Cookie Policy

What This Policy Covers

This Cookie Policy explains how Realistic Icon ("we", "our", or "us") uses cookies and similar storage technologies on the 3D Icon Gallery. It pairs with our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

We keep cookie use to a minimum. The technologies below are the ones we actually use: sign-in, your preferences, and Google Analytics for aggregate traffic measurement. We run no advertising cookies and no retargeting pixels.

What Are Cookies?

Cookies are tiny text files a website asks your browser to store on your device. The next time you visit, the browser sends them back so the site can recognize you (for example, that you're signed in or that you prefer dark mode).

Modern browsers also support related technologies — localStorage, sessionStorage, IndexedDB — that work similarly but with different lifetimes and limits. For brevity we call all of them "cookies" in this policy.

Why We Use Cookies

Sign-in sessions — to remember that you're signed in so you don't have to authenticate on every page load.

Preferences — to remember things you've configured, like the active theme (light or dark), your preferred icon catalogue style, and the language you've selected.

Security — to detect signs of session hijacking and to enforce CSRF protections on form submissions.

Analytics — to count how often pages are loaded so we know which content is useful. We use Google Analytics 4 with IP anonymization; we read it as aggregate traffic and never join it to your account.

Categories of Cookies We Use

Strictly necessary — required for the Service to function (sign-in session token, CSRF token, language preference). Without these, large parts of the gallery would not work. These don't require consent under most laws because they're essential to deliver the service you've asked for.

Functional — remember choices you've made (theme, default icon style, density preference). These improve the experience but aren't strictly required to use the Service.

Analytics — Google Analytics 4, which tells us aggregate things like "this page was viewed 4,200 times this month." Google sets its own cookies for this and acts as our processor; see Google's privacy policy for how they handle the data.

What we DON'T use — advertising cookies, retargeting pixels, social-media tracking widgets, or any ad-network integration. We don't run Google Ads and we don't share your data with advertisers.

Specific Cookies We Set

ri_rt — strictly necessary. The refresh token that keeps you signed in. HttpOnly, Secure, SameSite. Lifetime: until it expires or you sign out.

ri_access_token — strictly necessary. The short-lived access token, held in your browser's sessionStorage rather than a cookie. Lifetime: the browser tab.

ri_locale — functional. Remembers your selected interface language so we don't send you to the wrong one. Lifetime: 1 year.

gelui-appearance — functional. Stored in localStorage; remembers your light/dark theme choice. Lifetime: persistent until cleared by you.

ri_uat_gate — strictly necessary, staging only. Remembers that you passed the password gate on our pre-release environment; it is never set on the public site.

_ga and _ga_<id> — analytics. Set by Google Analytics to measure visits and tell browsers apart. Lifetime: up to 2 years (Google's default).

Third-Party Cookies

Sign-in providers — when you sign in with Google, LINE, or Apple, that provider may set its own cookies during the OAuth handshake. These are governed by the provider's own privacy and cookie policies (linked from the sign-in page).

Payment processor — when you visit the Billing page, our payment processor (Stripe) may set cookies necessary to render their secure card form. We don't share account information with Stripe beyond what's required to charge your subscription.

Analytics — Google Analytics 4 runs on the public site and sets the _ga cookies listed above. We don't embed advertising scripts, social-media tracking pixels, or retargeting tags. If we add a third-party integration that meaningfully changes cookie use, we'll update this policy and notify signed-in members.

Managing Your Cookies

You can clear or block cookies from your browser settings — every major browser provides controls in its preferences. Be aware that blocking strictly-necessary cookies will sign you out and may break the gallery.

If you want to switch analytics off while keeping sign-in working, use your browser's built-in tracking protection (Brave Shields, Firefox ETP, Safari ITP) or Google's official opt-out add-on at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. Both block Google Analytics without touching the cookies that keep you signed in.

You can also write to us at [email protected] and we will exclude your account from analytics reporting.

Browser-Level Controls

Chrome — Settings → Privacy and security → Cookies and other site data.

Firefox — Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data.

Safari — Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data.

Edge — Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Manage and delete cookies.

Most browsers also honor the "Global Privacy Control" (GPC) signal. We treat GPC as a binding opt-out from any non-essential cookies and from any data sharing that could be considered a "sale" under California law.

Changes to This Policy

If we add or remove cookies in a way that meaningfully changes how the Service works, we'll update this page and bump the "last updated" date at the bottom. Significant changes are also flagged in-app the next time you sign in.

Contact

Cookie or tracking questions: [email protected]. We typically reply within 5 business days.

For broader data-protection questions or GDPR / CCPA requests, see the Privacy Policy.