Cookie Policy

1What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer, phone, or other device when you visit a website or use an online service. They are widely used to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of a site. A cookie typically contains the name of the website it came from, how long the cookie will remain on your device, and a value, which is usually a randomly generated unique number.

Cookies allow a website to recognise your device on subsequent visits, remember your preferences, keep you signed in to an account, and understand how the site is being used. Without cookies, certain features of a website, such as staying logged in as you move between pages, would either not work at all or would require you to re-enter information repeatedly.

In addition to cookies, we and our service providers may use other, similar technologies, including web beacons, pixel tags, and local storage, which serve broadly comparable purposes to cookies by allowing information to be collected or accessed on your device. For simplicity, this Cookie Policy refers to all of these technologies collectively as "cookies," except where we specifically distinguish between them.

2Why Scholargrowth Uses Cookies

We use cookies for a number of reasons connected with operating and improving the Service. Some cookies are necessary for the Service to function at all, such as those that keep you signed in to your Scholargrowth account as you move between the customers, projects, invoices, and other areas of the dashboard. Without these cookies, the Service could not be provided in the way you expect.

Other cookies help us understand how the Service is used, so that we can identify technical issues, improve performance, and make informed decisions about which features to develop or refine. These cookies typically collect information in an aggregated or pseudonymised form, focused on how the Service is used generally rather than on identifying a particular individual.

We may also use cookies to remember choices you have made, such as language or display preferences, so that you do not need to set these again each time you visit. Where applicable, cookies may also be used in connection with marketing activities relating to our website, such as measuring the effectiveness of a marketing campaign that brought a visitor to our site, though our use of cookies for this purpose is more limited on the authenticated dashboard than on our public marketing website.

3Categories of Cookies We Use

Cookies used across the Service generally fall into the following categories. Strictly necessary cookies are required for the Service to operate and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually set in response to actions you take, such as logging in, setting privacy preferences, or filling in forms, and are essential for core functionality such as authentication and session management within the Scholargrowth dashboard.

Performance and analytics cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources, and to see which pages of our website or areas of the dashboard are used most and least, so that we can measure and improve the performance of the Service. Information collected by these cookies is generally aggregated and does not directly identify an individual visitor, though it may be linked to a device or browser.

Functionality cookies allow the Service to remember choices you make, such as your username, language, or region, and to provide enhanced, more personalised features accordingly. Information collected by these cookies may become personally identifiable if we do not have anonymisation measures in place.

Targeting or advertising cookies may be used on our public marketing website, though not typically within the authenticated dashboard, to deliver content more relevant to your interests and to measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. These cookies record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited, and the links you have followed, and may be set by us or by third-party advertising partners.

These four categories are not always mutually exclusive in practice, since a single cookie set by a particular tool can sometimes serve more than one purpose at once, such as an analytics cookie that also contributes to functionality by remembering a dashboard layout choice. Where a cookie serves a mixed purpose of this kind, we generally classify it according to its primary function for the purposes of this policy and any consent mechanism presented to you.

4Cookies We Use on Our Website

On the public-facing Scholargrowth website, used by visitors who may not yet have an account, cookies are generally used to support core site functionality, to understand how visitors navigate the site, and, where applicable, to support marketing activities such as measuring the performance of campaigns intended to raise awareness of Scholargrowth as a business management platform.

This can include cookies that remember whether you have already responded to a cookie consent banner, so that you are not asked to make the same choice on every page you visit during a session. It can also include analytics cookies provided by third-party analytics services, which help us understand aggregate patterns of website usage, such as which marketing pages are most effective at leading visitors to create an account. Where our website includes embedded content from third parties, such as video players or social media widgets, those third parties may set their own cookies through such embedded content, independent of Scholargrowth's own cookie settings. We encourage visitors to review the relevant third party's own cookie and privacy practices where such embedded content is present.

