Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device when you visit our website. They help us remember your preferences and improve your browsing experience. ShareCode uses cookies to enhance functionality, analyze usage patterns, and provide personalized content.

Types of Cookies We Use

Essential Cookies: These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly. They enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. Without these cookies, services you have requested — such as logging into your account, creating code spaces, or maintaining your session — cannot be provided. Essential cookies are set automatically when you visit ShareCode and cannot be disabled without breaking core features. Examples include session authentication tokens and CSRF protection cookies.

Analytics Cookies: We use analytics cookies to understand how visitors interact with our website, which pages are visited most, and how long visitors stay on the site. This information helps us improve our Service. These cookies collect aggregated, anonymized data about page views, traffic sources, bounce rates, and user navigation patterns. We use Google Analytics to process this data, which helps us identify popular features, detect usability issues, and prioritize development work. Analytics cookies do not contain personally identifiable information and are used solely for statistical purposes.

Advertising Cookies: These cookies may be set by our advertising partners to display targeted ads and measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. ShareCode uses Google AdSense to display advertisements that help fund the platform and keep all features free for users. Advertising cookies may track your browsing activity across different websites to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant advertisements. You can opt out of personalized advertising through your Google Ad Settings or by using browser extensions that block tracking cookies.

Preference Cookies: These cookies remember your choices to provide a personalized experience when you visit our website. They store settings such as your preferred programming language in the code editor, your chosen editor theme (light or dark mode), font size preferences, and whether you have dismissed informational banners. Preference cookies make your experience smoother by restoring your settings each time you return to ShareCode, so you do not have to reconfigure the editor on every visit.

Specific Cookies Used by ShareCode

The following is a detailed list of the cookies ShareCode sets or allows on your device:

• __session — An essential cookie used to maintain your login session. This cookie stores an encrypted authentication token that verifies your identity on each page load. It expires when you log out or after a period of inactivity.
• _ga, _gid, _gat — Analytics cookies set by Google Analytics. _ga distinguishes unique visitors and persists for 2 years. _gid stores a unique session identifier and expires after 24 hours. _gat is used to throttle request rates and expires after 1 minute.
• __gads, __gpi — Advertising cookies set by Google AdSense to deliver and measure ad performance. These cookies help determine which ads to show you and track whether you have interacted with advertisements on the site.
• cookie_consent — A preference cookie that records whether you have accepted or dismissed the cookie consent banner. This prevents the banner from appearing repeatedly on subsequent visits.

Third-Party Cookies

We may allow third-party service providers to place cookies on your device. These include Google Analytics, Google AdSense, and other analytics and advertising partners. These third parties have their own privacy policies and are responsible for their own cookie usage.

Google Analytics collects information about how you use ShareCode, including which pages you visit, how long you spend on each page, and how you arrived at our site. This data is aggregated and anonymized before we review it. Google's privacy policy governs their handling of this data, and you can learn more at policies.google.com/privacy.

Google AdSense may use cookies to serve ads based on your previous visits to ShareCode or other websites. Google uses the DoubleClick cookie to enable its partners to serve ads based on browsing patterns. You can opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ad Settings.

Firebase Authentication, which powers ShareCode's login system, may also set cookies or use local storage to maintain session state. These are classified as essential cookies because they are required for the authentication process to function correctly.

How to Control Cookies

You can control and manage cookies through your browser settings. Most web browsers allow you to:

• View what cookies are set and inspect their contents
• Delete individual cookies or clear all cookies at once
• Block all cookies automatically on every website
• Block cookies from specific sites while allowing others
• Allow cookies only from the sites you visit directly (blocking third-party cookies)
• Set your browser to prompt you before accepting each cookie

Here is how to manage cookies in popular browsers:

• Google Chrome: Settings → Privacy and Security → Cookies and other site data
• Mozilla Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
• Safari: Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data
• Microsoft Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Manage and delete cookies

Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality and performance of our website. If you block essential cookies, you may not be able to log in, create code spaces, or use collaborative features. If you block analytics cookies, we will not be able to understand how users interact with the platform, which limits our ability to improve the service. We recommend keeping essential cookies enabled for the best experience.

