Legal / Privacy

Cookie Policy

Last updated: August 2026

People come to joinstories to tell true stories about the hardest things in their lives. That kind of trust starts with being clear about what data we collect and why, including the small, often invisible kind: cookies.

The cookies we use

We use three types of cookies. Two of them are in your control.

Strictly necessary
Always on

These keep the platform working. Without them, you can't log in, stay in your session, or access your Circle. They cannot be switched off because the platform cannot function without them. No consent is required to set these.

Examples: session tokens, CSRF protection, authentication state
Analytics

These help us understand how the platform is being used: which pages people visit, where sessions end, how long people spend in different parts of joinstories. The data is aggregated and does not identify you personally. We use it to improve the platform, nothing else.

Opting out does not affect your ability to use joinstories.

Examples: page views, session duration, navigation paths
Functional

These remember your preferences between visits: language, notification settings, display choices, so you don't have to reset them each time you return.

Examples: language preference, accessibility settings, notification preferences

What we don't do

The content of what happens inside your Circle (what you write, what prompts you respond to, what you read) is never touched by any cookie or analytics tool. That data is governed separately by our Privacy Policy.

We do not use advertising cookies. No tracking pixels, no retargeting, no behavioural profiles built from your visits.

We do not track you across other websites. Our cookies exist only on joinstories.com.

We do not sell, rent, or share your data with third parties for commercial purposes.

Third-party services

We use a small number of third-party tools that may set their own cookies. Each operates under a data processing agreement with joinstories. None have access to the content of your Circle or any personally identifiable information without your explicit consent.

We will update this table whenever a service is added or removed.

Service Purpose Data processed
Google Analytics Usage analytics Aggregated page views, session duration, navigation paths. No personal identifiers.
Firebase Authentication Session management Session tokens and authentication state. Strictly necessary.
Firebase Crashlytics Error monitoring Technical crash and error logs. No Circle content, no personal identifiers.
Firebase Hosting Content delivery Technical delivery cookies for caching and routing. Strictly necessary.

Your rights and choices

Use the Cookie Preferences link in the footer to turn analytics and functional cookies on or off at any time.
Adjust your browser settings to block or delete cookies at the device level.
EU & UK
GDPR rights
You have the right to access the data we hold about you, correct it, delete it, and object to how it's processed. Contact us at privacy@joinstories.com and we'll respond within 30 days.

Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before withdrawal.
California
CCPA rights
You have the right to know what personal information we collect and to request its deletion. We do not sell personal information.

To exercise your rights, contact us at privacy@joinstories.com.

Changes to this policy

We'll update this page if we change the cookies we use or how we use them. Where changes are material, we'll notify you directly. The date at the top of this page always reflects the current version.

Questions

Write to us at privacy@joinstories.com. We read everything.