1. Introduction

This Cookie Policy explains how we (operating under the domains ratethislist.com, listarater.com, and rankselect.com, collectively "the Service") use cookies and similar technologies to recognize you when you visit our Service. It explains what these technologies are and why we use them, as well as your rights to control our use of them.

2. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small data files that are placed on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. Cookies are widely used by website owners to make their websites work, or to work more efficiently, as well as to provide reporting information.

Cookies set by the website owner (in this case, us) are called "first-party cookies." Cookies set by parties other than the website owner are called "third-party cookies." Third-party cookies enable third-party features or functionality to be provided on or through the website (e.g., advertising, interactive content, and analytics). The parties that set these third-party cookies can recognize your computer both when it visits the website in question and also when it visits certain other websites.

3. Why Do We Use Cookies?

We use first-party and third-party cookies for several reasons. Some cookies are required for technical reasons in order for our Service to operate, and we refer to these as "essential" or "strictly necessary" cookies. Other cookies enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience on our Service. Third parties serve cookies through our Service for authentication, analytics, and other purposes.

4. Types of Cookies We Use

Essential Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our Service and to use some of its features, such as access to secure areas. Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the Service, you cannot refuse them without impacting how our Service functions.

• Authentication Cookies: Used to identify you when you log in and keep you authenticated as you navigate the Service.
• Session Management: Used to maintain your session state and preferences during your visit.
• Security Cookies: Used for security purposes, such as detecting authentication abuse and protecting user data.

Performance and Analytics Cookies

These cookies are used to collect information about traffic to our Service and how users use our Service. The information gathered may include the number of visitors, the websites that referred them to our Service, the pages they visited on our Service, what time of day they visited, whether they have visited before, and other similar information. We use this information to help operate our Service more efficiently, to gather broad demographic information, and to monitor the level of activity on our Service.

• Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with our Service by collecting and reporting information anonymously.
• Performance Monitoring: Used to measure the performance and improve the functionality of our Service.

Functionality Cookies

These cookies are used to recognize you when you return to our Service. This enables us to personalize our content for you, greet you by name, and remember your preferences (for example, your choice of language or region, theme preferences).

• Preference Cookies: Remember your settings and preferences, such as theme selection (light/dark mode).
• User Experience: Store information about your interactions to provide a more personalized experience.

Third-Party Cookies

In addition to our own cookies, we may also use various third-party cookies to report usage statistics of the Service and deliver content and advertisements.

• Google Authentication: If you sign in using Google, Google may set cookies to authenticate your account and maintain your login session.
• Payment Processing: Our payment processors may use cookies to process your premium subscription payments securely.

5. How Long Do Cookies Last?

The length of time a cookie will stay on your computer or mobile device depends on whether it is a "persistent" or "session" cookie. Session cookies will only stay on your device until you close your browser. Persistent cookies stay on your computer or mobile device until they expire or are deleted.

• Session Cookies: Deleted when you close your browser.
• Persistent Cookies: Remain on your device for a set period or until you manually delete them. We use persistent cookies to remember your preferences and settings.

6. How Can You Control Cookies?

You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject cookies. You can exercise your cookie preferences by adjusting your browser settings. Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings.

Browser Controls

You can set or amend your web browser controls to accept or refuse cookies. If you choose to reject cookies, you may still use our Service, though your access to some functionality and areas of our Service may be restricted. As the means by which you can refuse cookies through your web browser controls vary from browser to browser, you should visit your browser's help menu for more information.

Disabling Essential Cookies

Please note that if you choose to block or delete essential cookies, some features of the Service may not function properly, and you may not be able to access certain areas or features, such as staying logged in or maintaining your session preferences.

7. Changes to This Cookie Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes to the cookies we use or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. Please revisit this Cookie Policy regularly to stay informed about our use of cookies and related technologies.

The date at the top of this Cookie Policy indicates when it was last updated. Any changes will become effective when we post the revised Cookie Policy on the Service.

8. Contact Us

If you have any questions about our use of cookies or other technologies, please contact us at: privacy@ratethislist.com