Cookie Policy

Last updated: June 22, 2026

What Cookies Are

Cookies are small text files that a website places in your browser when you visit. They allow the site to remember information about your visit — such as whether you are signed in or which pages you have viewed — so that your experience can be consistent across page loads and return visits. In addition to traditional cookies, we may use similar technologies such as browser local storage, session storage, and web beacons that serve comparable purposes. This Cookie Policy explains what types of cookies we use, why we use them, and how you can manage your preferences.

Categories of Cookies We Use

Essential Cookies

Essential cookies are strictly necessary for the Site to function. They enable core features including:

• Authentication and session management — keeping you signed in as you navigate between pages, and associating your requests with your account.
• Security — protecting against cross-site request forgery (CSRF) and other threats that require the server to verify that requests originate from your own browser session.
• User preferences — remembering settings you have explicitly chosen, such as a preference to stay signed in.

Because essential cookies are required for basic functionality, they are set automatically when you use the Site and cannot be disabled without breaking sign-in and other core features. They do not require your prior consent under applicable law.

Analytics Cookies (Optional)

Analytics cookies help us understand how visitors interact with the Site in aggregate. The information they collect includes which pages are visited most often, how long visitors spend on a page, the general geographic region a visitor comes from (country or region — not a precise location), the device type and browser used, and how visitors arrived at the Site (for example, from a search engine or a referral link). This data is used solely to improve content, navigation, and performance. It is processed by an analytics provider and is not used to build individual marketing profiles or to identify you personally.

Analytics cookies are provided by a third-party analytics provider (not named here). How they load depends on your region — see How Consent Works by Region below. Where prior consent is required, they load only after you opt in; where an opt-out model applies, you can turn them off at any time through the cookie preferences on the Site.

Our analytics also include a privacy-friendly, cookieless measurement that counts visits and page views without setting cookies, using a persistent identifier, or identifying you. It falls under the analytics category above and follows the same regional rules, so where prior consent is required it does not run until you opt in.

Marketing Cookies (Optional)

Marketing cookies help us measure and improve our advertising — for example, a conversion pixel that tells us when an ad led to a visit. They may be set by an advertising provider. Like analytics, whether they load by default or require your opt-in depends on your region (below). You can always decline or turn them off in the cookie preferences, and we honor recognized browser opt-out signals (see Global Privacy Control below).

How Consent Works by Region

We apply the standard that fits your location, based on the general region your request comes from (country-level, not a precise location):

• European Economic Area & United Kingdom (opt-in). No analytics or marketing cookies load until you accept them. On your first visit a banner lets you accept all, reject all, or choose per category. Until you choose, only strictly necessary cookies are active.
• United States and elsewhere (opt-out).Analytics and marketing cookies may be used by default so we can measure and improve the Site and our ads. You can opt out at any time through the cookie preferences or the "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link in the footer, and we honor Global Privacy Control signals (below).

Whatever your region, if you decline or opt out, the Site continues to work normally — you can browse the directory, read reviews, create an account, and use all core features.

Global Privacy Control

Some browsers and extensions can send a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal that tells websites you opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information. Where an opt-out model applies, we treat a GPC signal as an opt-out of marketing cookies automatically — you do not need to do anything else. You can still make a different choice explicitly in the cookie preferences if you wish.

Managing or Withdrawing Consent

You have several ways to manage cookie preferences:

• On-site cookie preferences— a banner appears on your first visit so you can accept all, reject all, or choose per category (necessary, analytics, marketing). A "Cookie settings" link and a "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link in the site footer let you revisit or change your choice at any time.
• Browser settings— every major browser lets you view, block, or delete cookies through its privacy or security settings. The exact steps vary by browser; refer to your browser's help documentation for instructions. Note that blocking all cookies through your browser — including essential ones — may prevent you from signing in or using certain features of the Site.
• Private/Incognito mode — most browsers offer a private browsing mode that discards cookies when the window is closed. Using this mode prevents cookies from persisting between sessions, though they are still active during that session.

If you withdraw consent for analytics cookies, we will stop collecting analytics data from that point forward. We cannot retroactively delete aggregate data already collected before your withdrawal, but no further data will be added.

Advertising

We may use a conversion/measurement pixel to understand whether our own advertising leads people to the Site, subject to the regional consent model described above (opt-in in the EEA/UK; opt-out, with Global Privacy Control honored, elsewhere). We do not sell your personal information for money, and we do not run third-party interest-based advertising networks on the Site. Any affiliate links on the Site may cause the affiliate partner to set their own cookies in your browser when you click through; those cookies are subject to the affiliate partner's own cookie and privacy policies, not ours. See our Privacy Policy for more information on affiliate link data handling.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, regulation, or our own practices. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. If we make material changes that affect how we use cookies in ways that require fresh consent, we will present you with a new consent prompt. Continued use of the Site after any changes constitutes your acknowledgment of the updated policy for essential cookies; optional cookies will continue to require affirmative consent.

Contact

If you have questions about our use of cookies, contact us: