Cookie Policy — Griddles

1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. They help websites remember your preferences and improve your experience. Griddles also uses related browser storage technologies (localStorage and sessionStorage) which serve similar purposes.

2. How We Use Cookies & Browser Storage

Essential Storage Always Active

These are necessary for the game to function. They cannot be disabled.

Name	Type	Purpose	Duration
findleUsername	localStorage	Stores your username to identify your game progress	Persistent
registeredUsername	localStorage	Stores your registered display name	Persistent
theme	localStorage	Remembers your dark/light mode preference	Persistent
griddlesAvatar	localStorage	Stores your selected avatar emoji	Persistent
userTileColor	localStorage	Stores your tile colour preference	Persistent
highlightCorrectAnswers	localStorage	Stores your answer highlighting preference	Persistent
findlePuzzleState_*	localStorage	Saves your in-progress puzzle state so you can resume	Persistent

Functional Storage Game Features

Name	Type	Purpose	Duration
griddlesSubStatus	sessionStorage	Caches your subscription status to reduce server calls	Session (5 min TTL)
griddlesSelectedDate	sessionStorage	Remembers the selected date for premium users browsing historical puzzles	Session
griddlesCompletionCount	sessionStorage	Tracks puzzles completed in current session for ad frequency	Session
griddlesSubscription	localStorage	Legacy subscription status flag	Persistent
FindleDB (IndexedDB)	IndexedDB	Caches puzzles, word lists, and pending scores for offline play	Persistent

Advertising Cookies Consent Required

If you consent, Google AdSense may set cookies to serve relevant advertisements. These cookies are managed by Google and may track browsing activity across websites.

Provider	Purpose	More Info
Google AdSense	Serves and personalises advertisements for free users	Google Ad Policies

    Premium subscribers do not see advertisements and no advertising cookies are loaded for them.
  

Infrastructure Cookies

Provider	Purpose	More Info
Cloudflare	Security, performance, bot detection (e.g. __cf_bm, cf_clearance)	Cloudflare Cookies
Stripe	Fraud prevention during payment (e.g. __stripe_mid, __stripe_sid)	Stripe Privacy

3. Managing Your Preferences

When you first visit Griddles, a consent banner (provided by Google's Consent Management Platform) will appear, giving you the choice to:

Consent to advertising cookies
Do not consent — no advertising cookies will be set
Manage options — choose specific categories

You can change your preferences at any time by clearing your browser's cookies and revisiting the site, which will trigger the consent banner again.

Browser-Level Controls

You can also manage cookies through your browser settings:

Chrome: Settings → Privacy and Security → Cookies
Safari: Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data
Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies

Note: blocking essential storage (localStorage) may prevent the game from functioning correctly.

4. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy when we add new features or change our use of cookies. The date at the top of this page indicates the most recent revision.

5. Contact

For questions about cookies or this policy, contact us at hello@griddles.io.