Cookie Policy

This Cookie Policy explains how Ethere uses cookies and similar technologies on the Ethere website, dashboard, and chat widget (the "Service"), and how you can manage or decline them. It should be read together with Ethere's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Where Ethere processes personal data collected through cookies, the Privacy Policy governs that processing.

1. What Are Cookies and Similar Technologies?

Cookies are small text files stored on your device (computer, tablet, or phone) when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work efficiently and to provide information to the owners of the site. Cookies may be "session" cookies, which are deleted when you close your browser, or "persistent" cookies, which remain on your device until they expire or are deleted. This policy covers not only cookies but also the similar technologies that store or read information on your device, including browser local storage and the client-side scripts and browser storage used by the widget; they serve similar purposes and are treated in this policy in the same manner as cookies. Ethere does not use web beacons, pixel trackers, fingerprinting, or external tracking scripts; the only third-party script Ethere loads on its own pages is the strictly necessary anti-abuse check described in Section 3, which is not a tracking script.

2. Categories of Cookies and Similar Technologies

Ethere distinguishes between cookies used on Ethere's public website ("Website cookies") and cookies used when you access the logged-in Service ("Service cookies"). Ethere uses two categories of cookies and similar technologies today, and a third only if it is introduced in the future: (a) strictly necessary cookies and technologies, which are essential for the Service to function (for example, to keep you signed in and to protect forms) and cannot be turned off; (b) functional cookies and technologies, which record a preference you have actively chosen (for example, your interface language or appearance setting); and (c) non-essential cookies and similar technologies, such as analytics or marketing technologies, which Ethere does not currently use. Ethere uses the first two categories only for functionality and preferences, never for advertising or analytics. Where valid consent is legally required for any such technology, Ethere will obtain it before setting or accessing that technology; and if Ethere introduces non-essential technologies in the future, Ethere will only set or access them where and when valid consent is required and has been obtained, and declining them will not affect your ability to use the Service.

3. Cookies and Similar Technologies Ethere Uses

Ethere's website and dashboard set the following cookies and use the following similar technologies. The table summarises each one; the paragraphs below describe them in full.

• ethere_session — strictly necessary session cookie that keeps you signed in and is required for authentication and the dashboard to function. It is set by the server, is marked HttpOnly and SameSite=Lax, and is transmitted only over HTTPS. In production the cookie carries the __Host- prefix (__Host-ethere_session), which enforces HTTPS and a host-only scope. The cookie value is a signed reference to your session, which Ethere stores securely on Ethere's servers. It is set with an expiry of up to 8 hours, so it can outlive a browser restart; what it points to is the server-side session, which ends after 30 minutes of inactivity and no later than 8 hours after sign-in, after which the cookie refers to nothing. The cross-site request forgery (CSRF) protection token used to secure forms is held in that server-side session, not in a separate cookie, which is why the cookie is set for visitors who are not signed in as well.
• ethere_remember_device — strictly necessary cookie set only where you opt in ("Trust this device" during two-factor authentication). It lets a device you have verified step through a simplified sign-in for 30 days. It contains a signed random token, carries the __Host- prefix in production (__Host-ethere_remember_device), and expires after 30 days.
• ethere_lang — functional cookie that stores the interface language you actively choose in the language switcher (for example, "en" or "et"). It is set only when you select a language, expires after one year, and contains no personal data beyond the language code. If it is absent or cleared, the Service falls back to your browser's language settings.
• ethere_theme — functional cookie that stores the appearance preference you actively choose in the theme toggle. It holds only "light" or "dark", is set only when you actively choose one of those settings, and expires after one year. When you choose "System" (or have never chosen a setting), the cookie is absent or removed, and the site follows your operating system or browser preference automatically. It never contains personal data.

Similar technology — widget local storage. The chat widget that Ethere provides to run on a customer's website uses the website visitor's browser local storage (a first-party key beginning with ethere_widget_ that is set on the customer's domain only) to store a randomly generated visitor identifier and the identifier of any in-progress conversation, so the assistant can continue a conversation across page loads. This storage is set and read only by the widget code, and is not readable by any third party. The visitor identifier does not directly identify the visitor by name or contact details, but it may constitute personal data where it can be associated with information relating to an identifiable individual: it is a single random token, not a compiled profile, and Ethere does not use it to identify a visitor by name. The identifier and the in-progress conversation identifier are transmitted to Ethere's servers only as needed to provide the conversation and the engagement analytics described in the Privacy Policy; the analytics events are deleted after 30 days, and the local storage can be removed at any time by clearing the browser's site data.

