Cookie Policy

1. What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files placed on your device by a website when you visit it. They are widely used to make websites work efficiently, to remember your preferences, and to provide information to the site's owners. The High Scholar platform uses cookies and similar technologies such as local storage and session tokens.

2. Cookies we use

• Strictly necessary cookies: required for the platform to function. These include session tokens that keep you logged in and CSRF tokens that protect your account from cross-site request forgery. These cannot be disabled.
• Preference cookies: remember your chosen language, theme (light or dark mode), and notification settings across sessions.
• Analytics cookies: anonymised data about how pages are accessed and features are used. We use this to prioritise improvements. No personally identifiable information is included in analytics data.
• Security cookies: help us detect and prevent fraudulent activity, bot traffic, and account takeover attempts.

3. Third-party cookies

We use a limited number of third-party services that may set their own cookies, including our error-monitoring provider and our payment processor. These providers operate under their own privacy policies and are contractually bound to process data only as instructed by High Scholar.

4. Managing cookies

You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. Disabling strictly necessary cookies will prevent the platform from functioning correctly. Disabling preference or analytics cookies will not affect your ability to use the core features of the platform. On your first visit, a cookie consent banner allows you to accept or decline non-essential cookies.

5. Retention periods

• Session cookies: deleted when you close your browser.
• Authentication tokens: expire after 30 days of inactivity.
• Preference cookies: retained for 12 months.
• Analytics cookies: aggregated data is retained for 24 months.

6. Changes to this policy

We may update this Cookie Policy to reflect changes in the cookies we use or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will notify you of material changes via the in-platform notification system.