TRANSPARENCY

Cookie Policy

Exactly what we store on your device, why it's there, and how you stay in control.

Last updated: August 2026

What cookies are

Cookies are small text files a website stores in your browser. Alongside them we use similar technologies like localStorage — same idea, stored a little differently. They let a site remember things between visits: your preferences, your consent choices, or your wishlist. They are not programs and cannot run anything on your device.

How we group them

Our cookie banner groups cookies into the categories below, and you can accept or decline the optional ones individually. Here's precisely what each covers:

Essential & Affiliate

Always active

The site cannot function without these — they power core features like your wishlist, your cookie choices themselves, and the secure outbound affiliate links that fund our free, independent reviews. Because they're strictly necessary, they can't be switched off.

NamePurposeDuration
ir_cookie_consentRemembers the consent choices you made in our bannerUntil cleared
ir_wishlistStores the products you've saved to your wishlistUntil cleared
ir_vidAn anonymous identifier so your feedback submissions stay connectedUntil cleared
__session / __client (Clerk)Keeps you signed in to your account securelySession / 1 year
ir_gclid & similarFirst-party record of which link brought you here, so purchases you choose to make are correctly credited to us by our affiliate partners30 days

Analytics & Performance

Optional

Anonymous usage statistics — which pages are read, where visitors come from, what's slow — that show us what to improve. These load only if you allow them; declining genuinely prevents them from ever loading.

NameProviderPurposeDuration
_ga, _ga_*Google AnalyticsDistinguishes visitors and sessions anonymouslyUp to 2 years
_gidGoogle AnalyticsDistinguishes visitors for 24 hours24 hours

Advertising & Remarketing

Optional

Used by Google and Microsoft to measure ad performance (conversions) and to show you relevant In-Right ads on other sites you visit (remarketing). These load only with your consent, and you can opt out at any time using the links below.

NameProviderPurposeDuration
_gcl_auGoogle AdsMeasures ad conversions via the Google conversion linker90 days
_gcl_awGoogle AdsRecords the ad click that led you to us, for conversion tracking90 days
IDE, DSIDGoogle (DoubleClick)Ad delivery and remarketing (set on Google domains)Up to 13 months
_uetsidMicrosoft AdvertisingBing UET session identifier for conversion measurement1 day
_uetvidMicrosoft AdvertisingBing UET visitor identifier for remarketing13 months

Manage ad personalization at Google Ads Settings, opt out industry-wide via AdChoices, the NAI, or Your Online Choices (EU/UK).

Personalization

Optional

Remembers preferences to tailor picks and deals to you — for example surfacing categories you browse most. Also strictly opt-in.

Your choices

On your first visit our banner lets you Accept All, choose Essential Only, or Customize each optional category individually. Your decision is saved on your device and respected on every future visit.

Changed your mind later? Clearing this site's data in your browser (Settings → Privacy → Site data) resets everything, and the banner will ask again on your next visit. Every major browser also lets you view, block, or delete cookies globally — see your browser's Help section for the exact steps in Chrome, Safari, Edge, or Firefox.

One honest note: blocking essential storage via your browser will break features like the wishlist and sign-in — that's why the banner can't disable them, but your browser always holds the final override.

Third parties

Some cookies are set by third parties we work with: Google (Analytics and Ads) and Microsoft Advertising for measurement and remarketing, and Cloudflare for security and performance. Their use of data is governed by their own policies — see Google and Microsoft.

When you click an affiliate link and continue to a merchant, that merchant and its affiliate network (such as Impact or Awin) operate under their own cookie policies on their own sites — we don't control those, and this policy ends where their pages begin. Our reviews remain independent regardless: partners never see or influence our verdicts.

Questions

Anything unclear? We genuinely answer: contact us. See also our Privacy Policy and Affiliate Disclosure.