Cookie Policy
Version 3.0.0 · Effective 22 October 2026
This Cookie Policy explains how Read Pulse uses cookies, local storage and similar technologies when you visit or use the service. It applies to Read Pulse users worldwide. The specific rules on cookies and storage technologies may differ depending on the country or region where you live.
1. What are cookies and similar technologies?
A cookie is a small data file that a website stores, or asks your browser to store, so that the website can recognise a session, keep you signed in or carry out a specific function.
In addition to cookies, Read Pulse uses local storage for certain reader preferences. Local storage is an area inside the browser that lets a website remember settings on your device. Unlike a cookie, local storage data is not automatically sent with every request to the server.
In this Policy, “cookies and similar technologies” covers cookies, local storage and browser-side storage mechanisms with a similar function.
2. Why does Read Pulse use these technologies?
Read Pulse currently uses cookies and local storage for the following purposes:
- To maintain the sign-in session and authenticate accounts.
- To maintain guest sessions when a user actively plays a CYOA story or uses Gamification (AI-powered) while signed out.
- To remember the reader preferences a user actively changes, such as theme, font, text size, line spacing and reading width.
- To remember narration/audio preferences when a user actively uses Audio Mode.
- To support Reader Character features if that feature is enabled in the future.
- To measure, in aggregate, how visitors use the website through Google Analytics.
- To show advertising through TagMesh and Google Ad Manager: to choose and display ads, limit how often the same ad is shown, measure ads, prevent ad fraud and, where allowed, personalise ads.
Read Pulse itself does not build advertising profiles. However, Google and the advertising companies that buy ads through Google set and read cookies through ads on Read Pulse pages, and may use them to recognise your browser across websites and show you targeted ads, unless you opt out.
3. Categories of cookies and storage technologies
| Category | How Read Pulse uses it | Current status |
|---|---|---|
| Strictly Necessary | Necessary in order to sign in, or to provide a feature the user has actively requested, such as a CYOA/Gamification guest session. | In use |
| Functional | Remembers preferences the user has actively set in the reader or in audio. | In use |
| Analytics | Measures behaviour or performance using non-essential cookies/browser storage. | In use (Google Analytics) |
| Advertising / Targeting | Shows, measures and, where allowed, personalises ads; may recognise the browser across websites. | In use (Google Ad Manager via TagMesh, and advertising companies buying through Google) |
4. Detailed table of cookies and local storage
The table below reflects the current configuration of Read Pulse. The durations may be updated if the way a feature works changes.
| Technology / Name | Provider | Purpose | Category | Duration | When it is created/written |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cookie: payload-token | Payload CMS / Read Pulse | Maintains the sign-in session and authenticates the user. | Strictly Necessary | 2 hours from when it was last issued. While a signed-in user keeps using Read Pulse it is renewed, so the session ends after 2 hours without activity or when the user signs out. | Created when the user signs in and renewed while the user is active. |
| Cookie: readpulse_cyoa_guest | Read Pulse | Identifies a guest session so that a CYOA playthrough can continue while signed out. | Strictly Necessary | 90 days | Created when a guest actively uses CYOA. |
| Cookie: readpulse_rp_guest | Read Pulse | Identifies a guest session so that Gamification can continue while signed out. | Strictly Necessary | 90 days | Created when a guest actively uses Gamification. |
| localStorage: readpulse-reader-settings | Read Pulse | Stores theme, font, text size, line spacing and reading width. | Functional | Until it is changed or the user clears site data | Written only when the user actively changes reader settings. |
| localStorage: readpulse-narration | Read Pulse | Stores voice, reading speed and narration preferences. | Functional | Until it is changed or the user clears site data | Written only after the user turns on Audio Mode and changes a preference. |
| localStorage: readpulse-reader-character | Read Pulse | May store the name, age, occupation and personality of a Reader Character entered by the user. | Functional | Until the user clears the data or deletes the Reader Character | The Reader Character feature is currently off; this storage is only used once the feature is enabled and the user actively saves. |
| localStorage: rp-session-renewed | Read Pulse | Remembers when the sign-in session was last renewed, so that several open tabs do not renew it at the same time. It holds only a time and is not sent to the server. | Strictly Necessary | Until the user clears site data | Written when a signed-in user signs in or the session is renewed. |
| sessionStorage: rp-auth-epoch | Read Pulse | Records when the user last signed in or out in this tab, so that a page restored with the Back button reloads instead of showing an out-of-date signed-in or signed-out state. It holds only a time and is not sent to the server. | Strictly Necessary | Until the tab is closed | Written when the user signs in or signs out. |
