Cookie Policy

This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are, how the Dating Standards Calculator uses them, and how you can control them. It should be read together with our Privacy Policy, which covers how we handle personal data more broadly.

What cookies are

Cookies are small text files that a website places on your device when you visit. They let a site remember your actions and preferences over time, and they are a normal part of how most modern websites work. Similar technologies, such as local storage and tracking pixels, do related jobs, and we treat them the same way in this policy.

Why we use cookies

We use cookies to keep the site secure and working, to remember simple preferences such as your theme, to understand how the site is used in aggregate, and, where enabled, to support the advertising that keeps the site free. We aim to use as few cookies as we reasonably can.

We do not use cookies to read the answers you enter into the calculator. That data is processed entirely in your browser and is never linked to a cookie, an advertising profile, or any record on our servers.

The categories we use

A closer look at each category

Essential cookies cover the basics. They help the site load correctly, keep it secure, remember whether you have dismissed a notice, and hold simple display preferences such as your theme. Because these cookies are needed for the site to function, they do not require consent, and they do not track you across other websites.

Analytics cookies help us learn, in aggregate, which pages people find useful and where visitors arrive from. We use that to decide what to improve and what to write next. Analytics is optional, and where consent is required it runs only after you agree.

Advertising cookies are set by our ad partners to show ads that are more relevant and to measure whether those ads work. They are the cookies most likely to be shared with third parties, and they are always optional. You can refuse them and still use every feature of the site.

First-party and third-party cookies

First-party cookies are set by this website. Third-party cookies are set by other companies whose services appear on our pages, most notably advertising and analytics providers. We do not control third-party cookies directly. They are governed by the privacy and cookie policies of the companies that set them, and those companies decide how long their cookies last and what they contain.

Third-party providers we may use

Depending on how the site is configured, it may rely on a hosting provider, an advertising network such as Google AdSense, and a privacy-respecting analytics provider. Each of these may set its own cookies under its own policy. We keep this list short on purpose, and we review it whenever our setup changes.

Advertising cookies and Google AdSense

When advertising is enabled, partners such as Google AdSense may set cookies to serve and measure ads. Google uses cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites. You can opt out of personalized advertising through your Google Ads settings, and you can manage many other advertisers through the Digital Advertising Alliance and the Your Online Choices tools. Where the law requires consent, advertising cookies are only set after you agree.

How long cookies last

Some cookies are session cookies, which are deleted the moment you close your browser. Others are persistent cookies, which stay for a set period or until you delete them. A session cookie might keep you moving smoothly through the site, while a persistent cookie might remember a preference for your next visit. The exact lifetime depends on the cookie and the provider that set it.

Legal background

Our approach follows the main privacy laws that apply to cookies, including the European ePrivacy rules and GDPR, and the CCPA in California. In practice this means essential cookies run because the site needs them, while optional analytics and advertising cookies are only used with your consent where that consent is legally required. You can withdraw consent at any time.

Managing and deleting cookies

You are always in control. Every major browser lets you view, block, and delete cookies through its settings, and most let you refuse third-party cookies specifically. You can also use the industry opt-out tools linked above for advertising. Mobile devices offer similar controls in their settings. Please note that blocking essential cookies may stop parts of the site from working properly.

What happens if you disable cookies

If you turn off optional cookies, the calculator and the rest of the site still work, because the tool does not depend on them. You may see less relevant advertising, and we will have less insight into which pages are useful, but your experience of the core features will not change. If you block essential cookies, some features may behave unexpectedly.

Do Not Track and global privacy signals

Some browsers can send a Do Not Track message or a global privacy control signal. Because there is no single agreed standard for how sites must respond, we do not rely on these signals alone, but we keep optional tracking off until it is needed and we honor the choices you make through your browser and the opt-out tools described here.

Changing your choice

Your consent is not permanent. If you agreed to optional cookies and later change your mind, you can withdraw consent at any time through your browser settings or the opt-out tools mentioned above. Clearing cookies in your browser resets your choices, after which you may be asked again where the law requires it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Cookie Policy as our practices or the law change. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last revised, and we encourage you to check back from time to time.

Contact

If you have questions about our use of cookies, reach us through the contact page and we will be glad to help.