This Cookie Policy explains what cookies and similar technologies (such as browser local storage) Credit Impact, Inc. ("Credit Impact," "we," "us," or "our") uses on this website, why we use them, and how you can accept, reject, or withdraw your choice. It supplements our Privacy Policy, which covers our broader information practices.
1. What Cookies Are
Cookies are small text files a website stores on your device to remember information, such as whether you have already made a choice on a previous visit. Some of what this policy describes is technically browser local storage rather than a cookie — it behaves the same way from a privacy standpoint (data saved on your device and read back by this site), so we cover both here.
2. The Choice You Control
When you first visit, a banner asks you to choose between two categories:
- Strictly Necessary — required for the site to work (for example, staying signed in). These are always on and are not part of the choice, because the site cannot function without them.
- Analytics — Google Analytics (GA4) and Microsoft Clarity, used together to understand how the site is used. Off by default. Nothing in this category loads — no script is requested and no cookie is set — until you choose "Accept all" or turn Analytics on in preferences.
You can change your choice at any time, with no effect on your ability to use the site either way, by selecting here or in the site footer. Withdrawing Analytics consent stops further Analytics activity and removes the Analytics cookies listed below from this browser.
3. Google Sign-In Is Handled Separately
"Continue with Google" is a sign-in feature, not an analytics feature, and is not part of the Analytics choice above — it is never turned on or off by accepting or rejecting Analytics. Google's sign-in code is only requested after you take a specific action indicating you want to use it: an initial CreditImpact-styled "Continue with Google" control loads Google's official sign-in code and button, which you then use to actually sign in. Nothing from Google's sign-in system is requested merely by loading the login or account-creation page.
4. Cookies and Local Storage We Use
| Name | Category | Purpose | Set by | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|---|
connect.sid | Strictly Necessary | Keeps you signed in to your CreditImpact account. First-party, set by our own server, and marked httpOnly — it cannot be read by any script running on the page, including this site's own consent code, and is completely unaffected by your Analytics choice in either direction. | CreditImpact (first-party) | If "Keep me signed in" is checked at login, up to 30 days. Otherwise, a browser-session cookie that is removed when you close your browser (the server additionally expires an idle session after 24 hours of inactivity). |
creditimpact.cookieConsent.v1 | Strictly Necessary | Records your cookie choice itself (which category you accepted or rejected, and when), so we do not ask again on every visit. Not a cookie — stored in browser local storage. Contains no personal information. | CreditImpact (first-party) | 12 months, then you are asked again. |
_ga | Analytics (off until accepted) | Distinguishes one visitor from another. | Google Analytics (GA4) — first-party cookie | Up to 2 years by Google's stated default (some browsers, such as Chrome, cap this at 400 days regardless of the value Google requests). |
_ga_<container-id> | Analytics (off until accepted) | Persists Google Analytics session state. There may be more than one such cookie, each ending in a different property-specific suffix. | Google Analytics (GA4) — first-party cookie | Same as _ga above. |
_clck | Analytics (off until accepted) | Persists a Microsoft Clarity user identifier and preferences so repeat visits are attributed to the same anonymous user. | Microsoft Clarity — first-party cookie | Microsoft's published cookie reference does not state an exact retention period for this cookie. |
_clsk | Analytics (off until accepted) | Connects multiple page views into a single Clarity session recording. | Microsoft Clarity — first-party cookie | Microsoft's published cookie reference does not state an exact retention period for this cookie. |
g_state | Functional — tied to Google Sign-In, not the Analytics choice | Set by Google's own Identity Services code to record sign-out state and avoid a broken sign-in experience after you sign out. Set only if you actively use "Continue with Google" (see Section 3) — not merely by visiting or loading the login page. | Google — first-party cookie | Google's own public documentation for this cookie does not state an exact retention period. |
Microsoft Clarity and Google Analytics never run — and none of their cookies are set — on pages of this site that involve signing in, creating an account, resetting a password, or any authenticated portal, admin, or sales-rep area, regardless of your Analytics choice.
5. Browser Controls
Most browsers let you block or delete cookies, or clear local storage, through their settings. Doing so is independent of the choice above and may affect site functionality — clearing connect.sid, for example, will sign you out.
6. Changes to This Cookie Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time. If we do, we will post the updated version on this page and revise the Effective Date above.
7. Contact Us
Questions about this Cookie Policy can be sent to:
Credit Impact, Inc.601 N Federal Hwy, Ste 301 #129
Hallandale Beach, FL 33009, USA
Legal@creditimpact.co