Cookie Policy

1. What are cookies (and similar storage)?

Cookies are small text files that a website stores on your device. They let the site remember you between requests. Modern browsers also expose related storage APIs, and we use one of them — localStorage — for preferences that do not need to travel back to the server with every request. UK and EU rules treat cookies and that storage equivalently for consent purposes, so we disclose them together below.

2. Strictly necessary

These are required for the service to work. You cannot opt out of them while continuing to use ChapterMuse.

• Authentication session. A signed HTTP-only cookie keeps you logged in across page loads. Issued by NextAuth on sign-in, cleared on sign-out.
• CSRF token. A short-lived cookie that protects form submissions and authenticated mutations against cross-site request forgery.
• Cookie choice. chaptermuse:cookie-consent in localStorage remembers your analytics and advertising choices for 180 days. This preference does not enable tracking by itself.

3. Functional

These remember your preferences. They're stored in your browser (not sent to our servers) and let the app render the way you set it up. You can clear them by clearing your site data, at the cost of losing your customisations.

• Theme preference (writers-corner-theme) — remembers the colour scheme you picked for Writers Corner.
• Sidebar layout (desk:sidebar-collapsed) — remembers whether you collapsed the admin sidebar.

4. Analytics

If you accept analytics, Microsoft Clarity records website interactions, including pages, clicks and scrolling, for session replays and heatmaps. Clarity masks form inputs and content it classifies as sensitive by default. It may use cookies such as _clck and _clsk to connect visits. Clarity is not loaded before analytics consent or when analytics is rejected. Its advertising consent is granted only if you also accept advertising.

5. Third-party cookies

If you accept advertising, the website loads Google Ads, Meta Pixel and X advertising tags to measure advertising activity, plus Google AdSense to serve ads. These services may use cookies and similar identifiers according to their settings and your browser controls. They are not loaded before advertising consent or when advertising is rejected. Authentication providers may set necessary cookies during sign-in.

6. How to control cookies

Use the cookie banner to accept all, reject optional cookies, or choose analytics and advertising separately. You can reopen it through Cookie settings in the site footer or here: Cookie settings. Withdrawing consent reloads the page to stop loaded tracking scripts and removes accessible first-party tracking cookies. Browser settings can also remove cookies set on third-party domains.

Every major browser lets you block or delete cookies and clear site storage from its settings. Common ways in:

• Chrome / Edge: Settings → Privacy and security → Cookies and other site data.
• Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data.
• Safari: Settings → Privacy → Manage Website Data.

Blocking the strictly-necessary auth cookie will prevent you from staying signed in. Blocking the functional storage will make the app forget your preferences on every visit.

7. Updates

We'll update this page whenever we change the cookies or storage the product uses. The “last updated” date at the top reflects the current version.

8. Contact

Questions about cookies or storage? Email privacy@chaptermuse.com or use the contact page.