Cookie Policy
Last updated: July 30, 2026 · Version 2026-07-30
The short version. Stove Pals uses very few cookies. The essential ones keep you signed in and remember your cookie choice, and they cannot be turned off. The optional ones — Google Analytics and the Meta Pixel — do not load at all until you accept them. You can change your mind at any time using the Cookie settings link in any page footer.
This policy explains the cookies and similar technologies we use, what each one is for, and how to control them. It supplements our Privacy Policy.
1. What these technologies are
A cookie is a small text file a website stores in your browser. We also use two related technologies: local storage and session storage, which hold small values in your browser without sending them to a server, and IndexedDB, a browser database that our authentication provider uses to keep you signed in.
This policy covers all of them, because the law that governs cookies in the EU and UK applies equally to any information stored on or read from your device.
2. Strictly necessary — always on
These are required for the Service to function. They do not track you across other websites, are not used for advertising, and cannot be switched off through our banner. You can still block them in your browser settings, but the Service will not work properly if you do.
| Name | Type | Purpose | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firebase authentication tokens | IndexedDB / local storage (first party) | Keeps you signed in between visits and refreshes your session securely. Set by Google Firebase Authentication. | Until you sign out or clear browser data |
sp_cookie_consent |
Local storage (first party) | Remembers whether you accepted or rejected optional cookies, and when. Without it we would have to ask you on every page. | 12 months |
plannerMode, showCalories |
Local storage (first party) | Remembers your display preferences, such as which planner view you last used and whether calories are shown. | Until you clear browser data |
cookRecipe
|
Local storage (first party) | Keeps your place in cooking mode so a refresh or a locked screen does not lose your progress or running timers. | Until you clear browser data |
openMealInLibrary, notification-seen keys |
Session storage (first party) | Carries a single navigation intent between pages, and avoids showing you the same in-app notice twice in one session. | Until you close the tab |
sp_first_plan_tracked |
Local storage (first party) | Records that your first-plan milestone has already been counted, so it is not counted twice. Contains no personal information. | Until you clear browser data |
3. Analytics — optional, off by default
These help us understand which features people actually use, so we can improve the ones that matter and remove the ones that do not. They load only after you accept.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga |
Google Analytics 4 | Distinguishes one browser from another so visits can be counted without identifying you by name. | 2 years |
_ga_<container-id> |
Google Analytics 4 | Maintains session state for this specific property. | 2 years |
Google Analytics receives pseudonymous event data, your device and browser type, the pages you view, and a truncated IP address. See Google’s Privacy Policy. You can also install Google’s opt-out browser add-on for a device-wide opt-out.
4. Advertising — optional, off by default
We advertise Stove Pals on Meta’s platforms. The Meta Pixel tells us whether an advert led to a signup, and lets Meta build audiences for our adverts. It loads only after you accept.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
_fbp |
Meta (Facebook) | Identifies your browser so Meta can attribute a signup to an advert and include you in advertising audiences. | 3 months |
_fbc |
Meta (Facebook) | Stores the click identifier from a Meta advert you followed to reach us, where applicable. | 3 months |
Meta receives page-view and signup events, cookie identifiers, and your IP address. See Meta’s Privacy Policy and its ad preference controls.
We do not display adverts inside Stove Pals, and we do not sell your personal information to advertisers.
5. Third-party assets
Some assets are loaded from other domains: fonts from Google Fonts, and icon styles from Cloudflare’s CDN. These do not set cookies for us, but the provider necessarily receives your IP address and browser information in order to serve the file. They are required for the site to render correctly and are treated as strictly necessary.
6. How to control cookies
6.1 Our banner
The first time you visit, we ask whether to enable analytics and advertising cookies. Nothing optional loads until you choose. You can change your answer whenever you like:
The same control appears as Cookie settings in the footer of every page.
6.2 Global Privacy Control
If your browser or extension sends the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, we treat it as a standing rejection of analytics and advertising cookies. We detect it automatically, do not show you the banner, and do not load those trackers.
6.3 Your browser
Every major browser lets you block or delete cookies and site data directly — usually under Settings → Privacy. Blocking all cookies and storage will sign you out of Stove Pals and prevent you from signing back in, because authentication depends on it.
6.4 Do Not Track
There is no accepted industry standard for responding to browser “Do Not Track” signals, so we do not respond to DNT. We do honour GPC, which is a legally recognised opt-out signal.
7. Changes to this policy
If we add, remove, or change a cookie, we will update this page and revise the date above. If we add a new category of optional cookie, we will ask for your consent again before it loads.
8. Contact
Questions about cookies? Email jrhq.net@gmail.com.