Legal

Cookie Policy

This page explains how Focal Prep collects, uses, stores, protects, and shares information when you use the website.

Cookie Policy

Last updated: May 31, 2026

This Cookie Policy explains how Focal Prep (“Focal Prep,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) uses cookies and similar technologies when you visit or use focalprep.com and related services.

This policy should be read together with our Privacy Policy:

https://focalprep.com/privacy-policy

If you have questions about this Cookie Policy, you can contact us at:

support@focalprep.com

1. What Are Cookies and Similar Technologies?

Cookies are small text files that websites place on your browser or device. Cookies can help websites remember information about your visit, such as whether you are logged in, what settings you chose, or how you interacted with the site.

This Cookie Policy also covers similar technologies, including:

  • LocalStorage
  • SessionStorage
  • Pixels
  • Tags
  • Web beacons
  • Analytics scripts
  • Advertising scripts
  • Security and fraud-prevention tools

These technologies may store information on your device, read information from your device, or help us and our service providers understand how the Services are used.

2. Why Focal Prep Uses Cookies

Focal Prep uses cookies and similar technologies to operate, secure, improve, and support the Services.

We may use these technologies for purposes such as:

  • Keeping users logged in
  • Securing accounts and sessions
  • Remembering theme, display, and account settings
  • Protecting against abuse, bots, spam, and fraud
  • Supporting CSRF protection and other security features
  • Tracking basic site performance and errors
  • Understanding usage trends and feature activity
  • Improving practice tools, question pages, analytics, and recommendations
  • Showing advertisements
  • Measuring ad performance
  • Limiting ad frequency
  • Supporting payment, checkout, subscription, and fraud-prevention features if paid features are added

3. Types of Cookies We Use

We group cookies and similar technologies into the categories below.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly necessary cookies are required for the website to work properly. These cookies help provide basic features such as login sessions, account security, page navigation, form protection, and abuse prevention.

These may be used for:

  • Logging in and staying logged in
  • Remembering session status
  • Protecting forms from CSRF attacks
  • Securing accounts
  • Detecting bots or suspicious activity
  • Supporting Cloudflare security features
  • Supporting payment security and fraud prevention when payments are available

Because these cookies are needed for the site to function, they cannot usually be disabled through our cookie settings. You may be able to block them in your browser, but parts of Focal Prep may not work correctly.

Functional Cookies

Functional cookies and similar storage help Focal Prep remember choices you make.

These may be used for:

  • Remembering light or dark mode
  • Saving theme preferences
  • Saving display or layout choices
  • Remembering certain account or interface settings
  • Improving convenience when using the site

Some functional settings may be stored using cookies, LocalStorage, or similar browser storage.

Analytics and Performance Cookies

Analytics and performance cookies help us understand how users interact with Focal Prep.

These may be used for:

  • Measuring page visits
  • Understanding which features are used
  • Seeing how users move through the site
  • Measuring site speed and performance
  • Finding technical errors
  • Improving question pages, dashboards, practice tools, and results pages
  • Understanding general usage trends

We may use analytics tools such as Google Analytics for these purposes.

Advertising Cookies

Advertising cookies are used to show ads, measure ad performance, limit ad frequency, and, where allowed, personalize ads.

These may be used by Focal Prep and advertising partners such as Google AdSense.

Advertising cookies may help:

  • Show ads on Focal Prep
  • Measure ad views and ad performance
  • Prevent the same ad from appearing too many times
  • Personalize ads based on user settings, consent, location, and applicable law
  • Show non-personalized ads where personalized ads are not enabled or not allowed

Advertising cookies may be optional or consent-based in certain locations.

Payment and Fraud-Prevention Cookies

If Focal Prep offers paid features, such as an ad-free subscription, payment providers such as Stripe may use cookies and similar technologies.

These may be used for:

  • Checkout functionality
  • Payment processing
  • Fraud detection
  • Payment security
  • Risk analysis
  • Preventing unauthorized or suspicious transactions

Stripe may use temporary and longer-lasting cookies for these purposes.

The table below explains the main categories of cookies and similar technologies that may be used on Focal Prep.

Category Examples Purpose Required?
Strictly Necessary PHP session cookies, CSRF/session cookies, Cloudflare cookies Login, sessions, security, form protection, abuse prevention, bot protection Yes
Functional Theme or preference storage, LocalStorage settings Remember display settings, theme choices, and user preferences No/optional
Analytics and Performance Google Analytics cookies, analytics tags Measure usage trends, site performance, feature activity, and errors Optional where required
Advertising Google AdSense cookies, Google ad tags, advertising pixels Show ads, personalize ads where allowed, limit ad frequency, and measure ad performance Optional/consent-based where required
Payments and Fraud Prevention Stripe cookies and payment security tools Checkout, subscription billing, fraud prevention, and payment security Necessary for payments

The exact cookies used may change over time as we update our website, security tools, analytics tools, advertising providers, or payment features.