5Cookies We Use Within the Platform Dashboard

Once you have created a Scholargrowth account and are using the authenticated platform dashboard, cookies play a more functional role, focused primarily on enabling you to use the Service as intended, rather than on marketing or advertising purposes.

Session and authentication cookies allow the Service to recognise that you are logged in, so that you can move between the customer, project, task, employee, invoice, and reporting areas of the dashboard without needing to re-enter your credentials on every page. These cookies are strictly necessary for the Service to function and cannot reasonably be disabled while continuing to use the dashboard.

Preference cookies within the dashboard may remember settings specific to your account or role, such as your preferred view of a particular module, or settings relating to how information is displayed to you, so that the Service reflects your preferences each time you log in rather than resetting to default settings.

Security-related cookies may also be used within the dashboard to help detect unusual account activity, support fraud prevention, and protect the integrity of the Service and the information stored within it, consistent with our broader obligations to maintain appropriate security around Customer Content.

6Third-Party Cookies

Some cookies used in connection with the Service are placed not by Scholargrowth directly, but by third-party service providers whose services we use to operate, support, or improve the Service. For example, our payment processor, Stripe, may set cookies or use similar technologies in connection with processing payments, consistent with its own published privacy and cookie practices.

We may also work with third-party analytics providers to help us understand usage patterns across our website and, in a more limited way, within the dashboard, and with providers of customer support tools that may use cookies to maintain continuity of a support conversation across a browsing session.

Because these cookies are controlled by third parties rather than by Scholargrowth, their use is also governed by the relevant third party's own privacy and cookie policies. We encourage you to review those policies if you would like more detailed information about how a particular third party uses cookies or other tracking technologies in connection with services integrated with Scholargrowth.

We take reasonable steps to work with third-party providers who maintain appropriate standards of data protection, but we do not control, and are not responsible for, the specific cookie practices of independent third parties, beyond the extent described in our agreements with them and in applicable law.

Where a third-party provider changes its own cookie practices, for example by introducing new categories of tracking or by changing the retention period associated with its cookies, we will review such changes as they become known to us and update this policy where necessary to keep our description of third-party cookie use reasonably current. Because third parties can update their own practices independently of Scholargrowth, we recommend consulting the relevant third party's own cookie disclosures for the most current and detailed information about their specific practices.

7How Long Cookies Remain on Your Device

Cookies can be either "session" cookies or "persistent" cookies, and the length of time a particular cookie remains on your device depends on which type it is and the purpose it serves.

Session cookies are temporary and are deleted from your device automatically once you close your browser. These are commonly used for essential functions such as maintaining your logged-in state as you navigate through the Scholargrowth dashboard during a single visit.

Persistent cookies remain on your device for a set period of time, or until you delete them manually, even after you close your browser. These are commonly used to remember your preferences or settings across multiple visits, so that you do not need to reconfigure them every time you return to the Service, and may also be used for analytics purposes that require recognising a returning visitor over a longer period.

The specific retention period for a persistent cookie varies depending on its purpose, and can range from a single day to a period of a year or more. Where third-party cookies are used, the applicable retention period is generally determined by the relevant third-party provider in accordance with its own policies.

8Your Choices and How to Manage Cookies

Where required by applicable law, we will ask for your consent before placing non-essential cookies on your device, typically through a cookie consent banner or similar mechanism presented when you first visit our website. You can generally update or withdraw your consent to non-essential cookies at any time through the cookie settings tool made available on our website, where applicable.

Most web browsers also allow you to control cookies through their own settings. You can usually find these settings in the "options," "preferences," or "settings" menu of your browser, where you may be able to see what cookies you have, delete them individually or in bulk, block cookies from particular sites, block all cookies from being set, or configure your browser to delete cookies automatically each time you close it.

