Cookie & Similar Technologies Policy

This policy explains how PanelRoster uses cookies and similar technologies — including first-party browser storage and analytics transmission — on the public Free Tools experience under /free-tools. PanelRoster uses these technologies to provide essential site functionality, remember preferences, and support consent-gated, first-party product and site analytics for the Free Tools pages.

This policy deliberately distinguishes between the different technologies used:

• Cookies: small text files stored in your browser, used here for essential site behaviour where applicable. First-party browser storage is not a cookie and is described separately below.
• localStorage: a first-party browser storage mechanism (not a cookie) used to remember your analytics consent preference and, after you consent, to hold the pseudonymous visitor identifier.
• sessionStorage: a first-party, session-scoped browser storage mechanism (not a cookie) used, after you consent, to hold the analytics session identifier for the current tab visit.
• Analytics transmission: once you consent, analytics events are transmitted to PanelRoster's own first-party endpoint using the browser sendBeacon() API, with a fetch keepalive fallback. No data is sent to any third-party analytics network.

Analytics on the public Free Tools experience may use two pseudonymous identifiers, both of which are created only after you grant analytics consent:

• Persistent visitor identifier. Generated using a UUID, stored in first-party localStorage, and used for aggregate product/site analytics (for example, counting unique and returning visitors). It is pseudonymous — never anonymous in the strict sense — and has a maximum lifetime of 12 months, enforced client-side. It is only generated after analytics consent.
• Session identifier. Generated using a UUID, stored in sessionStorage, and scoped to the current tab session. It is used for aggregate session analytics and is only generated after analytics consent. It is cleared when the tab is closed.

The /free-tools analytics implementation is used for first-party product and site analytics and internal reporting — for example, which free tools and guides are viewed and used, aggregate visitor and session counts, coarse device/browser/operating-system categories, coarse country/region information, and referrer/UTM traffic sources where present. This information helps us understand and improve the public Free Tools experience.

This Phase 1 analytics implementation applies only to the public Free Tools surface (/free-tools). It does not collect or cover authenticated customer operational data — such as studies, respondents, interviewers, or customer organizations — held on the PanelRoster platform. This policy also does not describe, and should not be read as confirming the deployment of, any other or future analytics system.

PanelRoster does not use advertising trackers, cross-site tracking, or third-party analytics networks on the current /free-tools implementation. The analytics described here are first-party and are transmitted to PanelRoster's own endpoint.

Analytics requires your prior affirmative consent:

• You are offered clear Accept and Reject choices with equal visual prominence;
• No analytics identifier is generated and no analytics event is sent before you consent;
• Consent is never pre-selected;
• Accepting analytics is never required to use a free tool, and declining does not prevent or degrade the free tool;
• You can later withdraw or change your preference at any time.

The following retention periods apply to the current implementation:

• Raw analytics events: retained for a maximum of 14 months from the event date. A scheduled retention sweep deletes raw events older than this period.
• Visitor identifier: maximum lifetime of 12 months, enforced client-side.
• Aggregated reporting: retention follows the approved governance policy, currently recommended at 24–36 months. Aggregated-report retention is a policy recommendation and is not yet independently enforced by an automated deletion job; raw-event deletion above is the enforced mechanism. If aggregate retention is not technically enforced, it should not be assumed to be.

You can accept, reject, withdraw, or change your analytics consent at any time using the Manage Analytics Preferences control on the Free Tools pages (and via the link in the Free Tools footer). The control shows your current analytics consent state, lets you grant consent if you previously rejected it or had not decided, and lets you withdraw consent if you previously granted it. Withdrawing consent stops future analytics collection and removes the analytics identifiers stored on your browser.

PanelRoster is operated by Datumvista Research Limited. If you have questions about this policy, please contact us at info@panelroster.com.