Cookies & Local Storage

This Cookies & Local Storage Policy explains how MiTRYBE uses cookies, similar browser technologies, and web storage so your run is not wiped on refresh. Weathertop Studios builds MiTRYBE around Don't guess. Ask. Storage exists to remember what you chose to answer—not to assemble a hidden surveillance profile from every pixel you hovered. Florida-first users deserve plain language about what sits on their devices.

Related reading: Privacy Policy, Preference Map Policy, Accounts, and Security. Questions go to Contact Us.

1. Purpose

Browser storage lets MiTRYBE keep a working preference profile between page loads, remember basic UI state, and maintain authenticated sessions when Firebase Authentication sets cookies or token storage according to its configuration. Without local persistence, a single-player question run would vanish on refresh, which would break the experimental field Weathertop Studios is running in Florida.

This policy tells you what categories of storage we use, highlights the mitrybe-profile-v2 key, explains how to clear data, and separates essential storage from any non-essential analytics cookies we may introduce with appropriate notice.

2. Scope

This policy covers mitrybe.com and MiTRYBE client applications operated by Weathertop Studios that run in web browsers. It covers first-party cookies on our domains, localStorage and sessionStorage keys we set, and storage used by Firebase Authentication in the browser. It does not control cookies set by third-party sites you visit after clicking a seed recommendation or external link.

Mobile operating system identifiers and native app storage are out of scope until Weathertop Studios ships native MiTRYBE clients and updates this page.

3. Definitions

"Cookie" means a small piece of data a site asks your browser to store and send back on later requests."Local storage" (localStorage) means a browser key-value store that persists until cleared, not automatically sent on every HTTP request like cookies."Session storage" means similar key-value storage that typically lasts for a browser tab session."Similar technologies" include pixels, local/session storage, and in-memory tokens. mitrybe-profile-v2 is the primary localStorage key MiTRYBE uses to keep your local preference run intact between sessions on a device.

4. The mitrybe-profile-v2 key

When you answer questions—especially before or without relying solely on cloud sync—MiTRYBE writes a working profile to localStorage under mitrybe-profile-v2. That value may include answer history, derived dimension state, unlock progress markers, recommendation seed selections shown to you, and UI state needed to resume cleanly. It is versioned (v2) so Weathertop Studios can migrate shapes as the product evolves without silently corrupting older devices when possible.

This key is first-party storage on the MiTRYBE origin. It is not a billboard network cookie. It lives on your device. Anyone with access to your browser profile can potentially read it. On shared computers, sign out of accounts and clear site data when you finish if you do not want the next person to see your map state.

Clearing mitrybe-profile-v2 removes the local working copy on that browser. It does not automatically delete a Firestore profile linked to your Firebase Authentication account. Conversely, deleting a cloud account does not magically erase every local copy on every phone and laptop you used. Manage both sides when you want a clean break. See Privacy and Preference Map policies for deletion procedures.

5. Categories of storage we use

5.1 Essential / functional storage

Essential storage is required to deliver core MiTRYBE features you request: keeping question progress, remembering that a run exists, maintaining sign-in session material as configured by Firebase Authentication, and storing short-lived UI flags that prevent broken states. mitrybe-profile-v2 falls in this functional category for local runs. Without it (or an equivalent), refresh would erase answers you already gave.

5.2 Authentication-related storage

Firebase Authentication may use cookies, indexed storage, or other browser mechanisms to persist session tokens. Those mechanisms are part of Google's auth client behavior under our project configuration. Protecting the session protects access to cloud-synced preference documents. Treat device access as account access when a session is live.

5.3 Analytics and non-essential cookies

Weathertop Studios may use analytics to understand which question packs people finish, where errors occur, and how Florida users move through onboarding. When analytics rely on non-essential cookies or similar identifiers in regions that require consent, we will present appropriate controls. Aggregated product learning still prefers answer-driven maps over invasive cross-site tracking. We do not need a shadow profile from ad exchanges to honor "Don't guess. Ask."