5. Google AdSense and Advertising

Focal Prep may use Google AdSense and related Google advertising services to display ads.

Google and other advertising partners may use cookies, ad tags, pixels, and similar technologies to serve ads based on a user’s visits to Focal Prep or other websites.

Depending on your settings, consent, location, and applicable law, ads may be personalized or non-personalized.

Personalized ads may use information about your activity to show ads that may be more relevant to you. Non-personalized ads may still use basic information such as general location, browser type, device information, or the content of the page you are viewing.

You can manage Google ad personalization through Google’s ad settings:

https://adssettings.google.com/

You can also learn more about how Google uses information from sites and apps that use Google services here:

https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites

If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, we may be required to use a Google-certified consent management platform before serving personalized ads or using certain advertising cookies.

6. Google Analytics

Focal Prep may use Google Analytics to understand how users interact with the Services.

Google Analytics may help us measure:

  • Page views
  • Feature usage
  • Traffic sources
  • Device and browser information
  • General location information
  • Site performance
  • User behavior trends
  • Technical issues

We use this information to improve the site, identify issues, and understand how Focal Prep is being used.

Google Analytics may use cookies or similar technologies to collect information about your activity on Focal Prep.

You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by using Google’s browser add-on:

https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

You can also adjust cookie settings through your browser or through any cookie settings tool we provide.

7. Cloudflare

Focal Prep may use Cloudflare for security, performance, content delivery, bot detection, and protection against abusive traffic.

Cloudflare may use cookies or similar technologies to:

  • Detect bots
  • Support browser security checks
  • Remember that a browser passed a challenge
  • Protect against malicious traffic
  • Improve website performance and reliability
  • Help keep the Services available and secure

Examples of Cloudflare cookies may include:

  • __cf_bm
  • cf_clearance

These cookies are generally used for security, bot protection, and challenge-related purposes. Blocking these cookies may cause parts of the site to work incorrectly or may cause security checks to repeat.

8. Stripe

If Focal Prep offers paid features, such as an ad-free subscription, we may use Stripe to process payments.

Stripe may use cookies and similar technologies for:

  • Checkout functionality
  • Payment processing
  • Fraud detection
  • Payment security
  • Risk analysis
  • Remembering payment-related settings
  • Preventing unauthorized transactions

Focal Prep does not directly store your full payment card number or payment security code. Payment processing is handled by Stripe according to Stripe’s own terms and privacy practices.

You can learn more about Stripe’s privacy practices here:

https://stripe.com/privacy

You can learn more about Stripe cookies here:

https://stripe.com/legal/cookies-policy

9. LocalStorage and Browser Storage

Focal Prep may use LocalStorage, SessionStorage, or similar browser storage.

These tools may be used to remember things like:

  • Theme settings
  • Interface preferences
  • Temporary practice-session information
  • Display choices
  • Certain non-sensitive site settings

Unlike some cookies, LocalStorage may remain in your browser until you clear it or until the site removes it.

You can clear LocalStorage and similar browser storage through your browser settings.

10. Managing Cookies

You have several ways to control cookies and similar technologies.

Browser Settings

Most browsers allow you to block, delete, or limit cookies.

You can usually find these controls in your browser’s privacy or security settings.

If you block or delete cookies, some parts of Focal Prep may not work correctly. For example, you may not be able to stay logged in, save preferences, complete security checks, or use certain account features.

You can manage Google ad personalization here:

https://adssettings.google.com/

You may still see ads after turning off personalized ads, but those ads may be less tailored to your interests.

Google Analytics Opt-Out

You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by using Google’s browser add-on:

https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

If Focal Prep provides a cookie banner, cookie settings panel, or consent tool, you may use it to manage certain optional cookie categories.

Strictly necessary cookies may still be used because they are required for security and basic site functionality.

Privacy Requests

You may also submit a privacy request here:

https://focalprep.com/data-request

In some regions, we may need your consent before using certain cookies or similar technologies, especially analytics or advertising cookies.

Where required by law, we will ask for consent before using non-essential cookies.

If you are located in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland, personalized advertising may require consent through a Google-certified consent management platform.

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time.

When we update it, we will revise the “Last updated” date at the top of the policy.

If we make important changes, we may provide notice on the website or through another appropriate method.

We encourage you to review this Cookie Policy regularly so you understand how Focal Prep uses cookies and similar technologies.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Cookie Policy, contact us at:

support@focalprep.com

You may also contact us by mail at:

Focal Prep