TRANSPARENCY
Cookie Policy
Exactly what we store on your device, why it's there, and how you stay in control.
Last updated: July 19, 2026
What cookies are
Cookies are small text files a website stores in your browser. Alongside them we use similar technologies like localStorage — same idea, stored a little differently. They let a site remember things between visits: your preferences, your consent choices, or your wishlist. They are not programs and cannot run anything on your device.
How we group them
Our cookie banner offers three categories. Here's precisely what each covers:
Essential & Affiliate
Always activeThe site cannot function without these — they power core features like your wishlist, your cookie choices themselves, and the secure outbound affiliate links that fund our free, independent reviews. Because they're strictly necessary, they can't be switched off.
| Name | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|
ir_cookie_consent | Remembers the consent choices you made in our banner | Until cleared |
ir_wishlist | Stores the products you've saved to your wishlist | Until cleared |
ir_vid | An anonymous identifier so your feedback submissions stay connected | Until cleared |
__session / __client (Clerk) | Keeps you signed in to your account securely | Session / 1 year |
ir_gclid & similar | First-party record of which link brought you here, so purchases you choose to make are correctly credited to us by our affiliate partners | 30 days |
Analytics & Performance
OptionalAnonymous usage statistics — which pages are read, where visitors come from, what's slow — that show us what to improve. These load only if you allow them; declining genuinely prevents them from ever loading.
| Name | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga, _ga_* | Google Analytics | Distinguishes visitors and sessions anonymously | Up to 2 years |
_gid | Google Analytics | Distinguishes visitors for 24 hours | 24 hours |
Personalization
OptionalRemembers preferences to tailor picks and deals to you — for example surfacing categories you browse most. Also strictly opt-in.
Your choices
On your first visit our banner lets you Accept All, choose Essential Only, or Customize each optional category individually. Your decision is saved on your device and respected on every future visit.
Changed your mind later? Clearing this site's data in your browser (Settings → Privacy → Site data) resets everything, and the banner will ask again on your next visit. Every major browser also lets you view, block, or delete cookies globally — see your browser's Help section for the exact steps in Chrome, Safari, Edge, or Firefox.
One honest note: blocking essential storage via your browser will break features like the wishlist and sign-in — that's why the banner can't disable them, but your browser always holds the final override.
Third parties
When you click an affiliate link and continue to a merchant, that merchant and its affiliate network (such as Impact or Awin) operate under their own cookie policies on their own sites — we don't control those, and this policy ends where their pages begin. Our reviews remain independent regardless: partners never see or influence our verdicts.
Questions
Anything unclear? We genuinely answer: contact us. See also our Privacy Policy and Affiliate Disclosure.