5.4 Preference and security signals

We may store simple flags such as whether you dismissed a banner or acknowledged an early-product notice. Security-related rate-limit or abuse tokens, if any, exist to protect the service rather than to score your personality.

6. What we do not use storage for (early product commitments)

We do not use mitrybe-profile-v2 to sell your preference map as a standalone product. We do not treat local storage as a secret second brain that invents answers you skipped. Skips remain skips for unlock thresholds. We do not claim that local storage tracks your GPS by default; if precise location is ever required, we will ask through a product permission flow and update policies.

We will not use culture-war demographic bait as launch question content merely to fatten a local profile object. Storage should hold signal you chose to give.

7. Cookies lifespan and storage duration

Session cookies typically expire when you close the browser or when the session ends according to auth settings. Persistent cookies last until their expiry or until you delete them. localStorage keys such as mitrybe-profile-v2 persist until you clear them, until the product migrates or deletes them, or until browser settings purge site data. Exact Firebase token lifetimes depend on Google's auth configuration and refresh behavior.

Weathertop Studios may change key names (for example, future mitrybe-profile-v3) when schema changes require it. Older keys may be removed after migration. If both exist briefly during transition, they still belong to the functional storage category.

8. Your choices and how to clear data

You can reset answers in-product when controls are available, which may rewrite or clear portions of the local profile. You can clear site data for mitrybe.com in your browser settings, which typically removes cookies and localStorage for that origin, including mitrybe-profile-v2. You can use private browsing modes, understanding that closing the window often discards the local run.

Blocking all cookies may impair sign-in. Blocking localStorage may impair or disable local preference persistence. That is a tradeoff you control. If you want cloud backup of your map, sign in with Firebase Authentication and keep credentials secure per the Accounts and Security policies.

Browser "Do Not Track" signals lack a single industry response standard. Our primary personalization path remains the preference map from answers. Cookie banners or preference centers, when shown, govern non-essential categories in applicable regions.

9. Responsibilities

Weathertop Studios will document material storage practices here, avoid selling map storage as a data product, and design reset paths as the product matures. You are responsible for device access control, for understanding that shared browsers share local maps, and for clearing storage when you want local deletion. If you use employer-managed browsers, your organization's policies may also apply.

10. Procedures for linking local and cloud profiles

If you begin locally and later sign in, MiTRYBE may offer to link or merge the local run into a Firestore-backed profile. Review what merges. If the combined map feels wrong, re-answer or reset. Linking is convenience, not a claim of perfect psychological continuity. After a successful sync, local storage may remain as a cache; clearing it might still leave cloud data intact until you delete the account side.

11. Third parties and outbound journeys

Seed Florida recommendations may send you to external sites that set their own cookies. Weathertop Studios does not police those jars. Read their notices. Embedded maps or media, if introduced, may bring additional third-party storage; we will update this policy when such embeds become material.

12. Limitations

Browser storage is not a secure vault. It is not encrypted in a way that stops a local attacker with profile access. It can be corrupted by extensions, disk failures, or aggressive cleaners. Weathertop Studios is not liable for lost local runs when storage is cleared by you, your browser, or your device management tools. Keep expectations aligned with an early web product: local persistence is best-effort durability for convenience.

This policy does not list every ephemeral in-memory variable in the JavaScript runtime. It focuses on persistent or session-persistent mechanisms that affect privacy expectations.

13. Florida-first note

Users across Florida will refresh on beach Wi-Fi, storm outages, and flaky mobile networks. Local storage exists partly so a dropped connection mid-pack does not erase everything you already answered. That reliability goal is product design, not an excuse for hidden tracking. If storm conditions take you offline entirely, remember that seed recommendations are not live safety guidance—see the Recommendations Policy.

14. Changes and contact

Weathertop Studios may update this Cookies & Local Storage Policy as storage keys, analytics, or auth clients change. The "Last updated" date will change when we post revisions. Continued use after updates constitutes acceptance where permitted by law, subject to consent requirements for non-essential cookies in some regions.

Questions about mitrybe-profile-v2, clearing data, or cookie categories: privacy@mitrybe.com or /contact. Browse all policies or read Why we're different.