Cookie Policy

1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. They help websites remember your preferences, understand how you use them, and improve your experience.

2. How We Use Cookies

TipMe uses cookies and similar technologies for:

Essential Cookies

• Authentication and session management (keeping you logged in)
• Security features (CSRF protection, fraud prevention)
• Load balancing and platform stability

Functional Cookies

• Remembering your preferences and settings
• Storing your signup progress
• Language and region preferences

Analytics Cookies

• Understanding how visitors use our platform (Vercel Speed Insights)
• Heatmaps and anonymised session replay of how pages are used (Microsoft Clarity)
• Tracking page visits and navigation patterns (TipMe first-party analytics)
• Measuring page performance and load times
• Identifying areas for improvement

3. Local Storage

In addition to cookies, we use browser local storage to:

• Store your authentication token for seamless login
• Save signup form progress (excluding sensitive data like passwords)
• Cache preferences for faster page loads
• Store an anonymous visitor identifier for usage analytics (tipme_visitor_id)
• Store a session identifier for visit tracking (tipme_session_id, cleared when tab closes)

4. Third-Party Cookies

Some of our service providers may set cookies on your device:

• Stripe - Payment processing security and fraud prevention
• Plaid - Bank account linking security
• Vercel - Performance analytics and speed insights
• Microsoft Clarity - Usage analytics, heatmaps and session replay (_clck, _clsk, CLID)

We do not use advertising cookies or share your data with ad networks.

5. Managing Cookies

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

• View and delete existing cookies
• Block all or third-party cookies
• Set preferences for specific websites
• Get notified when a cookie is set

Please note that blocking essential cookies may prevent you from using certain features of TipMe, such as staying logged in or completing payments.

6. Your Cookie Choices

Analytics cookies are only used if you agree. You can change or withdraw your choice at any time below — one choice covers both the TipMe website and your account dashboard.

We also honour the Global Privacy Control (GPC) browser signal: if your browser sends it, analytics cookies stay off automatically and we do not show the consent banner.

7. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date.

8. Contact Us

If you have questions about our use of cookies, contact us at privacy@tipme-app.com.