Cookie Policy
Last updated: 9 November 2026
In simple terms: RouteGems uses one cookie, to keep you signed in. We use your browser's local storage to remember your preferences. We don't run any advertising or analytics trackers.
What we use
Sign-in cookie (essential): when you sign in we set a cookie called `rg_refresh`. It is what keeps you signed in, and it's locked down: your browser only ever sends it back to our own `/api/auth` address, it is never sent from another website, and code running on the page cannot read it, not even ours. So if anything malicious ever ran on the page, it could not take your sign-in away with it.
How long it lasts is your choice. Leave "Keep me signed in" unticked (the default) and we ask your browser to delete the cookie when you close it. Browsers don't always do that (Chrome's "continue where you left off" and Firefox's session restore both bring session cookies back), so we don't rely on it. The sign-in itself expires on our side within a day of the last time you used it, and ends within a week whatever happens: we don't extend it just because you keep coming back. Tick the box and the cookie is kept instead, so you come back still signed in. We ask first because a sign-in that outlives your browsing session goes beyond what we can set without your say-so.
Either way this is strictly necessary for a service you asked for (being signed in), so no consent banner is required for it. Signing out deletes the cookie and ends the session on our side too.
Local storage (essential): your browser also stores the email address you signed in with, so the site can greet you and keep your own drafts separate, plus your planner preferences (units, default stop types, map style and similar). Your session token is not kept here: each tab holds its own, in storage that belongs to that tab alone, and it is gone the moment you close it.
Payment (essential, at checkout): our payment processor, Stripe, sets cookies on its own checkout and payment pages to process payments securely and prevent fraud. These are essential for taking payment and are covered by Stripe's own cookie policy.
Map tiles (third-party requests, not cookies): the interactive map loads tile images in your browser directly from OpenStreetMap, OpenTopoMap and Esri. Those requests carry your IP address like any web request but we do not set tracking cookies through them.
What we don't use
- No advertising cookies.
- No third-party analytics or tracking pixels.
- No social-media trackers.
- No cross-site profiling of any kind.
If that ever changes, we'll update this policy first and ask for consent where the law requires it.
Managing storage
You can clear cookies and local storage through your browser settings at any time. Clearing them signs you out and resets local preferences; your account and routes are unaffected. Blocking the sign-in cookie altogether is fine too: you can still browse the site, but you won't be able to stay signed in.
Questions? support@routegems.cc