Cookie Policy

1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently and to provide information to site owners. Local storage and session storage are similar browser technologies that allow websites to store data locally on your device.

2. How We Use Cookies & Local Storage

sideby.me uses a minimal approach to client-side storage. We only use what is strictly necessary for the Service to function.

Essential / Functional Storage (localStorage)

The following items are stored in your browser's local storage:

• Theme preference - stores your light/dark mode preference so we can remember it between visits.
• Chat notification sound - stores whether in-room chat notification sounds are enabled and your preferred notification volume (0–1).
• Subtitle tracks - stores subtitle track data and your active subtitle track selection per room, keyed by room ID.
• Subtitle settings - stores your global subtitle display preferences (font size, position, etc.).

None of these values are transmitted to our servers.

Session Storage (temporary, per browser tab)

The following items are stored in session storage. They expire automatically and are never written to disk:

• Host token (room-creator) - stores your host token and room ID for up to 5 minutes after creating a room. This allows you to reclaim host status if you accidentally disconnect or reload the page.
• Join data (join-data) - stores your display name and target room ID for up to 5 minutes during the room join flow. Cleared automatically on expiry.

In-Memory (not persisted)

• Socket connection - temporary in-memory data used by our real-time connection (Socket.IO) to maintain your session within a room. This is not persisted to disk.

3. What We Do NOT Use

• No analytics cookies. We do not use Google Analytics, Mixpanel, or any other tracking/analytics service.
• No advertising cookies. We do not serve ads or use advertising tracking pixels.
• No third-party cookies. We do not embed third-party scripts that set their own cookies on your device.
• No cross-site tracking. We do not track your activity across other websites.

4. Sideby Pass Extension

The Sideby Pass browser extension does not set cookies. Any data it stores (such as detected video URLs for the current tab) is held in the extension's background service worker memory and is automatically cleared when the tab is closed or the browser is restarted.

5. Managing Your Preferences

Since we only use essential/functional storage, there is no cookie banner or consent mechanism required. Under the EU ePrivacy Directive and GDPR, storing a user-requested preference (such as theme or subtitle settings) is generally classified as "strictly necessary" and does not require consent. However, you can clear your browser's local storage and session storage at any time through your browser settings. Clearing local storage will reset your UI preferences (theme, notification settings, subtitle preferences) but will not affect the Service's core functionality.

If we ever introduce non-essential client-side storage, we will implement an appropriate consent mechanism (such as a cookie banner) before doing so, in compliance with applicable regulations.

6. Changes to This Policy

If we ever introduce non-essential cookies (e.g., analytics), we will update this policy and implement an appropriate consent mechanism before doing so.