Cookie Retention Periods

Different cookies have different lifespans depending on their purpose:

• Session cookies are temporary and are deleted when you close your browser. These are used primarily for authentication and maintaining your active session.
• Persistent cookies remain on your device for a set period or until you manually delete them. Analytics cookies typically persist for up to 2 years, while preference cookies may last for 1 year.
• Advertising cookies generally persist for 30 days to 2 years, depending on the advertising network and the specific cookie purpose.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology or our practices. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated date. Your continued use of our website constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Understanding Cookie Technology

Cookies are a fundamental part of how the modern web works. When you visit a website, the server sends a small text file to your browser, which stores it on your device. On subsequent visits, your browser sends the cookie back to the server, allowing the website to recognize you and remember your preferences. This mechanism is what makes it possible to stay logged in, maintain items in a shopping cart, or remember your language preferences across different pages.

There are two main categories based on duration: session cookies and persistent cookies. Session cookies exist only for the duration of your browser session — they are created when you open a website and deleted when you close the browser tab or window. Persistent cookies remain on your device for a specified period (which can range from hours to years) or until you manually delete them.

Cookies can also be categorized by who sets them. First-party cookies are set by the website you are visiting directly (in this case, sharecode.in). Third-party cookies are set by domains other than the one you are visiting — for example, Google Analytics or Google AdSense set their own cookies when their scripts load on our pages.

In addition to cookies, websites may use similar technologies such as localStorage, sessionStorage, and IndexedDB. These are browser storage mechanisms that serve similar purposes but have different technical characteristics. ShareCode uses localStorage to store your cookie acknowledgement preference and certain editor settings like your selected programming language and theme preference.

Your Rights Under Privacy Regulations

Different jurisdictions have different rules about how websites can use cookies and tracking technologies. Here is a summary of the major regulations and how they apply to your use of ShareCode:

GDPR (EU/EEA): The General Data Protection Regulation requires websites to obtain informed consent before setting non-essential cookies. You have the right to access, rectify, delete, and restrict the processing of your personal data. You can also withdraw your consent at any time by clearing your browser cookies and revisiting our site.

CCPA/CPRA (California): California residents have the right to know what personal information is collected, to request deletion of their data, and to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. ShareCode does not sell personal information, but advertising cookies may constitute "sharing" under CPRA. You can opt out of personalized advertising through Google Ad Settings.

ePrivacy Directive (EU): This directive specifically governs the use of cookies and requires consent for non-essential cookies. ShareCode displays a cookie notice banner to inform users about our cookie practices.

IT Act (India): India's Information Technology Act and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act require organizations to handle personal data responsibly and provide users with reasonable notice about data collection practices. ShareCode complies with these requirements through this Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I delete all cookies? If you delete all cookies from your browser, you will be logged out of ShareCode and your cookie preference will be reset. The next time you visit, you will see the cookie notice banner again and will need to log in again if you have an account.

Can I use ShareCode without cookies? Essential cookies are required for core functionality like authentication and session management. If you block all cookies, you may not be able to log in or maintain a session. You can still use the editor as an anonymous user, but some features may not work as expected.

Do cookies track me across other websites? First-party cookies set by ShareCode only work on our domain (sharecode.in). Third-party cookies set by Google Analytics and Google AdSense may track browsing activity across websites that use those same services. You can opt out of this tracking through Google Ad Settings or by using browser extensions like uBlock Origin or Privacy Badger.

How often does ShareCode update its cookie practices? We review our cookie practices whenever we add new features, integrate new third-party services, or when privacy regulations change. Any updates are reflected in this Cookie Policy with an updated date. We recommend checking this page periodically for changes.

Contact Us

If you have questions about our use of cookies, please contact us at sharecodelive@gmail.com