2. How iStart Uses Cookies
We use cookies for two purposes only, described in the sections below:
- Strictly necessary (essential): to keep you signed in and to protect the security of your session (see Section 3).
- Analytics: to understand, in aggregate, how visitors use our site so we can improve it — using our own self-hosted Matomo instance (see Section 4).
We do not use cookies for advertising, ad targeting, ad measurement, or cross-site tracking of any kind.
3. Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are essential for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually set only in response to actions you take, such as signing in or submitting a form. They include:
- Login & session cookies: these keep you authenticated as you move between pages of your account or member area. Without them, you would be signed out on every page.
- Security & anti-forgery (CSRF) cookies: these protect your session against cross-site request forgery and other security risks, helping ensure that requests made to our servers genuinely come from you.
Please note: because these cookies are required for core functionality, disabling or blocking them will break sign-in and prevent you from accessing your account or other secured areas of the site. For this reason, they do not require consent and are not optional while you use those features.
4. Analytics Cookies (Self-Hosted Matomo)
To understand how our website is used and to improve it, iStart uses Matomo, an open-source web analytics platform that we host ourselves on our own infrastructure at analytics.istartinternational.net. Because Matomo is self-hosted and first-party, your analytics data stays within iStart’s control and is not shared with any third-party advertising network.
What this means for your privacy:
- Analytics cookies are first-party — they are set by iStart, not by an external analytics or advertising company.
- We use Matomo to measure aggregate, non-identifying information such as which pages are visited, approximate visit duration, referring sources, and general device or browser type — to help us improve our content and services.
- There is no cross-site tracking. We do not follow you across other websites, and your data is not combined with data from other sites.
- We do not sell, rent, or transfer analytics data to third parties for advertising purposes.
For more detail on how we handle the information collected through analytics, please see our Privacy Policy.
5. No Third-Party Advertising Cookies
iStart does not use third-party advertising cookies. Specifically, we do not use advertising networks, ad retargeting or remarketing pixels, behavioural advertising trackers, or cross-site tracking technologies of any kind. We do not allow third parties to place advertising cookies through our website.
6. Managing & Disabling Cookies
You are in control of cookies. Most web browsers let you view, manage, delete, and block cookies through their settings. You can usually find these controls in your browser’s “Settings,” “Preferences,” or “Privacy” menu. Common options include:
- Deleting cookies that are already stored on your device;
- Blocking all cookies, or blocking only third-party cookies;
- Setting your browser to warn you before a cookie is stored;
- Using a “private” or “incognito” browsing mode, which typically clears cookies when the window is closed.
For step-by-step instructions, refer to the help pages for your specific browser (for example, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, or Brave).
A note on blocking essential cookies: if you block or delete the strictly necessary cookies described in Section 3, parts of the website that depend on them — particularly sign-in and access to your account — will not work correctly.
7. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the technologies we use, or for operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. When we make material changes, we will revise the “Last Updated” date above. We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed about how we use cookies.
8. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy or our use of cookies, please contact us:
iStart International Inc.
Email: legalteam@istartinc.com