or any further cookie a provider named above sets beyond the ones listed here. Those are governed by that party's own cookie and privacy policies, not by this one.
Checkout and the customer portal are one such case: our payment provider hosts them on its own domains, and any cookie set there is set by that provider under its own policies.
3. The categories we use
Strictly necessary
These make the site work: remembering your language, remembering your cookie choice itself, keeping you signed in. They do not track you, and they are not used for advertising.
They cannot be switched off through the banner, because without them the service cannot do what you asked it to do. You can still block them in your browser, but parts of the site will stop working.
Analytics
These tell us which pages are used and where people get stuck, so we can improve the product. The providers in this category set cookies, so they are only loaded after you consent, and they are never loaded before the banner has been answered.
Cookieless measurement is not in this category and is not covered by the toggle, for the reason given in section 2.
You can withdraw this consent at any time; see section 4.
Marketing
These would be set by advertising partners to build a profile of your interests and to measure advertising campaigns across sites.
This site does not use them. No advertising or remarketing technology is installed. If that ever changes, this policy and the consent banner will be updated first, and we will ask for your consent before any such cookie is set.
4. How to manage your choices
The banner. On your first visit you are asked to accept or reject the analytics category, or to open the preferences dialog and choose per category. The reject button carries the same visual weight and takes the same single click as the accept button, and nothing in the analytics category is loaded until you have chosen. The banner appears only where a cookie-setting analytics provider is configured; a site running only cookieless measurement has nothing to ask you and shows no banner.
The "Cookie preferences" link. Where analytics is in use on this site, a "Cookie preferences" link is available on every page: at the bottom of the footer on our public pages, and at the bottom of the page on pages that have no footer, such as the sign-in and account pages. Use it to change your mind or to withdraw consent entirely, at any time, without contacting us. When you withdraw consent, the page reloads so that any analytics script already running is stopped, and the analytics cookies we know about are removed.
Your browser. Every major browser lets you block or delete cookies: Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge. Blocking strictly necessary cookies will break sign-in and other basic functions.
Opting out at the provider. Independently of the choice you make here:
- Google Analytics offers a browser add-on that opts you out on every site: tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
- Plausible sets no cookies and builds no cross-site profile, so there is nothing to opt out of at its end, and rejecting the analytics category does not stop it. Our Plausible runs on our own server rather than on the vendor's, so there is no third party to opt out of at all. If you object to this measurement, a browser-level content blocker will stop the script, and you can contact us at support@instantvisualizer.com to exercise your right to object under Article 21 of the UK GDPR.
5. If you say no to analytics
Nothing breaks. Every feature of InstantVisualizer works exactly the same whether you accept analytics or not. We do not restrict content, degrade the service, or keep asking. The only difference is that no analytics cookie is placed on your device and your visit is not counted by the cookie-setting providers. Cookieless measurement, which stores nothing on your device either way, continues; section 2 explains why and section 4 explains how to object.
6. Changes and contact
We update this policy whenever the set of cookies changes. Where a change is material we will ask for your consent again through the banner. The version number and date at the top of this page tell you which text is currently in force.
For anything about cookies, or about privacy generally, write to support@instantvisualizer.com. Our full privacy notice is the Privacy Policy.
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