Cookies
Last updated: [DATE OF PUBLICATION]
Cookies are small files a website stores in your browser. Some websites use them to track you across the internet or to show you adverts. UpperGrades doesn't. We use the cookies our website needs to work: the ones that sign you in and keep you signed in, and two that our hosting provider uses to route your visit. We also use two small cookies to try out different headlines and sample lessons on our homepage, so we can see which explain UpperGrades best. We don't use any advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.
We don't ask you to accept these cookies. The ones that sign you in and route your visit are strictly necessary. The homepage test cookies are allowed without asking because they're used only to improve our own website and hold nothing about you, but you can leave the homepage tests at any time. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser's settings, but you won't be able to sign in without them.
These are set only when you sign in, or start signing in. On our live website their names start with __Secure- or __Host-, which means the browser only sends them over a secure connection.
| Cookie | What it does | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
authjs.session-token | Keeps you signed in. It's encrypted, and holds who you are and what kind of account you have. | 30 days, renewed while you use UpperGrades; deleted when you sign out |
authjs.csrf-token | Protects sign-in forms from being submitted by other websites | Until you close your browser |
authjs.callback-url | Remembers which page to take you back to after you sign in | Until you close your browser |
authjs.pkce.code_verifier, authjs.state, authjs.nonce | Used only while you sign in with Google or Microsoft, to check the sign-in really came from them | 15 minutes |
When you first visit our homepage, we pick one of a few versions of its headline, and one of a few sample lessons for the phone beside it, at random, and remember which in two cookies, so you see the same ones each time. When you view a page, or play the sample lesson, we count which versions you saw along with it (see "Counting visits" below). That lets us compare how many visitors who saw each version played the sample lesson, went on to sign up, or subscribed. Each cookie holds only a single letter, the same one thousands of other visitors have, so it can't identify you or link your visits together.
| Cookie | What it does | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
ug_hl | Remembers which version of the homepage headline you were shown, or that you've left the tests | 90 days |
ug_demo | Remembers which sample lesson the homepage showed you | 90 days |
You can leave the homepage tests: you'll see our usual headline and sample lesson from then on, and we won't count which versions you saw. If your browser sends a "Global Privacy Control" or "Do Not Track" signal, we leave you out of the test automatically.
Our website runs on Microsoft Azure, which sets these on every visit, whether or not you sign in.
| Cookie | What it does | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
ARRAffinity, ARRAffinitySameSite | Sends each of your requests to the same server. They hold a random code and nothing about you. | Until you close your browser |
Some features remember things in your browser's own storage instead of using cookies. This information stays on your device. It's only sent to us if you choose to send it, for example by submitting a form. You can clear it at any time by clearing your browser's data for our website.
| What | Why | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Your best score in each free game | So you can try to beat it. It never leaves your browser. | Until you clear it |
| Ticks on the revision checklist | So your checklist is still ticked when you come back | Until you clear it |
| Your code in the Turtle programming activities | So your work is still there when you come back | Until you clear it |
| Which taster mock exam you've started | So reloading the page carries on with your attempt, without asking for your email again | Until you clear it |
| An invitation code or email link reference | Which invitation, or which of our emails, brought you to the site, so we can apply your free month or know which email was useful. It's only sent to us if you sign up or send us a form. | Until you close the tab |
| Your place in a practice session | So reloading the page carries on with the same session | Until you close the tab |
We count how many people visit each page, and which of our campaigns or which websites sent them, on our own server. That uses no cookies of its own and stores nothing else in your browser, and the count holds no internet address or identifier. If you're in the homepage tests, it also notes which headline and sample lesson you saw, and whether you played the sample lesson. Our privacy notice explains it under "Website visits".
If we ever want to use any other cookie that isn't strictly necessary, we will update this policy and, where the law requires it, ask for your permission first.
Questions? Email us at [CONTACT EMAIL]. You can read more about how we handle data in our privacy notice.
