Cookie Policy
Effective: May 7, 2026
This Cookie Policy expands on Section 4 of our Privacy Policy and explains, in more detail, the cookies and similar storage technologies used by theonlinereader.com (the "Service"). For everything else about how we handle personal information, please see our Privacy Policy.
1. What Cookies Are
A cookie is a small text file that a website asks your browser to
store on your device. When you return to the same site, your browser
sends the cookie back, which lets the site recognize you (for
example, to keep you signed in). Related technologies - such as
localStorage and sessionStorage - let a
site store small amounts of data in your browser without sending it
on every request. We disclose those alongside cookies on this page
even though they are technically distinct.
2. How We Use Cookies
The Online Reader uses only strictly-necessary cookies and storage entries - those required for the Service to function (authentication, login state, and remembering that you have seen the cookie notice). Because every entry below is strictly necessary, we do not display a consent prompt for non-essential cookies - we do not set any. The full list:
| Name | Type | Expiry | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
auth_token | HTTP cookie (HttpOnly) | 7 days | Set by /api/v1/auth/login after a successful sign-in. Holds your authentication token; cannot be read by JavaScript (HttpOnly). Cleared on sign-out. |
connect.sid | HTTP cookie (HttpOnly) | Session (cleared on browser close) | Used only during the Google sign-in redirect to securely complete the OAuth round-trip. |
tor-pending-library | sessionStorage | Until browser tab closes | Remembers a rate-this-page action you started before signing in, so you can complete it after login. |
tor-cookie-notice-ack | localStorage | Persistent (until you clear browser storage) | Records that you've dismissed the cookie notice, so the banner doesn't reappear on every page load. |
3. A Note on Cloudflare Web Analytics
The Service is fronted by Cloudflare, which automatically injects a
cookieless analytics beacon (static.cloudflareinsights.com/beacon.min.js)
that measures aggregate site performance - Core Web Vitals, page-load
timings, and visit counts. This beacon does not set
cookies, does not read or write to your browser's
localStorage or sessionStorage, and does
not build a cross-site profile of you. Because it does
not use cookies or device storage, it falls outside the scope of the
cookie table above and the ePrivacy "cookie consent" rules - it is
listed here for transparency. See section 1b of our
Privacy Policy
for the full disclosure, and Cloudflare's
Web Analytics privacy notice
for their side of it.
4. What We Don't Use
Beyond the cookieless Cloudflare beacon described above, the Online Reader does not set or use any of the following on the Service:
- No behavioural or session-replay analytics - no Google Analytics, no Mixpanel, no Hotjar, no Plausible, no Fathom, no Matomo, no other analytics or session-replay tools that profile individual users.
- No advertising or marketing trackers - no Google Ads, no Meta Pixel, no LinkedIn Insight Tag, no retargeting pixels, no affiliate-network cookies.
- No cross-site tracking - we do not place cookies that follow you across other websites, and we do not participate in any cross-site tracking network.
- No fingerprinting libraries - we do not use FingerprintJS or any other browser-fingerprinting technology to identify you across sessions or devices.
- No social-media share trackers - share buttons, if any, are plain links, not embedded SDKs that would set third-party cookies on page load.
5. Browser Controls
Most browsers let you view, delete, and block cookies, and clear
localStorage and sessionStorage entries.
Because the cookies we use are strictly necessary, blocking them
will break sign-in and other core functionality. Standard
documentation from major browser vendors:
6. Updates to This Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time - for example, if we add a new strictly-necessary cookie, or if a third-party service we depend on changes its behaviour. When we do, we will update the "Effective" date at the top of this page. For material changes that affect what data is stored on your device, we will provide a more prominent notice (for example, by re-prompting the cookie banner). Please check back periodically.
7. Contact
Questions about cookies or storage on the Service? Email us at [email protected], or use the contact form.