Please be aware that if you choose to block or delete cookies, some parts of the Service, particularly the authenticated dashboard, may not function correctly, and certain features may become unavailable or behave unexpectedly. Because strictly necessary cookies are required for core functionality such as remaining logged in, blocking these cookies is likely to prevent you from using the Scholargrowth platform as intended. Most modern browsers also allow you to browse in a "private" or "incognito" mode, which typically deletes cookies set during that browsing session once the private window is closed. This can be a useful option if you want to use the Service without cookies persisting on a shared or public device, though it may also mean you need to log in again each time you open a new private session.

Some browsers and browser extensions also offer more granular cookie management tools, allowing you to view a detailed list of cookies currently stored for a particular site, including their name, associated domain, and expiry date, and to remove individual cookies without clearing your entire browsing history or removing cookies for other websites you use. If you frequently use shared or public devices to access the Service, we recommend reviewing your browser's cookie settings periodically and signing out of your Scholargrowth account when you are finished, in addition to managing cookies directly, as an additional safeguard for your account.

9Do Not Track Signals

Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" setting that sends a signal to websites you visit indicating that you do not wish to be tracked. There is not currently a common industry standard for how websites should respond to such signals, and different providers handle them differently.

At this time, Scholargrowth's website and platform do not respond to browser Do Not Track signals in a manner distinct from the cookie consent and management options described elsewhere in this policy. If industry standards around Do Not Track signals develop further, we will consider whether to update our practices, and any material changes will be reflected in an updated version of this Cookie Policy.

10Mobile Devices and Apps

If you access the Service through a mobile browser, the cookie practices described in this policy generally apply in the same way as they do for desktop browsers, subject to the specific cookie controls available on your particular mobile browser and operating system.

Where Scholargrowth is accessed through a dedicated mobile application rather than a browser, similar tracking technologies to cookies, such as device identifiers or software development kit (SDK) based tracking, may be used to provide comparable functionality, including keeping you signed in and understanding how the application is used. Where such technologies are used, we aim to apply the same principles described in this Cookie Policy, adapted as appropriate to the mobile application environment, and any app-specific privacy or tracking settings available through your device's operating system can generally be used to manage these technologies in a similar way to browser cookie settings.

11Cookies and Other Legal Documents

This Cookie Policy should be read together with our Privacy Policy, which describes in more detail how we collect, use, share, and protect personal information in connection with the Service, including personal information that may be collected through cookies. Where this Cookie Policy and the Privacy Policy address overlapping topics, the more specific provisions of this Cookie Policy govern our use of cookies and similar technologies specifically.

This Cookie Policy also operates alongside our Terms and Conditions, which govern your broader use of the Service. Nothing in this Cookie Policy is intended to expand or restrict the rights and obligations set out in our Terms and Conditions, except to the extent this policy specifically addresses the use of cookies and similar technologies.

12International Users and Applicable Law

Depending on where you are located, the specific legal requirements governing our use of cookies may vary. In jurisdictions that require prior consent for the use of non-essential cookies, we aim to obtain that consent before such cookies are set, through the mechanisms described in this policy. In jurisdictions with different legal frameworks around cookies and tracking technologies, we aim to apply practices consistent with applicable local requirements while maintaining a broadly consistent approach to transparency and user choice across the Service as a whole.

If you are accessing the Service from a jurisdiction with specific legal requirements relating to cookies that are not otherwise addressed in this policy, and you have questions about how those requirements apply to your use of the Service, you are encouraged to contact us using the details provided in this policy.

13Changes to This Cookie Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the cookies and similar technologies we use, changes in applicable law, or changes in our business practices. Where we make material changes to this policy, we will take reasonable steps to notify you, such as by updating the "last updated" date on this policy or, where appropriate, through a more prominent notice on our website or within the dashboard. We encourage you to review this Cookie Policy periodically to stay informed about how we use cookies and similar technologies. Your continued use of the Service after any updates to this policy take effect constitutes your acknowledgement of those updates, subject to any consent that may be separately required under applicable law before particular categories of cookies are used.

