What Actually Happens When You Visit

Right, so when you land on our website, small text files get stored on your device. Nothing sinister—they're just bits of data that help us recognize you when you come back. Think of them like digital sticky notes that remind us of your preferences.

Some of these tracking elements are ours, and some come from third parties we work with. We're not trying to be sneaky about it. These tools help us understand how people move through our site, what content resonates, and where things might be confusing.

Here's something worth mentioning: we don't collect personal data through these trackers unless you've explicitly given it to us through a form or contact submission. The tracking we do is mostly about patterns and behaviors, not about identifying individuals.

The Four Types We Use

Not all tracking technologies serve the same purpose. We've broken down what we use into four clear categories so you know what's doing what.

Specific Technologies on Cortex Gleam

Let's get into the actual tracking elements active on our site. We believe in transparency, so here's what's running:

Most of these expire after your browsing session ends. Some persist longer—typically between a few months and a year—to remember your preferences across visits.

How Tracking Improves Your Experience

Okay, so why do we bother with all this? Because it genuinely makes the site better for everyone who uses it.

Understanding Learning Patterns

When we see which educational resources get the most engagement, we can create more content like that. If people consistently drop off at a certain point in an article, that tells us we need to rework that section. It's feedback without requiring you to fill out a survey every time.

Personalizing Content Recommendations

If you've looked at several articles about color theory, we can suggest related content about visual hierarchy or contrast principles. This works because functional trackers remember what you've viewed before.

Technical Performance Monitoring

Analytics help us spot technical problems fast. If page load times suddenly spike or certain browsers start showing errors, we see it in the data and can fix it before it affects more people.

Respecting Your Time

By remembering where you left off or what settings you prefer, we save you from repetitive actions. That might seem minor, but it adds up to a smoother experience overall.

Managing Your Browser Settings

You're not stuck with our tracking if you don't want it. Every major browser gives you control over what gets stored on your device. Here's how to adjust settings in the most common browsers:

Fair warning: if you block all tracking technologies, some parts of our site might not work as smoothly. You'll still be able to read content and contact us, but features like content recommendations or personalized dashboards won't function properly.

How Long We Keep This Data

Different types of tracking data get stored for different periods. We don't keep things indefinitely—there's no point, and it's better for privacy to clear out old data regularly.

You can always clear stored data manually through your browser settings if you want a fresh start before these expiration periods.

Your Control Options

Beyond browser settings, you have several ways to manage how we track your interactions with cortex-gleam.com.

Third-Party Tracking Services

We work with external services that have their own tracking technologies. These aren't under our direct control, though we've chosen partners who respect privacy.

Analytics platforms we use collect aggregated data about site performance and visitor patterns. Video hosting services track playback statistics. Marketing tools measure campaign effectiveness. Each has its own privacy policy explaining how they handle data.

When you interact with embedded content—like videos or interactive examples—those third-party services might place their own tracking elements. We've tried to minimize these where possible, but some are necessary for the content to function properly.

If you're concerned about specific third-party trackers, most browser extensions that block tracking can identify and prevent these automatically.

Updates to This Explanation

Technology changes, and so do the tools we use. When we update our tracking methods, we'll revise this page with the new date at the top. Major changes—like adding entirely new types of tracking—we'll announce through our regular communications.

Check back occasionally if you want to stay current on how we handle this. We're committed to being transparent about what data we collect and why.