Cookie Policy

Last updated: 7.09.2026

This policy explains the cookies and similar technologies used on TheVirtualCompanion (“this Site”, “we”, “us”), operated by Strategic Growths AZ LTD. Read it alongside our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions which cover what happens to the data these technologies collect.

What Cookies Are

A cookie is a small text file placed on your device when you visit a website. It lets the site recognise your device on a later page or a later visit. Similar technologies — local storage, pixels, tracking scripts — do much the same job, and everything in this policy applies to them equally.

Cookies set by us are called first-party. Cookies set by companies whose tools we use are third-party, and those companies control what they collect.

The Cookies We Use

Strictly necessary

These keep the Site working: they remember your cookie choices, maintain security, and balance server load. They carry no tracking purpose and cannot be switched off, since the Site would not function without them. No consent is required for this category.

Typical lifespan: session to 12 months.

Analytics

These tell us which articles get read, how visitors arrive, and where people drop off, so we can decide what to write next. Data is aggregated and we do not use it to identify individuals. These are set only after you consent.

Affiliate and referral

When you click a link to a service we review, the partner network sets a cookie recording that the visit came from us. If you subscribe later, that cookie attributes the commission. It does not give us access to your account, your payment details, or anything you do on the destination site.

Providers: the affiliate networks of the platforms we cover. Typical lifespan: 30 to 90 days depending on the network.

Functional

If we offer preferences such as language or dark mode, a cookie remembers your choice between visits. Declining these means resetting your preferences each time.

Typical lifespan: up to 12 months.

We do not use advertising cookies, and we do not build advertising profiles or sell data to ad networks.

Your Choices

On this Site. The consent banner appears on your first visit and lets you accept or reject each non-essential category. You can reopen it at any time via the “Cookie settings” link in the footer and change your mind. Withdrawing consent stops future processing but does not undo what happened while consent was active.

In your browser. Every major browser lets you block or delete cookies. The relevant settings live under Privacy or Security in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. Blocking everything will break parts of this Site; blocking third-party cookies alone generally will not.

Do Not Track. Browser DNT signals have no agreed standard, so we do not act on them. Use the consent banner instead — it works.

Clearing your cookies also clears affiliate attribution. That costs us commission but changes nothing about the price you pay or the service you receive.

Cookies on Sites We Link To

Once you follow a link away from here, the destination platform’s own cookie practices apply. We have no visibility into or control over them. Check that site’s cookie policy if you want to know what it sets.

Changes

We update this policy when our tools change. The date at the top shows the current version.