14Web Beacons, Pixel Tags, and Local Storage

In addition to cookies in the traditional sense, we and our service providers may use related technologies that serve similar purposes. Web beacons, sometimes called pixel tags or clear GIFs, are tiny graphic images, often invisible to the naked eye, embedded in a web page or email. When your browser or email client loads the page or message containing the web beacon, it sends a request to the server hosting the image, allowing the sender to record that the page was viewed or the message was opened, along with certain technical information about the device used.

We may use web beacons on our marketing website to understand which pages are viewed and how visitors move through our site, and in some marketing emails to understand whether those emails have been opened, so that we can gauge the effectiveness of our communications. Within the authenticated dashboard, our use of web beacons is more limited and is generally confined to internal analytics intended to understand feature usage.

Local storage refers to data storage technologies built into modern web browsers, such as HTML5 local storage, which allow a website to store information on your device in a way that is similar to cookies but that can, depending on the technology, hold larger amounts of data and is not automatically sent to the server with every request. We may use local storage within the Scholargrowth dashboard to support certain interactive features, such as remembering the state of a form you are filling in, or maintaining the responsiveness of certain dashboard views between page loads.

Unlike traditional cookies, local storage is not always cleared through the same browser controls used to manage cookies, and you may need to use your browser's separate site data or storage settings to clear locally stored data associated with the Service. We aim to use local storage in a manner consistent with the same principles of transparency and necessity that guide our use of cookies more generally.

15Legal Basis for Using Cookies

Where applicable data protection law requires us to identify a legal basis for placing cookies on your device or otherwise processing information collected through cookies, we rely on different bases depending on the category of cookie involved.

For strictly necessary cookies, such as those required to keep you logged in to the Scholargrowth dashboard, we generally rely on the fact that these cookies are essential to providing the Service you have requested, consistent with our contract with you under our Terms and Conditions, and, in some jurisdictions, on an applicable exemption from consent requirements for cookies that are strictly necessary for a service explicitly requested by the user.

For analytics, functionality, and, where applicable, advertising cookies that are not strictly necessary, we generally rely on your consent, obtained through the cookie consent mechanisms described in this policy, where such consent is required under applicable law. Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time, using the cookie management tools described in this policy or your browser's own settings, without affecting the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdrew your consent. In some cases, and where permitted under applicable law, we may also rely on our legitimate interests in operating, securing, and improving the Service as a basis for certain limited uses of cookies, such as detecting and preventing fraudulent or abusive activity. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider and balance those interests against your own rights and expectations regarding the use of your information.

16Illustrative Table of Cookie Categories

To help make the categories described in this policy more concrete, the following table summarises, at a general level, the typical categories of cookies used in connection with the Service, their general purpose, and their typical duration. This table is illustrative rather than an exhaustive technical inventory, and the specific cookies in use at any given time may differ; a detailed, current list of cookies can be requested through the contact channels described in this policy.

Strictly necessary cookies are typically used for authentication, session management, and security, and are generally session-based or short-lived persistent cookies that expire within a matter of hours or days of your last activity, reflecting their role in supporting a single period of active use of the Service.

Performance and analytics cookies are typically used to measure page views, session duration, and general usage patterns across the website and dashboard, and commonly persist for a period ranging from thirty days up to around two years, depending on the specific analytics provider and the type of insight being measured. Functionality cookies are typically used to remember display preferences, language settings, and similar configuration choices, and commonly persist for a period of several months up to a year, reflecting their role in providing continuity across repeated visits over an extended period.

Targeting and advertising cookies, where used on our public marketing website, are typically used to measure the performance of marketing campaigns and to avoid showing repetitive advertising, and commonly persist for a period of thirty to ninety days, though this can vary depending on the specific third-party advertising partner involved.

17Cookies and Children

The Service is intended for use by businesses and business professionals, and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children through cookies or otherwise, and we do not knowingly use cookies to track or profile children in connection with the Service.

If you believe that a child has provided us with personal information through the Service, or that cookies have been used to collect information from a child in connection with the Service, please contact us using the details provided in this policy so that we can investigate and take appropriate action, which may include deleting the relevant information.

