Ascended Social Cookie Policy

Last updated: October 26, 2026 | Effective: October 16, 2026

Ascended Social Cookie Policy

Effective: October 16, 2026

This Cookie Policy explains how Third Eye Cyborg, LLC ("we", "us") uses cookies and similar storage (localStorage, sessionStorage and app storage) on https://ascended.social, the Ascended Social web app and our mobile and desktop apps. Read it with our Privacy Policy (https://legal.ascended.social/privacy).

1. What cookies are

Cookies are small text files a website stores in your browser. Similar technologies, such as localStorage, sessionStorage and app storage, work the same way for this policy. Some are needed for the service to work; others are optional and are only used if you agree.

2. Your choices

When you first visit, our cookie banner lets you Accept all, Reject all, or choose by category. Reject all is on the first screen and is as easy as Accept all. Optional categories start switched off. Nothing optional loads before you choose, and if the banner can't load, optional tools stay off. You can change or withdraw your choice at any time from the "Cookie settings" link in the footer of every page and in the app's settings. When you withdraw, we stop the optional tools and delete their cookies and stored data, including on the parent domain .ascended.social. We'll ask again if we add new categories or vendors, and after 12 months.

3. Categories

Essential — sign-in, security, fraud prevention, load balancing and remembering your cookie choice. These can't be switched off.
Functional — preferences such as theme, and push notifications you turn on.
Analytics — PostHog product analytics, Sentry session replay (with text and inputs masked) and Cloudflare Web Analytics (cookieless page-performance statistics).
Marketing — Affonso affiliate referral attribution.

4. What we use

Cookies

Name	Set by	Purpose	Category	Duration
Clerk session cookies	Clerk (HTTP-only)	Signed-in session	Essential	Per Clerk
`__session` / app session cookie	API server auth	Authenticated API access	Essential	Session / configured TTL
PostHog cookies (`ph_`, may be set on the parent domain `.ascended.social`)	`posthog-js` after analytics opt-in	Analytics identity and capture	Analytics	Per PostHog SDK
Affonso affiliate cookies: `affonso_referral`, `affonso_data` (set on the registrable parent domain, e.g. `.ascended.social`)	Affonso pixel (`cdn.affonso.io/js/pixel.min.js`, which also loads `psl.min.js`; loaded only after marketing consent; `data-cookie_duration=30`)	Click / referral attribution (last-touch). Names from the pixel source, Oct 16, 2026; cleanup clears `affonso` on host and parent domains.	Marketing	30 days
Cloudflare Web Analytics (`static.cloudflareinsights.com`, cookieless)	Cloudflare, loaded only after Analytics consent	Aggregate page-performance statistics, run by Cloudflare as our processor	Analytics	None (no cookies set)

Browser storage (localStorage)

Name	Set by	Purpose	Category	Duration
`ascended.consent.banner_choice`	our consent banner	Serialized banner decision (essential / analytics / marketing) and version	Essential (consent record)	12 months or until banner version bump
`ascended.analytics.consent_state`	Our consent banner and analytics setup	Harmonised analytics opt-in state (`opted_in` / `opted_out` / `unknown`)	Essential (consent signal)	Until updated by banner or Privacy Center
`ascended.analytics.` (anonymous_id, distinct_id, session_id)	Our web analytics client	PostHog identity envelope; written only after analytics consent via SDK	Analytics	Session / persistent per PostHog `localStorage+cookie` persistence
`ph_` / PostHog persistence keys	`posthog-js` (after `opt_in_capturing`)	Product analytics queue and identity	Analytics	Per PostHog SDK (until opt-out or cleared)
`affonso_tracked:`	our referral tracking	Prevents duplicate affiliate referral POSTs	Marketing	Until cleared
`affonso_click_id`	our referral tracking	Persisted Affonso click id from a deep link (never raw `?atp=` as click id)	Marketing	Until cleared / attributed
`affonso_tracking_slug`	web sessionStorage + mobile AsyncStorage	Live `atp` tracking slug carried through signup when no pixel click id exists	Marketing	Tab session (web) / until attributed (mobile)
`ascended-theme`	webapp `ThemeProvider`	UI theme preference	Functional	Until cleared
Clerk keys (`__clerk_`, etc.)	Clerk JS	Authentication session	Essential	Per Clerk

Session storage

Name	Set by	Purpose	Category	Duration
Ephemeral route / UI flags	various webapp features	Short-lived UX state (non-analytics)	Functional	Browser tab session
`affonso_tracking_slug`	our referral tracking	Live `atp` slug when the pixel click id is not yet available	Marketing	Browser tab session

Mobile app storage

Name	Set by	Purpose	Category	Duration
`ascended.analytics.mobile.consent_state`	mobile analytics	Analytics consent mirror	Essential	Until updated
`affonso_click_id` / `affonso_tracking_slug`	our referral tracking	Deep-link click id and `atp` slug carried through signup	Marketing	Until attributed
`ascended.consent.banner_choice` (when synced)	consent flows	Same as web banner choice	Essential	12 months / version
OneSignal / push keys	OneSignal SDK after in-app push opt-in + OS permission	Push subscription and external_id	Functional (notifications)	Until logout / opt-out
Pending push cleanup	the Ascended Social mobile app	Retry server unsubscribe after native opt-out	Functional	Until cleanup succeeds

Live scan, 2026-10-16 (before any consent choice; ascended.social home and /privacy)

Name	Domain	Expiry	Purpose	Category
`cf_clearance`	.ascended.social	1 year	Cloudflare security challenge passed	Essential
`csrf_token_v2`	ascended.social	7 days	Protects forms against cross-site request forgery	Essential
`GAESA`	ascended.social	30 days	Set by our hosting infrastructure (Google-hosted Replit deployment) for request routing	Essential
Cloudflare Turnstile (challenges.cloudflare.com)	—	per challenge	Bot and abuse protection at sign-in	Essential
`ascended.analytics.consent_state` (localStorage)	ascended.social	until changed	Remembers your analytics choice	Essential

5. Records of your choice

We use PolicyForge to run our cookie banner and keep a record of your cookie choices: what you chose, when, which policy version you saw, and a shortened IP address. PolicyForge stores these records in the United States, and we keep a backup copy on Cloudflare. We keep them for 5 years after your last change so we can show your consent, then delete them.

6. Third-party cookies

Vendors named above set their own cookies under their own privacy policies: PostHog (posthog.com/privacy), Sentry (sentry.io/privacy), Affonso (affonso.io), Clerk (clerk.com/legal/privacy).

7. Managing cookies in your browser

You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Blocking essential cookies may stop parts of the service from working.

8. Changes

We'll update this policy when our cookies change and show the new date above. If we add categories or vendors, we'll ask for your choice again.

9. Contact

support@ascended.social · Third Eye Cyborg, LLC, an Arizona limited liability company, 814 North Granite Dr, Payson, AZ 85541, USA. We aim to reply within 3 business days.

Your privacy choices, including Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information: https://legal.ascended.social/privacy-your-privacy-choices. To ask for access, a copy, a correction or deletion of your data, use our data request form at https://ascended.social/app/privacy/dsar or email support@ascended.social. You don't need an account to make a request.