Similar technology — dashboard browser storage. The dashboard uses browser storage for two further functional purposes. It keeps ethere_trial_dismissed in browser local storage so that a trial notice you have dismissed does not reappear, and it keeps an unsent reply draft under a desk-draft- or desk-draft-page- key in the browser's session storage, which the browser clears when the tab is closed, so a reply you have started is not lost while you work in the tab. Both are set only while you are signed in to the dashboard, are readable only by the dashboard running on this site, are not shared with any third party, and can be removed at any time by clearing the browser's site data. A draft reaches Ethere only if and when you choose to send that reply.

Strictly necessary anti-abuse script — Cloudflare Turnstile. Ethere's public forms (sign-in, sign-up, password recovery, and the contact form) load the Cloudflare Turnstile script from challenges.cloudflare.com and run an anti-abuse check that distinguishes human visitors from automated traffic. It is strictly necessary to protect those forms, is not used for tracking, advertising, or analytics, and stores nothing on your device. Cloudflare's processing of the signals it collects is described in Cloudflare's Turnstile Privacy Addendum at cloudflare.com/en-gb/turnstile-privacy-policy and in the Privacy Policy. Apart from that script, no third party sets cookies or any similar technology through the Ethere website, the dashboard, or the widget.

Consent choices are not stored in a cookie. Where a visitor has an Ethere account, a preference may be recorded against it; a visitor without an account can still give or refuse consent, and is not required to create an account to do so. Ethere does not currently use analytics or marketing cookies.

4. Ethere's Own Site and the Widget on a Customer's Site

On Ethere's own website and dashboard, Ethere is the controller of the personal data processed through the technologies described in this policy. The position is different when the chat widget runs on a customer's website. There, the customer may be the controller of the personal data processed through the widget, and Ethere may process that data on the customer's behalf as a processor, depending on the processing activity and applicable law. The customer is responsible for its own website and for the notices and choices it gives its visitors, including any consent those visitors must provide; Ethere provides the widget and the technical means the customer uses to meet those obligations. Where Ethere acts as a processor, the customer's documented instructions and the data-processing terms in the Terms of Service govern that processing.

5. Consent Management

Ethere currently sets only strictly necessary and functional cookies and similar technologies. Because no non-essential (analytics or marketing) technologies are set, Ethere does not display an accept-or-decline consent banner on the website, the dashboard, or the widget, and Ethere does not ask for cookie consent during account creation. Nothing in the Service is conditional on consent to non-essential technologies.

If Ethere introduces non-essential (analytics or marketing) technologies in the future, Ethere will ask for consent before setting or accessing them, through a mechanism that works for every visitor whether or not that visitor has an Ethere account. Consent will be specific, informed, and freely given: the provision of the Service will not be conditional on consent to non-essential technologies, and declining them will not prevent you from using the Service. You will be able to choose to "Accept all" or "Decline all" non-essential technologies, and it will be as easy to withdraw your consent as it is to give it; withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent given before the withdrawal. Where consent is given, Ethere will keep a record of it.

6. Managing Cookies in Your Browser

Most browsers let you view, block, or delete cookies through their settings. You can manage cookies in the settings of common browsers, including Google Chrome, Firefox (Mozilla), Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Opera (see your browser's help or settings). Please note that blocking or deleting strictly necessary cookies may prevent parts of the Service (such as signing in) from working correctly, and that disabling certain cookies may affect functionality, authentication, personalization, or security.

7. Third-Party Cookies and Opt-Out

Apart from the strictly necessary anti-abuse check described in Section 3, no third party sets cookies or any similar technology through the Ethere website, the dashboard, or the widget, and Ethere does not use advertising or analytics cookies. As part of providing the Service, Ethere uses third-party service providers; those providers may process personal data on Ethere's behalf, but they do not currently set cookies or similar tracking technologies through the Service. For the Turnstile anti-abuse check, Cloudflare also acts as an independent controller when it uses the collected signals to improve its own bot detection; the Turnstile script itself stores nothing on your device. The providers Ethere uses, what each one does, and where each processes data are named in the Privacy Policy and at ethere.cloud/subprocessors. Ethere reviews the cookie, local-storage, and tracking behaviour of every third-party script and service before it is deployed. Before any third-party analytics or advertising technology is introduced, Ethere will obtain consent where it is required and will update this policy with the specific providers and the available opt-out controls; a visitor may also use the cookie-management and blocking tools in the browser.

8. Changes to This Cookie Policy

Ethere may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the cookies Ethere uses or in applicable law. Ethere will update the "Last updated" date above and, where changes are significant, provide notice within the Service. Ethere encourages you to review this Cookie Policy regularly.

9. Contact Ethere

If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy or Ethere's use of cookies, contact Ethere at privacy@ethere.cloud.