Cookie Policy
Last updated: July 22, 2026
This Cookie Policy explains how Golden Cows uses cookies and similar technologies when you visit and use our platform. It describes what these technologies are, why we use them, and the choices you have to control them. This policy is provided for transparency and is not legal advice.
1. What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device (computer, tablet, or phone) when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work, to remember your preferences, and to provide information to the site owners. Similar technologies such as local storage and session storage may also be used to store data in your browser. In this policy, we refer to all of these collectively as “cookies”.
2. Essential & Session Cookies
These cookies are strictly necessary for the platform to function and cannot be switched off. They are usually set in response to actions you take, such as logging in, filling in forms, or setting your privacy preferences.
- Authentication session: When you sign in, we store a secure, encrypted session token in your browser to keep you logged in. This token uses an industry-standard signed format and expires after 30 days, after which you will need to sign in again.
- Security (CSRF protection): We set a cross-site request forgery (CSRF) token cookie to verify that requests to our servers genuinely come from you and not a malicious third party.
- Human-verification challenge: Our sign-up and sign-in pages use a bot-protection challenge (Cloudflare Turnstile). This may set cookies to distinguish real people from automated bots and protect the platform from abuse.
Because these cookies are essential to secure access and core functionality, disabling them will prevent you from logging in or using key parts of Golden Cows.
3. Authentication & Sign-In With Google
If you choose to sign in using Google, our authentication provider sets short-lived cookies during the login process to keep it secure. These include a state value and a PKCE code verifier, which protect against interception and cross-site attacks while your login is completed. These cookies are temporary and are cleared once the sign-in flow finishes.
4. Analytics Cookies
We may use analytics cookies to understand how visitors interact with Golden Cows — for example, which pages are most popular and how people move through the site — so we can improve the experience. We plan to use Google Analytics for this purpose. When enabled, Google Analytics sets cookies to collect aggregated, largely anonymous usage statistics such as page views, session duration, and general geographic region.
Analytics cookies are not strictly necessary, and where required we will ask for your consent before enabling them. You can opt out of Google Analytics across all websites by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
5. Third-Party Cookies
Some features of Golden Cows rely on trusted third-party services, and these services may set their own cookies when you use those features:
- PayPal: When you make a deposit or payment, PayPal may set cookies to process the transaction securely and to prevent fraud. These are governed by PayPal’s own cookie and privacy policies.
- YouTube: Our “Watch Videos” feature embeds videos from YouTube. When a video loads, YouTube (Google) may set cookies to remember playback preferences and measure video performance.
We do not control the cookies set by these third parties. We recommend reviewing their respective cookie and privacy policies for more information.
6. How to Manage or Disable Cookies
You have full control over cookies. Most web browsers let you view, delete, and block cookies through their settings. Here are links to the instructions for popular browsers:
Please note that if you block or delete essential cookies, parts of Golden Cows — including logging in — may not work correctly.
7. Cookie Retention
Different cookies are stored for different lengths of time:
- Session & authentication cookies: Your login session lasts up to 30 days, after which it expires and you will be asked to sign in again.
- Security & login-flow cookies: CSRF tokens and Google sign-in state cookies are short-lived and typically cleared once you close your browser or complete the login process.
- Analytics cookies: When enabled, these may persist for up to two years, in line with Google Analytics defaults, unless you clear them sooner.
8. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the cookies we use or for operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. When we make changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page.
9. Contact Us
If you have any questions about our use of cookies, please reach out through our Contact page.