| localStorage: rp-signup-next | Read Pulse | Remembers the Read Pulse page the user was on when creating an account by email, so that after confirming the email they can return to that page. It holds only that page address and a time and is not sent to the server. | Strictly Necessary | 24 hours, or until the user clears site data | Written when the user creates an account by email. |
| localStorage: readpulse-install-prompt | Read Pulse | Counts return visits by a signed-in user and remembers whether the “Install Read Pulse” invitation was accepted or dismissed, so that it is shown at the right time and not repeated. It stays on the device and is not sent to the server. | Functional | Until the user clears site data | Written when a signed-in user opens Read Pulse. |
| Cookie: _ga | Google (Google Analytics) | Distinguishes one browser from another so that visits can be counted in aggregate statistics. | Analytics | 2 years | Created when a visitor opens a Read Pulse page. |
| Cookie: _ga_ZZBWK4MJLZ | Google (Google Analytics) | Keeps the state of the current visit (session) for Google Analytics. | Analytics | 2 years | Created when a visitor opens a Read Pulse page. |
| Cookie: __gads, __gpi | Google (Google Ad Manager) | Identify the browser to Google’s ad serving, so that ads can be chosen, limited in how often they repeat and measured. | Advertising | About 13 months | Created when a page with ads loads. |
| Cookie: __eoi | Google (Google Ad Manager) | Used by Google’s ad serving for ad delivery and abuse prevention. | Advertising | About 6 months | Created when a page with ads loads. |
| Cookie: FCCDCF, FCNEC | Google (privacy and messaging) | Store the privacy choices made through Google’s privacy message, such as a consent decision or a “Do Not Sell or Share” opt-out, and related state. | Strictly Necessary | About 13 months (FCCDCF) and 1 year (FCNEC) | Created when Google’s privacy and messaging tool loads or when a choice is made. |
| Third-party cookies, for example IDE on doubleclick.net, and cookies of advertising companies on their own domains | Google and advertising companies buying ads through Google | Recognise the browser across websites to show, measure and personalise ads and to prevent fraud. | Advertising | Set by each company; commonly up to about 13 months | Created or read when an ad is requested or shown. The list of companies changes with each ad auction. |
Cookie security: the sign-in and guest session cookies are configured to use appropriate security attributes in an HTTPS environment. Guest identifiers are generated from a random token; the server stores a hash rather than the original token.
Read Pulse does not include storage used only by the internal administration area in the table above, because it is not used in the reader-facing experience.
5. Consent and non-essential cookies
As at the effective date of this Policy, Read Pulse uses Google Analytics cookies (_ga and _ga_ZZBWK4MJLZ) to produce aggregate usage statistics, and shows ads through TagMesh and Google Ad Manager, which use the advertising cookies described above.
Strictly Necessary cookies are used to provide functionality the user has requested, for example signing in or maintaining a CYOA/Gamification session. The Functional local storage entries in the table above are only written after the user actively uses or changes the corresponding feature, with one exception: the install-invitation entry is written when a signed-in user opens Read Pulse, holds only a visit count and the user’s answer to the invitation, and never leaves the device.
Advertising choices are managed through Google’s privacy and messaging tools. Depending on where you are, they may ask for your consent before advertising cookies are used, or show a “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link that lets you opt out of the sale or sharing of your data for targeted advertising. Your choice is stored in the FCCDCF cookie; if you delete it, you may be asked again.
You can also opt out of personalised ads from Google at My Ad Center (https://myadcenter.google.com), and from many advertising companies at https://optout.aboutads.info (United States) or https://www.youronlinechoices.eu (Europe).
Read Pulse does not currently have its own Cookie Settings panel. You can block or delete the Google Analytics cookies in your browser settings, or install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on (https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout); doing so does not affect any Read Pulse feature.
Where applicable law requires consent for a technology in use that is not covered by Google’s privacy and messaging tools, Read Pulse will update this Policy and implement an appropriate consent mechanism.
6. How to manage or delete cookies and data stored in your browser
You can manage or delete cookies and site data through your browser settings. How you do this depends on the browser and device you use.
Deleting some of this data may affect your experience:
- Deleting payload-token will sign you out of your account.
- Deleting readpulse_cyoa_guest may mean you can no longer continue the guest CYOA session associated with that cookie.
- Deleting readpulse_rp_guest may mean you can no longer continue the guest Gamification session associated with that cookie.
- Deleting readpulse-reader-settings or readpulse-narration will return the related preferences to their defaults or require you to set them again.
- Deleting readpulse-install-prompt resets the visit count; the invitation to install Read Pulse may be shown again.
- Deleting _ga or _ga_ZZBWK4MJLZ has no effect on Read Pulse features; Google Analytics will count your next visit as a new visitor.
