PixlRun · Cookie Policy

Cookie Policy

This policy explains the cookies and similar storage technologies PixlRun uses, why we use them, and how to opt out. It supplements the Privacy Policy.

Effective date: May 2026 · Last updated: May 2026

What is a cookie

A cookie is a small text file that a website asks your browser to store. The next time you visit, the browser sends the cookie back, which lets the site remember things — that you’re logged in, that you’ve already accepted the cookie banner, what your preferred reading mode is. “Similar technologies” refers to localStorage, sessionStorage, and pixel tags, which work differently but serve similar purposes.

The categories we use

Strictly necessary

Required for the site to work. You cannot opt out of these — turning them off would break basic functionality. We try to keep this category small.

Session ID — keeps your reading session continuous across page loads. First-party. Expires when you close the browser.
Cookie-consent state — remembers which categories you’ve accepted so we don’t ask again on every page. First-party. 12 months.
Cloudflare bot protection — distinguishes humans from automated traffic. Third-party (Cloudflare). 30 minutes.
LiteSpeed cache markers — used by the caching layer to serve the right page version. First-party. Up to 24 hours.

Analytics

Help us understand which articles are read and how the site is performing. Off by default; you can opt in via the cookie banner.

Google Analytics 4 — page views, session duration, geographic country (not city), device type. Third-party (Google). Up to 14 months.
Cloudflare Web Analytics — privacy-respecting traffic counters. First-party. Aggregated only, no cross-site profile.

Advertising

Used to serve display advertising and measure its performance. Off by default; opt in via the cookie banner. If you don’t accept these, you’ll still see ads — they just won’t be personalised.

Ezoic ad-network cookies — placement, frequency-capping, attribution. Third-party. Up to 13 months.
Google AdSense via Ezoic — interest-based advertising signals. Third-party. Up to 13 months.
Affiliate-network conversion pixels (Amazon Associates, Green Man Gaming, Fanatical) — fire only when you click an affiliate link. They tell the partner we referred you so we get credited if you buy. They do not personalise ads.

Preferences

Remember the choices you’ve made on the site. Off by default unless you change a preference.

Theme preference (light / dark / system) — first-party, 12 months
Comparison shortlist — gadgets you’ve added to the side-by-side compare tray. First-party, 30 days. Cleared on logout.

How to manage cookies

Via the cookie banner

The first time you visit, a banner asks you to accept or customise. You can re-open the banner at any time via the “Cookie preferences” link in the footer.

Via your browser

All major browsers let you block, allow, or delete cookies. The exact path differs:

Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Third-party cookies
Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
Safari: Settings → Privacy → Manage Website Data
Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Manage and delete cookies

Blocking strictly-necessary cookies will break parts of the site. Blocking the rest is fine and won’t affect your reading.

Via opt-out networks

You can opt out of personalised advertising across many sites at once:

“Do Not Track” signal

If your browser sends a Do Not Track header, we treat it as opting out of analytics and advertising cookies. This is in addition to whatever you’ve set in our cookie banner.

Cookies set by linked sites

When you click an outgoing link — to YouTube embeds, Twitter posts, retailer pages, or affiliate partners — the site you land on may set its own cookies. We don’t control those. Their cookie policy governs.

Updates

If we add a new category of cookie or a new third-party processor, we’ll re-prompt you to accept. Trivial wording changes don’t require re-prompting.

Contact

Questions about specific cookies, or to request an audit log of what’s been set on your browser: privacy@pixlrun.com.