Cookie Policy

Absorb Blue Inc. ("we," "us," "our") uses cookies and similar technologies on our website (absorb.blue), our mobile applications, and our Artificial Professor(TM) services (collectively, the "Services"). This Cookie Policy explains what these technologies are, why we use them, and how you can control them.

This Cookie Policy supplements, and should be read together with, our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions of Service. Capitalized terms not defined here have the meaning given in the Privacy Policy.

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1. WHAT ARE COOKIES AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES?

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website or use an app. They allow a service to recognize your device, remember your preferences, and operate efficiently across sessions.

We also use technologies that function similarly to cookies, including:

- Local storage and session storage (data stored within your browser);
- Software development kit (SDK) identifiers in our mobile applications; and
- Pixels and tags (small pieces of code that help us measure performance).

For convenience, we refer to all of these as "cookies" in this policy.

Cookies may be:

- First-party (set by absorb.blue) or third-party (set by a service provider on our behalf); and
- Session (deleted when you close your browser) or persistent (remain for a defined period).

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2. CATEGORIES OF COOKIES WE USE

2.1 Strictly Necessary Cookies (Always Active)

These cookies are essential to deliver the Services you have requested. They cannot be turned off in our systems. Without them, you would not be able to log in, maintain a session, complete a payment, or have your cookie preferences remembered.

- session_id (Absorb Blue, first-party): Maintains your session and routes requests. Duration: session.
- auth_token (Absorb Blue, first-party): Authenticates your account between page loads. Duration: up to 30 days.
- csrf_token (Absorb Blue, first-party): Prevents cross-site request forgery. Duration: session.
- ab_consent (Absorb Blue, first-party): Records your cookie preferences. Duration: 12 months.
- Stripe session cookies, including __stripe_mid and __stripe_sid (Stripe Inc.): Enable secure payment processing and fraud prevention. Duration: session to 12 months.

Legal basis (where applicable): performance of a contract; legitimate interests in operating and securing the Services. Consent is not required for these cookies under EU/UK ePrivacy rules.

2.2 Functional Cookies (Optional)

These cookies remember choices you make to improve your experience -- for example, your preferred voice speed or interaction style with the Artificial Professor.

- pref_voice_speed (Absorb Blue, first-party): Stores your preferred voice playback speed. Duration: 12 months.
- pref_personality (Absorb Blue, first-party): Stores your selected Artificial Professor personality settings. Duration: 12 months.
- pref_theme (Absorb Blue, first-party): Stores your light/dark mode preference. Duration: 12 months.
- pref_locale (Absorb Blue, first-party): Stores your language and regional formatting preferences. Duration: 12 months.

Legal basis: consent (where required); otherwise legitimate interests. Disabling these will not prevent you from using the Services, but your preferences will not be remembered between sessions, and learning-experience defaults will be applied.

2.3 Performance and Analytics Cookies (Optional)

These cookies help us understand how users interact with the Services so we can improve them. They tell us which pages are visited, which features are used, and where users encounter errors.

- _ga (Google Analytics, Google LLC): Distinguishes unique users. Duration: up to 2 years.
- _ga_<container_id> (Google Analytics 4, Google LLC): Persists session state. Duration: up to 2 years.
- Crashlytics / Firebase SDK identifiers (Google Firebase, Google LLC): Diagnoses application crashes and stability issues. Duration: up to 90 days.

We configure Google Analytics with IP anonymization where available and have entered into the appropriate data-processing terms with Google. We do not use Google Analytics to identify individual users, to build advertising profiles, or for cross-context behavioral advertising.

Legal basis: consent (where required); otherwise legitimate interests in measuring and improving the Services.

2.4 Campaign and Referral Cookies (Optional)

If you visit our Services through a referral link from a crowdfunding platform (such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo) or one of our own outreach channels, we use cookies to attribute the visit to the correct campaign so we can credit referrals, fulfill any associated waitlist or "Early Bird" offers, and measure the performance of our campaigns.

- ab_ref (Absorb Blue, first-party): Records the referring campaign or source. Duration: 90 days.
- ab_utm (Absorb Blue, first-party): Records UTM campaign parameters from inbound links. Duration: 90 days.

