Cookie Policy
What lives in your browser when you read Fanorate, who set it, and how to clear it.
- Publisher
- Brillmark LLC
1. What this policy covers
This Cookie Policy explains how Fanorate.com (the "Site") uses cookies and similar tracking technologies, what they do, and the choices you have. It supplements, and should be read together with, our Privacy Policy.
Fanorate.com is operated by Brillmark LLC ("we," "us," or "our"), a limited liability company organized in California, United States.
2. What cookies are
A cookie is a small text file that a website places on your device (computer, tablet, phone) when you visit. Cookies allow the website to remember information about your visit — for example, your language preference, whether you've dismissed a notice, or that you arrived from a particular search result.
We also use similar technologies that do related work — pixels (tiny embedded images that report when a page is loaded), local storage (browser storage that persists across visits), and tracking parameters in URLs. For simplicity, this policy refers to all of these collectively as "cookies."
3. Why we use cookies
Fanorate uses cookies for four purposes:
Strictly necessary cookies that keep the Site running — load balancing, session integrity, security, and remembering your cookie-consent choices.
Analytics cookies that help us understand which articles readers engage with, how readers move through the Site, and where the Site is slow or broken. The information is aggregated and used to improve our editorial product.
Affiliate-tracking cookies that allow our retail partners and affiliate networks to attribute a purchase you make to a click that originated on Fanorate. These cookies are how we earn the commissions described in our Affiliate Disclosure. They are set by the retailer or affiliate network when you click an affiliate link, not by Fanorate directly.
Functional cookies that remember preferences such as dark-mode toggle state and dismissed notices.
We do not use cookies for personalized advertising or cross-context behavioral advertising. Fanorate does not run display ads.
4. First-party and third-party cookies
First-party cookies are set by fanorate.com itself. They include session cookies, consent-state cookies, and functional cookies described above.
Third-party cookies are set by services we use or by retailers and affiliate networks you reach via our links. The third parties currently in use include:
- Google Analytics 4 — analytics.
- Google Tag Manager — tag deployment infrastructure.
- Web3Forms — receives newsletter sign-ups and contact-form submissions.
- Cloudflare — security and performance (CDN).
- Google reCAPTCHA v3 — form spam prevention.
- Affiliate networks and retailers: Retailers we link to may set their own cookies when you click through from a Fanorate page, and affiliate networks may set click attribution cookies. Each retailer and network operates under its own privacy policy. The current list of retailer programs we participate in is maintained on our Affiliate Disclosure page.
Each third party operates under its own privacy policy. We list the major ones above so you can review them if you wish.
5. Specific cookies we set or expect to be set
The table below is a representative listing. The exact cookie names, providers, and durations should be confirmed against an actual cookie audit of the live site.
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Type | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
fanorate_session | Fanorate (first-party) | Maintains session integrity | Strictly necessary | Session |
fanorate_consent | Fanorate (first-party) | Stores your cookie-consent choices | Strictly necessary | 12 months |
fanorate_theme | Fanorate (first-party) | Remembers dark/light mode preference | Functional | 12 months |
_ga, _ga_* | Google Analytics | Analytics — distinguishing users | Analytics | 24 months |
_gid | Google Analytics | Analytics — distinguishing users | Analytics | 24 hours |
| Affiliate-network click ID (varies — IR_*, awc, irclickid, etc.) | Affiliate networks we work with | Click attribution for affiliate commissions | Affiliate | 24 hours – 90 days, depending on retailer |
| Retailer cookies (varies) | Authorized retailers we link to | Set by retailer upon click-through; governed by retailer's policies | Affiliate / retailer | Varies |
_GRECAPTCHA | Google reCAPTCHA | Form spam prevention | Strictly necessary | 6 months |
| Form provider cookies (if set) | Web3Forms | Newsletter and contact-form submission | Functional | Varies |
We will update this table as our cookie usage changes.
6. Your choices
Cookie consent banner. On your first visit (and after material changes to this policy), we present a cookie consent notice that allows you to accept all cookies, reject non-essential cookies, or customize your choices by category. You can revisit your choices at any time by clicking the "Cookie Settings" link in the footer.
Browser controls. All major browsers let you view, manage, and delete cookies. You can also configure your browser to block cookies entirely or to alert you when a cookie is being set. Instructions for the major browsers:
- Apple Safari — Manage cookies and website data
- Google Chrome — Clear, allow and manage cookies
- Mozilla Firefox — Enhanced Tracking Protection
- Microsoft Edge — View and delete browser history
Note that disabling cookies may affect Site functionality. Disabling affiliate-tracking cookies means that purchases you make at retailers we link to will not be attributed to Fanorate — this is your right, and it will not change the price you pay.
Global Privacy Control (GPC) and Do Not Track. We respond to the Global Privacy Control signal as a valid opt-out request where applicable under state privacy laws. The "Do Not Track" browser signal is not standardized; we currently do not change behavior based on it but treat GPC as the equivalent opt-out signal.
Opting out of Google Analytics. You can install the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-On to prevent Google Analytics from collecting data about your visit.
7. Changes to this policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time as our practices change. Material changes will be reflected by updating the "Effective date" at the top of this page. Where required by law, we will re-prompt for cookie consent following material changes.
8. Contact
For questions about this Cookie Policy:
Brillmark LLC
Attn: Privacy
192 Benmore Dr, Hayward, CA 94542
privacy@fanorate.com