Cookie Policy

This Cookie Policy explains how PrivacyTestLab uses cookies, browser storage technologies, and limited third-party services across the website. PrivacyTestLab is designed around a privacy-focused approach and attempts to limit unnecessary tracking wherever reasonably possible.

Overview

PrivacyTestLab is a browser privacy and security testing platform. It provides tools to check for IP leaks, DNS leaks, WebRTC exposure, browser fingerprinting, VPN behavior, and other privacy risks that affect everyday internet users.

PrivacyTestLab does not run user account systems, behavioral profiling, or marketing email campaigns. The platform does not build advertising profiles based on your activity. Most tools on this site run entirely within your browser and do not send your test results to external servers.

That said, some standard technical cookies, browser storage, and third-party services — including advertising — may set cookies or use similar tracking mechanisms when you visit this site.

PrivacyTestLab limits unnecessary tracking wherever reasonably possible. Cookies used on this site fall into four categories — strictly necessary, functional, analytics, and advertising — each described in detail below. Traffic analytics runs on site pages by default; you can choose whether functional and advertising cookies run.

Your choices

When you first visit PrivacyTestLab, a cookie banner lets you accept all optional cookies, reject optional cookies, or open "Customize" to choose individually between functional and advertising cookies. Traffic analytics runs on site pages regardless of that selection. Strictly necessary cookies are not optional — they keep the site and its testing tools working and are never used for tracking.

You can change your choice at any time from the Cookie Settings link in the site footer, which reopens the same preference panel pre-filled with your current selections.

Your choice is stored in a first-party cookie named ptl_consent, which records the date, method, and category selections and expires after 12 months. If your browser or extension sends a Global Privacy Control signal, PrivacyTestLab treats that as an automatic request to reject optional functional and advertising cookies and skips showing the banner.

What are cookies

Cookies are small text files stored on a user's device by websites and browsers. Cookies help websites remember preferences, improve performance, maintain functionality, and support certain technical operations across browsing sessions.

Different types of cookies may serve different purposes, including remembering temporary settings, improving website reliability, measuring website performance, preventing abuse, or supporting advertising systems.

In addition to traditional cookies, browsers may also use local storage, session storage, cached resources, or similar browser-based technologies to temporarily store information.

How PrivacyTestLab uses cookies

PrivacyTestLab groups cookies and browser storage into four categories, matching the choices available in the cookie banner:

Strictly necessary — required for the site to function: security, load balancing, and core page functionality such as protecting forms. These are always on and are not tracking cookies.

Functional — remembers non-essential settings such as your last test region, display preferences, or units, so tools don't reset between visits.

Analytics — aggregated, cookieless-where-possible usage statistics that help us see which tools and pages are useful. Covered in detail below.

Advertising — used only if you opt in, and non-personalized by default. Covered in detail in the Advertising Cookies section below.

PrivacyTestLab does not currently use cookies for building extensive behavioral advertising profiles or directly tracking users across unrelated third-party websites.

Session cookies

PrivacyTestLab has no user accounts, so there is no sign-in cookie for visitors. Running the privacy tools sets no session cookie. Article pages that show the community signup box set one session cookie to protect that form; on other pages it is set only when you use the "Join PrivacyTestLab" form.

Both are set with the HttpOnly and SameSite=Lax flags, and are only sent over HTTPS on the live site. HttpOnly means page scripts cannot read them, and SameSite=Lax stops them being sent from other sites. Each holds a random session identifier only — no email address, no password, and no personal detail is stored in the cookie itself.

Analytics cookies

PrivacyTestLab uses Google Analytics to understand which tools, articles, and resources visitors find useful, and to spot broken pages or slow-loading tools. Google Analytics sets its own cookies (typically prefixed _ga) to distinguish returning visitors from new ones and to group activity into sessions.

Google Analytics runs on site pages regardless of the optional-cookie choices in the cookie banner. It does not affect any privacy testing tool on this site — the leak, fingerprint, and network tests all run independently of analytics.

Third-party services

PrivacyTestLab may rely on selected third-party services for website hosting, infrastructure, security protection, advertising delivery, content distribution, and operational functionality.

These third-party services may independently use cookies, local storage technologies, security systems, or similar browser-based mechanisms as part of their own operations.

PrivacyTestLab does not directly control how external providers manage their internal systems, data practices, cookie behavior, or storage technologies.

Users should review the privacy and cookie policies of third-party providers separately when interacting with external services, embedded resources, or advertisements.

Advertising cookies

PrivacyTestLab may display advertisements provided by third-party advertising partners or advertising networks in the future.

Advertising providers may use cookies or related technologies to display personalized, non-personalized, contextual, or interest-based advertisements depending on browser settings, regional requirements, and advertising platform policies.

These technologies may help advertising systems measure engagement, reduce fraudulent traffic, limit repetitive advertisements, or improve ad delivery performance.

PrivacyTestLab does not directly control how third-party advertising providers collect, process, or store information through their own advertising systems.

Local browser storage

Some browser-based tools and website features may temporarily use local storage, cached resources, or session-based browser mechanisms to improve compatibility, preserve temporary settings, or support diagnostic functionality.

For example, temporary interface preferences, session-related settings, or certain browser tool behaviors may rely on short-term browser storage technologies.

These systems generally remain limited to the browser environment and are not intended for long-term behavioral tracking.

Managing cookies & browser controls

The fastest way to change your cookie choices on PrivacyTestLab is the Cookie Settings link in the footer, described above under "Your Choices." Beyond that, your browser gives you further control:

Most modern browsers allow users to control, block, restrict, or remove cookies through browser settings and privacy controls.

Users can typically configure browsers to reject certain cookies, clear stored browser data, disable third-party cookies, or automatically remove cookies after browsing sessions end.

Disabling cookies or browser storage may affect certain website features, preferences, embedded content, advertising systems, or browser-based tool functionality.

Privacy-focused browsers, browser extensions, or private browsing modes may also influence how cookies and browser storage technologies behave across websites.

Updates to this policy

PrivacyTestLab may periodically update this Cookie Policy to reflect operational changes, advertising updates, browser technology changes, legal requirements, or privacy-related improvements.

Updated versions will become effective once published on this page together with a revised “Last Updated” date.