These cookies are first-party only. They do NOT build a behavioral advertising profile of you and are NOT used for cross-context behavioral advertising as defined under the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA"). Consistent with our Privacy Policy, we do not sell or share your personal information for advertising purposes, and we do not currently deploy advertising-network pixels or tags (such as Meta / Facebook Pixel, TikTok Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, or Google Ads conversion tags).

Legal basis: consent (where required); otherwise legitimate interests in attributing campaign performance.

If we ever introduce advertising or cross-site tracking technologies in the future, we will update this Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy in advance, and -- where required by law -- obtain your consent before doing so.

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3. THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS

The third-party providers whose technologies are described above act as our processors and are bound by contract to use cookie-derived data only for the purposes we direct. Their own privacy practices are governed by their respective policies:

- Google Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics (Google LLC): https://policies.google.com/privacy
- Stripe, used only when you initiate a payment: https://stripe.com/privacy
- Apple App Store and Google Play, where you access the Services through a mobile platform: governed by the platform's own terms and privacy disclosures.

We do not permit these providers to use cookie data collected through the Services for their own marketing or advertising purposes.

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4. YOUR CHOICES AND HOW TO MANAGE COOKIES

4.1 Our Cookie Preferences Center

When you first visit absorb.blue from a region where consent is required, we display a cookie banner that lets you:

- Accept all optional cookies;
- Reject all optional cookies (strictly necessary cookies will still be set, as they are required to operate the Services); or
- Customize your choices by category.

You can change your selections at any time by clicking "Cookie Preferences" in our website footer, or by going to Settings -> Privacy -> Cookie Preferences within our applications. Changes take effect immediately for future browsing. Cookies already set on your device may remain until they expire or you delete them through your browser.

4.2 Browser and Device Controls

Most browsers allow you to view, manage, and delete cookies, and to block cookies generally or from specific sites. Methods vary by browser; consult your browser's help documentation. Please note that blocking strictly necessary cookies will prevent the Services from functioning correctly.

On mobile devices, you can typically reset advertising identifiers and limit ad tracking through your operating system's privacy settings:

- iOS: Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Tracking.
- Android: Settings -> Privacy -> Ads.

4.3 Global Privacy Control and Do Not Track

We honor the Global Privacy Control ("GPC") signal as a valid request to opt out of any "sale" or "sharing" of personal information as those terms are defined under the CCPA. Because we do not currently sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, our GPC handling primarily serves to ensure this remains the case if our practices change in the future.

The "Do Not Track" ("DNT") browser signal is not yet subject to a uniform industry standard. Where your browser sends a DNT signal, we treat it as a request to disable optional analytics and campaign-attribution cookies for your session, in addition to any preferences you have set in our Cookie Preferences Center.

4.4 Withdrawing Consent

Where we relied on your consent to set cookies, you can withdraw that consent at any time through the Cookie Preferences Center. Withdrawing consent is as easy as giving it. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before withdrawal.

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5. REGION-SPECIFIC INFORMATION

5.1 EEA, United Kingdom, and Switzerland

If you access the Services from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, we ask for your consent before placing any non-essential cookies on your device, in accordance with the ePrivacy Directive (and its national implementing laws) and the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations ("PECR"). You may grant, refuse, or withdraw consent through the Cookie Preferences Center without detriment to your access to the Services. Information processed through cookies is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy, including its sections on legal bases, international transfers, and your data-protection rights.

5.2 California

If you are a California resident, your rights with respect to personal information collected through cookies are described in Section 8.1 of our Privacy Policy. We do not sell personal information, and we do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. We honor the GPC signal as described in Section 4.3 of this Cookie Policy.

5.3 Other Jurisdictions

Where other state or national laws (for example, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, or comparable frameworks) provide rights related to cookies and tracking technologies, we extend equivalent controls to residents of those jurisdictions through the Cookie Preferences Center and the rights-request channels described in our Privacy Policy.

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6. CHANGES TO THIS COOKIE POLICY

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the technologies we use, in applicable law, or in our practices. The "Effective Date" at the top reflects the most recent version. If we make material changes -- for example, introducing a new category of cookies or a new third-party provider -- we will provide reasonable advance notice through the Services or by email where appropriate, and, where required by law, obtain renewed consent before such cookies are set.

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7. CONTACT US

For questions about this Cookie Policy or our use of cookies, please contact:

Absorb Blue Inc.
Email: hello@absorb.blue

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