Cookies, done properly
We only run what's needed for an accurate test. Nothing else without a yes. Details
Choose what PrivacyTestLab can store on your device. Change this anytime from "Cookie settings" in the footer.
Security, load balancing, core site features. Always on.
Remembers test region, units, and display settings.
Aggregated usage stats. No cross-site tracking.
Non-personalized ads by default. Off unless you enable it.
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.
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.
When you first visit PrivacyTestLab, a cookie banner lets you accept all cookies, reject everything except what the site needs to function, or open "Customize" to choose individually between functional, analytics, and advertising cookies. 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 all optional
cookies and skips showing the banner.
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.
PrivacyTestLab groups cookies and browser storage into four categories, matching the choices available in the cookie banner:
Strictly necessary — required for the site and its testing tools to function: security, load balancing, and core page functionality. 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.
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.
Analytics is one of the optional categories in the cookie banner. Declining it does not affect any privacy testing tool on this site — the leak, fingerprint, and network tests all run independently of analytics.
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.
PrivacyTestLab may display advertisements provided by third-party advertising partners such as Google AdSense or similar 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.
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.
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.
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.
Tool releases and research notes, sent when there's something worth reading. Nothing else.