Cookie Policy
Vouch Rate sets no advertising or retargeting cookies, and nothing that follows you to other sites. We count visits ourselves for statistics, and you can object to that below. Google Analytics, and linking the pages you view to our fraud checks, are optional — they stay off unless you say yes. This is the complete list of what we store and read.
Cookies we set
| Name | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga, _ga_* | Google Analytics, only after you accept. Counts visits and which pages get used. | Up to 2 years | Analytics — consent required |
better-auth.session_token | Keeps you signed in. Signed and HTTP-only, so it cannot be read by scripts. | 30 days | Strictly necessary |
better-auth.session_data | A short-lived cache of your session so each page load need not query the database. | 5 minutes | Strictly necessary |
better-auth.csrf | Protects forms against cross-site request forgery. | Session | Strictly necessary |
Strictly necessary cookies do not require consent under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, because the service cannot function without them.
Counting visits
To see which pages are used and how people find us, Vouch Rate counts page views itself, under the exception the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations make for statistics used to improve a service. We record the page, the website or campaign link that brought you, your country and approximate town, whether you are on a phone, tablet or computer, your screen size, language and time zone, how long the page was on screen and how far down you scrolled. A random id in your browser’s storage tells us whether you have visited before. We do not keep your IP address, and none of this is shared with anyone or used to make decisions about you. The records are deleted after 13 months.
You can object at any time with the control above, which also deletes the random id. If your browser sends Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control, you are not counted at all.
Fraud checks
When you sign up, sign in, write, edit or report a review, your browser sends a device fingerprint — made from your screen, time zone, languages, graphics hardware, installed fonts and whether it reports automation software — and keeps a random id for the same purpose. This is strictly necessary to prevent and detect fraud, such as one person writing reviews from several accounts, so it does not depend on the choices above. It is used for nothing else, and it is hashed before we store it. See the privacy policy.
If you accept optional analytics, the pages you view are also linked to that fingerprint, so a moderator can see the browsing behind a suspicious review.
Stored in your browser
| Name | Purpose | Type |
|---|---|---|
vr_analytics_consent | Your answer to the optional analytics question. | Strictly necessary |
vr_device | A random id used only by the fraud checks described above. | Strictly necessary — fraud prevention |
vr_device_checked | Session storage: stops the fraud check repeating on every page. | Strictly necessary — fraud prevention |
vr_visitor | A random id that tells our statistics whether you have visited before. | Statistics — you can object |
vr_stats_optout | Remembers that you objected to our statistics. Kept in your browser’s storage and as a cookie, so the searches you make are not counted either. | Strictly necessary |
vouchrate-theme | Your light or dark theme preference. Never sent to us. | Appearance |
Widgets on other sites
Our review widgets render inside a sandboxed iframe on the host page. The widget sets no cookies and cannot read the host page. If you are signed in to Vouch Rate, your session cookie is not sent to the widget, so a widget cannot identify you.
What we do not do
- No advertising or retargeting cookies.
- No analytics cookies unless you agree to them — our own visit counting, above, sets none. Google Analytics runs with storage denied until you accept, which means no cookie and no way to recognise you. If you accept, it counts your visits on this site only — advertising and personalisation signals stay off either way, so you are not profiled across other sites.
- Changing your mind takes one click, above, and applies immediately.
- No fingerprinting for advertising or tracking across sites. The device fingerprint is taken only on the actions listed above, hashed, kept for 13 months and used only to prevent fraud — see the privacy policy.
Controlling cookies
You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Blocking the strictly necessary cookies above will prevent you signing in, but you can still read reviews.