Cookie Policy
Effective · Last reviewed 2026-05-21
Awkward AI is operated by Hyper Mind Technologies, LLC. This Cookie Policy explains which cookies and similar storage technologies we set on heyawkward.com, why, and how to control them. Read it alongside our Privacy Policy.
01. What cookies are
Cookies are small text files a website asks your browser to store, then reads back on later page loads. They keep you signed in across page views, remember preferences, and let services like analytics tell one visitor from another without learning who you are personally.
We also use a couple of similar technologies — localStorage and sessionStorage— that behave the same way from a privacy perspective. Throughout this page, “cookies” covers all of them.
02. The four categories we use
| Category | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Necessary | Required for the site to function — sign-in, saving generations, abuse protection. Cannot be disabled. | Always on |
| Analytics | Helps us understand how visitors use Awkward AI so we can improve it. Vercel Web Analytics is cookieless and runs regardless of this setting. | Off until accepted |
| Advertising | Reserved for future Google AdSense placements on /examples and /seo pages. Currently no advertising cookies are set. | Off until accepted |
| Third-party features | Enables optional third-party widgets and integrations (e.g. Stripe Checkout cookies on the upgrade flow). | Off until accepted |
Vercel Web Analytics and Speed Insights run cookieless and are not gated by the Analytics toggle — they aggregate pageviews and performance metrics without setting identifiers, so they fall outside the GDPR consent surface.
03. The specific cookies set on heyawkward.com
| Name | Domain | Purpose | Category | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| awkward_anon | heyawkward.com | Anonymous session ID — attributes pre-signup generations and enforces rate limits | Necessary | 90 days |
| awkward_consent | heyawkward.com | Stores your cookie-category preferences and consent version stamp | Necessary | 365 days |
| sb-access-token | heyawkward.com | Supabase Auth session token (signed-in users) | Necessary | 1 hour |
| sb-refresh-token | heyawkward.com | Supabase Auth refresh token | Necessary | 30 days |
| ph_* | heyawkward.com | PostHog behavioral analytics (only after consent) | Analytics | 365 days |
| __gads | heyawkward.com | Google AdSense ad personalization (set only if AdSense is enabled AND consent given) | Advertising | 13 months |
| __gpi | heyawkward.com | Google AdSense advertiser identifier (conditional, as above) | Advertising | 13 months |
| IDE | doubleclick.net | Google AdSense ad targeting and frequency capping (conditional) | Advertising | 13 months |
| __stripe_mid | js.stripe.com | Stripe Checkout fraud detection (set during upgrade flow only) | Third-party features | 1 year |
| __stripe_sid | js.stripe.com | Stripe Checkout session identifier | Third-party features | 30 minutes |
| m | m.stripe.com | Stripe Checkout machine identification | Third-party features | 2 years |
Category descriptions in full
Necessary
Necessary cookies keep you signed in, maintain your anonymous session for rate-limiting, protect against CSRF, and remember your cookie preferences. The site does not work without them.
Analytics
PostHog uses cookies to track behavioral events (generation completed, script copied, paywall viewed). Only set if you accept this category. Vercel Web Analytics and Speed Insights run cookieless and are not gated by this toggle.
Advertising
If and when we enable Google AdSense on programmatic content pages, this category controls whether ad-personalization cookies (__gads, __gpi, IDE) are set. Today: no advertising cookies are set on any page.
Third-party features
Stripe Checkout sets cookies during the payment flow (m, __stripe_mid, __stripe_sid). Those are only set when you actively go through checkout. Other third-party widgets, if added later, are also gated by this category.
04. How to manage your preferences
The fastest way to change what we collect is the dedicated settings page:
Open Cookie Settings →Your choice persists for 365 days across visits, then we ask again. If you want to re-open the banner manually, delete the awkward_consent cookie in your browser’s dev tools and refresh — the banner treats a missing cookie as a fresh visit.
05. How to manage cookies in your browser
A heads-up on the trade-offs: blocking all cookies breaks sign-in and saved history. Blocking third-party cookies leaves the site functional but disables Stripe Checkout (and any future AdSense placements if we enable them).
06. Changes to this policy
If we add a new cookie category or materially change what an existing category covers, we bump an internal version stamp which invalidates your stored consent and shows the banner again so you can re-confirm. The “Last reviewed” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent material change.
Current consent version: 2026-05-19
07. Contact
Questions about cookies, this policy, or to exercise any privacy right under your local law, write to hello@heyawkward.com.