18How We Respond to Consent Preferences

Where our website presents a cookie consent banner or preference centre, the choices you make are generally recorded through a cookie of their own, so that your preferences can be remembered and applied on subsequent visits without asking you to make the same choice repeatedly. This consent-recording cookie is treated as strictly necessary, since it is required in order to honour the very preferences you have expressed. When you adjust your cookie preferences, whether by accepting, rejecting, or customising particular categories of cookies, we aim to apply those preferences going forward, including by refraining from setting non-essential cookies you have declined and, where technically feasible, by removing cookies already set that correspond to categories you have subsequently opted out of.

Because cookie preferences are generally recorded at the browser and device level rather than at the account level, you may need to set your preferences separately on each browser and device you use to access the Service, including if you switch between a desktop browser, a mobile browser, and any other device from which you access Scholargrowth.

19Cookies and Cross-Device Use

Many businesses using Scholargrowth access the Service from more than one device over the course of a working day, such as a laptop in the office, a tablet used on site with a client, and a phone used to check a task list while travelling. Because cookies are generally tied to a specific browser and device rather than to a person, cookie-based preferences and, in some cases, analytics data are collected separately for each device and browser combination you use to access the Service, rather than being automatically unified across your devices through cookies alone.

Where you are logged in to the same Scholargrowth Account across multiple devices, certain account-level settings you configure within the dashboard, as distinct from browser-level cookie preferences, may be stored on our servers rather than in a cookie, and will therefore apply consistently across the devices from which you access that Account. Purely cookie-based preferences, such as a browser's remembered cookie consent choice, will typically need to be set separately on each device and browser.

If you use a shared computer, such as a shared workstation within an office, we recommend logging out of your Scholargrowth Account when you are finished and, where appropriate, clearing cookies from the shared browser afterward, so that another person using the same device does not retain access to your session or see information reflecting your own cookie-based preferences.

20Aggregated and Anonymised Information

Where we use cookies for analytics purposes, we generally aim to work with information in an aggregated or anonymised form wherever that is consistent with the underlying purpose of the analysis. Aggregated information combines data from many users together, such as reporting that a particular dashboard feature was used a certain number of times across all customers during a given month, without focusing on the activity of any single, identifiable individual.

In some cases, information collected through analytics cookies may still be linked to a particular browser or device, even where it is not directly linked to your name or account details, and such information may therefore constitute personal information under applicable data protection law in some circumstances. Where this is the case, our handling of that information is governed by the same principles set out in our Privacy Policy that apply to other forms of personal information we collect.

We do not use cookies to build individually identifiable profiles of visitors for purposes unrelated to operating, securing, and improving the Service, and we do not sell information collected through cookies to third parties for their own independent marketing purposes.

21How We Keep This Policy Accurate

Because the specific cookies used across a website and platform can change over time, as features are added, third-party providers are changed, or analytics tools are updated, we periodically review the cookies actually deployed across the Service and compare them against the description provided in this policy, so that this document continues to reflect our actual practices rather than becoming outdated.

Where our review identifies a new category of cookie in use, or a change to an existing cookie's purpose or retention period that is significant enough to affect the accuracy of this policy, we will update this document accordingly and, where the change is material, take the notification steps described in the section on changes to this policy below.

If you notice a discrepancy between the cookies described in this policy and those you observe being used when visiting our website or dashboard, we welcome you bringing this to our attention through the contact channels described in this policy, so that we can investigate and correct the discrepancy where appropriate.

22Contact Us

If you have questions about this Cookie Policy, or about how Scholargrowth uses cookies and similar technologies in connection with the Service, you can contact our support team through the contact channels made available on the Scholargrowth website. When contacting us about this policy, it is helpful to describe the specific question or concern you have, and, where relevant, the device or browser you were using at the time. For broader questions about how we handle personal information, including information that may be collected through cookies, please refer to our Privacy Policy, which contains further detail about your rights in relation to personal information and how to exercise them.