Cookie Usage Policy
Understanding how SharkToolz tracks and manages your data - Updated January 2025
What Are Cookies and Why We Use Them
Cookies are small text files that websites place on your device when you visit them. Think of them as digital breadcrumbs that help websites remember your preferences and activities. At SharkToolz, we use various tracking technologies to enhance your cybersecurity learning experience and improve our platform's functionality.
These tracking mechanisms serve multiple purposes - from remembering your login status to analyzing which cybersecurity topics interest our users most. We believe in being transparent about exactly how these technologies work and what data they collect from your interactions with our platform.
Types of Tracking Technologies We Use
Browser Fingerprinting
Beyond traditional cookies, we collect technical information about your browser, screen resolution, installed fonts, and device capabilities. This creates a unique "fingerprint" that helps us detect suspicious login attempts and personalize your learning experience.
Third-Party Integrations
Our platform integrates with various cybersecurity tools and services that may place their own tracking pixels. This includes educational partners, certification providers, and industry news sources that enhance your learning journey.
Manage Your Cookie Preferences
You have control over non-essential tracking. Click below to opt out of analytics, marketing, and other optional cookies while keeping essential functionality intact.
Data Collection Details
Information We Track
When you visit SharkToolz, we collect various types of data to improve your cybersecurity education experience. This includes your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring websites, and pages you visit within our platform.
- Course completion rates and quiz performance
- Time spent on different cybersecurity topics
- Search queries within our knowledge base
- Download activity for security tools and resources
- Forum participation and community interactions
- Email engagement with our security newsletters
How Long We Keep Your Data
Analytics cookies typically expire after 24 months, while marketing pixels may persist for up to 13 months. Essential session cookies are deleted when you close your browser. LocalStorage data remains until you clear it manually or complete specific actions like finishing a course.
We regularly review and purge old tracking data that no longer serves educational purposes. User behavior patterns are anonymized after 18 months and used only for statistical analysis of learning trends.
Browser Controls and Third-Party Tools
Most modern browsers provide built-in cookie management tools. You can access these through your browser's privacy or security settings. Chrome users can type "chrome://settings/cookies" in their address bar, while Firefox users should navigate to Privacy & Security settings.
Browser-Specific Instructions
Safari users can manage cookies through Preferences > Privacy, where you can block all cookies or just third-party ones. Edge browser users should check Settings > Cookies and site permissions for granular control options.
For comprehensive tracking protection, consider browser extensions like uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, or Ghostery. These tools can block specific categories of trackers while allowing essential website functionality to continue working normally.
Mobile Device Management
On mobile devices, cookie controls vary by browser app. Mobile Chrome and Firefox offer similar controls to their desktop versions. iOS users can enable "Prevent Cross-Site Tracking" in Settings > Safari for enhanced privacy protection.
Impact on Your Experience
Accepting analytics cookies helps us understand which cybersecurity topics are most valuable to our community. This data guides our content development, helping us create more relevant training materials and identify knowledge gaps in cybersecurity education.
Marketing cookies enable us to show you relevant cybersecurity news, tool recommendations, and course suggestions across other websites you visit. Without these, you might miss important security updates or learning opportunities that match your interests.
Personalization Benefits
Functional cookies remember your dashboard layout preferences, favorite topics, and learning progress. This creates a more personalized experience that adapts to your cybersecurity learning style and professional development goals.
When you disable optional tracking, our platform still functions fully, but recommendations become generic and we can't provide insights about your learning progress or suggest relevant advanced topics based on your interests.