Cookie policy

This policy explains the cookies and similar browser storage that startbuddi uses on our website (startbuddi.com) and in the app (app.startbuddi.com), what each one is for, and how you control them. It goes with our Privacy policy.

1Cookies in plain words

A cookie is a small text file a website saves in your browser so it can remember something, such as your cookie choice or that you are signed in. Websites can also keep information in your browser’s local storage or session storage, which works in a similar way. In this policy, “cookies” covers all of these.

Cookies set by startbuddi are “first-party” cookies. Cookies set by another company’s service, such as Google Analytics, are “third-party” cookies, even when they are set on our domain.

2Our approach

• Essential cookies are always on. They make the site and app work and keep them secure, and the law does not require consent for them.
• On our website, everything else is off until you say yes. Google Analytics and Mixpanel do not load at all until you accept analytics cookies in the banner. If you say no, or ignore the banner, they never load.
• You can change your mind at any time, using the choices at the bottom of this page or the Cookie settings link in our website footer. If you switch analytics off after saying yes, we stop it and clear its cookies.
• We do not currently use advertising or retargeting cookies. The Marketing switch stays off unless you turn it on, and nothing loads under it today. If that changes, we will update this policy first.

3Essential cookies on our website

• sb_consent: remembers your cookie choices (for example “analytics yes, marketing no”) so we do not ask on every page. Set by startbuddi when you make a choice. Lasts 12 months.
• sb_country: remembers the country you picked in “Not in Nigeria?” on the pricing page, so you see prices in the right currency. Set only if you use the picker. Lasts 12 months.
• sb_currency: remembers the currency you chose, where the site offers a currency switch. Set only if you use it. Lasts 12 months.
• sb_tools_access (cookie and local storage): remembers that you filled in the short form that unlocks our free tools and templates, so you are not asked again on this device. Set only after you submit that form. Lasts 12 months.

4Browser storage our website uses

These stay in your browser and are not sent to us:

• sb-invoice-generator-v1 (local storage): keeps the invoice you are working on in our free invoice generator, so you do not lose it if you close the tab. Stays until you clear it.
• sb-ft-currency (local storage): the currency you picked in a free tool. Stays until you clear it.
• Checklist progress (local storage): the steps you ticked on a guide or help article. Stays until you clear it.
• sb_exit_intent_shown (session storage): stops the “before you go” box appearing more than once per visit. Cleared when you close the tab.

5Website chat with Chip

The chat and Call Chip button on our website is the startbuddi live chat widget, loaded from app.startbuddi.com in a separate frame. It does not set cookies on startbuddi.com. Inside its own frame it keeps:

• startbuddi-chat:{id} (local storage): your open conversation, so the chat carries on as you move between pages. Stays until you clear it.
• startbuddi-visitor:{id} (local storage) and startbuddi-visit:{id} (session storage): an anonymous visitor id and a count of pages viewed in this visit, used to show our team who is on the site. They are only used when visitor analytics is switched on for the widget.
• startbuddi-chat-greeting:{id} (session storage): remembers that you closed the greeting bubble for this visit.

6Analytics cookies on our website (only with your consent)

• Google Analytics (_ga and _ga_<id>): tell visits apart and count page views, so we can see which pages help people and how they find us. Set by Google. Last up to 2 years. Google’s privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy.
• Mixpanel (mp_<id>_mixpanel): an anonymous id and the steps a visitor takes, such as starting a sign-up. Set by Mixpanel. Lasts up to 1 year. Mixpanel’s privacy policy: mixpanel.com/legal/privacy-policy.

7Security cookies from our network provider

Our website is delivered through Cloudflare, which protects it against attacks and bots. Cloudflare may set __cf_bm (30 minutes) or cf_clearance (up to a year, only after a security check) to tell people from bots. These are essential and do not track you across other sites.

8Cookies for people who manage the website

If you are a member of our team signed in to the website’s admin area, WordPress sets cookies such as wordpress_logged_in_<id>, wordpress_sec_<id>, wp-settings-<id> and wordpress_test_cookie to keep you signed in and remember your admin settings. Ordinary visitors never get these.

9Essential cookies in the startbuddi app

When you use app.startbuddi.com, these cookies keep you signed in and your account secure. The app cannot work without them.

• sb-<id>-auth-token (sometimes split into parts ending .0, .1): your secure sign-in session from our sign-in provider, Supabase. Refreshed while you use the app and removed when you sign out.
• sb-last-activity-at: when you were last active in the app, for session security. Lasts up to about 25 hours.
• startbuddi_active_workspace: which workspace you last opened. Lasts 12 months.
• sb_oauth_*, sb_meta_pending, sb_ads_pending and sb-google-return: short-lived security checks while you sign in with Google or connect another service. Last 10 to 15 minutes.
• sb_portal_session: keeps you signed in to a client portal a business invited you to, after you open your sign-in link. Lasts 14 days.
• sb_cart_<id> and sb_pa_<id>: on shops and password-protected pages that businesses publish with startbuddi, your basket (14 days) and that you entered the page password (30 days).

10Preference cookies in the app

• sb_sidebar_collapsed: whether you collapsed the sidebar. Lasts 12 months.
• sb_setup_bar, sb_checklist_dismissed and sb_home_guide_dismissed: whether you hid the setup bar, checklist or quick-start guide. Last 30 days to 12 months.
• startbuddi_cookie_consent_v1 (local storage): your cookie choices in the app.

11Analytics in the app

• sb_visitor_id (12 months, also in local storage) and sb_session_id (ends after 30 minutes without activity): tell visits to the app apart and group them into sessions.
• sb_first_touch_*, sb_gclid and sb_fbclid (up to 180 days), and last-touch equivalents (90 days): which campaign, advert or website brought you to startbuddi, so we can tell which of our marketing works.
• Mixpanel (local storage): product analytics and session recordings once you are signed in, so we can see which features are used and where people get stuck.
• Google Analytics (_ga, _ga_<id>): page analytics on the app’s public pages, only after you accept analytics cookies in the app’s banner.
• Vercel Web Analytics and Speed Insights: count page views and measure how fast pages load. They do not use cookies.
• Sentry: records errors, and a replay of a sample of sessions with all text masked and images blocked, so we can fix what broke.

The app does not use advertising cookies.

12Pages and forms published by startbuddi customers

Businesses use startbuddi to publish their own websites, forms, booking pages and chat widgets. Those pages use essential cookies and storage to work, like the chat storage above. Each business decides whether to add analytics to its pages and is responsible for asking its visitors’ consent. Their own privacy and cookie notices apply.

13How to control cookies

• Use the choices below, or the Cookie settings link in our website footer, to switch analytics and marketing cookies on or off.
• You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings. If you block essential cookies, parts of the site or app will not work, for example you will not be able to sign in.
• Google offers a browser add-on to opt out of Google Analytics on every site: tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

14Changes to this policy

We review this list whenever we add or remove a tool that sets cookies, and update the effective date at the top when we do.

15Your cookie choices

Essential cookies are always on. Everything else is off until you say yes, and you can change your mind here at any time.

Version history

Questions about this document? Email privacy@startbuddi.com.