- Deleting or blocking advertising cookies has no effect on Read Pulse features. You will still see ads, but they may be less relevant. Deleting FCCDCF removes the privacy choice you made through Google’s privacy message.
If Reader Character is enabled, users can delete the Reader Character in the corresponding interface; clearing site data in the browser also deletes the local storage data on the device.
Guest data held on the server is subject to a 90-day retention period under the current policy. Deleting a cookie on your device does not necessarily make the server-side data disappear immediately; server-side data is handled in accordance with the Privacy Policy and the applicable retention period.
7. Third-party cookies and technologies
The main integrations, such as Anthropic, Resend and DigitalOcean, currently operate server-side and do not directly set cookies or local storage in the user’s browser through Read Pulse.
Google Analytics is loaded from Google’s servers on Read Pulse pages and sets the _ga and _ga_ZZBWK4MJLZ cookies listed above. Google processes this data under its own terms and privacy policy (https://policies.google.com/privacy). Read Pulse has not enabled Google Analytics advertising features such as Google Signals or ad personalisation.
Ads on Read Pulse are loaded by TagMesh (https://sdk.tagmesh.io), which runs Google Ad Manager (Google Publisher Tag) on Read Pulse pages. Google, and the advertising companies that buy ads through Google’s ad exchange, may set and read cookies in your browser and receive your IP address, device and browser information and the address of the page. They process this data under their own terms and privacy policies; see how Google uses information from sites that use its services at https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
Read Pulse uses Cloudflare for network infrastructure, CDN and security. The current configuration does not deploy analytics or advertising cookies, Zaraz third-party tools, Turnstile, Bot Fight Mode or custom challenge rules. Cloudflare may apply network protection measures where necessary; those mechanisms serve safety and abuse prevention, and are not used by Read Pulse for advertising or cross-site behavioural tracking.
Cloudflare Web Analytics, if enabled at infrastructure level, operates on a cookieless model and does not use cookies or local storage for analytics.
The buttons that share to Facebook, X, Reddit, Gmail or other services are simply outbound links; Read Pulse does not embed those platforms’ SDKs or tracking pixels. Once you leave Read Pulse, the cookies and policies of the third-party website may apply.
8. Changes to this Policy, and contact
Read Pulse may update this Cookie Policy when features, storage technologies, providers or legal requirements change. A new version will state the version number, the updated date and the effective date.
If a change introduces the use of a non-essential technology requiring consent, Read Pulse will implement an appropriate choice mechanism before using that technology, to the extent the law requires.
If you have questions about cookies, local storage or how Read Pulse uses similar technologies, please contact:
Version history
Version 3.0.0 — 22 October 2026
Read Pulse now shows advertising through TagMesh and Google Ad Manager. The Advertising category is now in use; the table lists Google’s advertising cookies on the Read Pulse domain (__gads, __gpi, __eoi), the cookies of Google’s privacy and messaging tool (FCCDCF, FCNEC) and the third-party cookies set by Google and advertising companies; the consent, management and third-party sections explain how to opt out of personalised ads.
Version 2.1.0 — 21 October 2026
The sign-in cookie (payload-token) still lasts 2 hours, but is now renewed while a signed-in user keeps using Read Pulse, so the session ends after 2 hours without activity. Added three Strictly Necessary browser storage entries used by sign-in: the last session renewal time, the last sign-in or sign-out in a tab, and the page to return to after confirming a new account. No advertising or analytics technology was added.
Version 2.0.0 — 19 October 2026
Read Pulse now uses Google Analytics. The Analytics category is now in use, the table lists the two Google Analytics cookies (_ga, _ga_ZZBWK4MJLZ), and the consent and third-party sections explain how to block or opt out of them.
Version 1.2.0 — 14 October 2026
Added one Functional local storage entry for the “Install Read Pulse” invitation shown to signed-in users: a visit count and the user’s answer, kept on the device only. No advertising or analytics technology was added.
Version 1.1.0 — 29 September 2026
Renamed the story types to Novel, CYOA and Gamification. Gamification is the feature formerly called AI Roleplay; it still uses AI and nothing about how it works or what data it uses has changed.
Version 1.0.0 — 22 September 2026
The business-drafted Cookie Policy 1.0, replacing the placeholder: what cookies and local storage are, why Read Pulse uses them, the four categories, the full table of the six cookies/storage keys in use with provider, purpose, category and duration, the position on consent, how to manage or delete them, third-party technologies, and contact.
Version 0.1.0 — 22 September 2026
Placeholder page so the Cookie Policy link resolves. Awaiting the official text.
See also our Privacy Policy.