Cookie & Tracking Technology Policy

1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies and local storage are small text files or data structures placed on your computer, tablet, or smartphone when you visit a website. They are widely used to make web applications work efficiently, provide secure authentication, and supply analytical insights to site operators.

2. Categories of Cookies We Use

Sharon Online categorizes cookies into three distinct tiers:

A. Strictly Necessary (Essential) Cookies

These cookies and storage tokens are indispensable for the website to function. They enable core security features, authentication sessions, and transaction integrity.

• Session Auth Tokens (access_token, refresh_token): HttpOnly, secure cookies that authenticate your user account without exposing credentials to malicious scripts.
• CSRF Token (csrftoken): Protects your account against Cross-Site Request Forgery attacks during checkout and form submissions.
• Load Balancer Routing: Ensures your requests are consistently routed to the lowest-latency edge server.

Consent is not optional for Strictly Necessary Cookies, as the platform cannot function without them.

B. Functional & Preference Cookies

These cookies remember choices you make to personalize and enhance your user experience:

• Currency Preference (sharon_currency): Remembers whether you prefer browsing lesson prices in USD, ZAR, EUR, or JPY.
• Timezone Preference: Stores your chosen IANA timezone to render live tutor calendars correctly without constant manual selection.
• Cookie Consent State (sharon_cookie_consent_v1): Remembers your cookie consent choices so you are not prompted repeatedly.

C. Performance & Analytics Cookies (Optional)

These cookies help us understand how learners and educators navigate Sharon Online, which pages are most popular, and where video connection latency can be improved.

• Aggregated Telemetry: Anonymized metrics on page load speeds, error rates, and user journeys.
• No Third-Party Ad Trackers: Sharon Online does not sell your personal data or partner with predatory advertising tracking networks.

3. Managing and Revoking Your Consent

When you first visit Sharon Online, our WCAG-compliant Cookie Consent Banner allows you to:

• Accept All Cookies: Enables essential, functional, and performance analytics cookies.
• Reject Non-Essential: Restricts cookie usage strictly to essential authentication and security tokens.
• Customize Preferences: Allows granular selection of analytics and preference cookies.

You can modify your preferences at any time by clearing your browser cache or clicking "Cookie Preferences" in the website footer.

4. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy periodically to reflect technological advancements or regulatory requirements. Any updates will be published with a revised "Last Updated" timestamp.