Cookie Policy
Last Updated: 13 June 2026
1. What Are Cookies
Cookies are small text files that a website stores on your device (computer, tablet, or mobile phone) when you visit it. They are widely used to make websites work correctly, to remember your preferences, and to provide basic security functions. Cookies are read by the website on subsequent visits and allow the site to recognise you.
In addition to traditional cookies (which are stored in your browser), websites may use browser-local storage and session storage — mechanisms that work similarly to cookies by persisting small pieces of data on your device. This policy covers all such client-side storage used by PastpaperLM.
2. Cookies We Use
PastpaperLM uses only the minimum cookies and client-side storage items necessary to operate the Service securely and to remember your preferences. All cookies and storage items we use are either strictly necessary for authentication and security, or are user-preference items you create yourself. We do not use cookies for advertising, tracking, or profiling purposes.
The specific cookies and storage items used by PastpaperLM are as follows:
- Authentication session cookie: This cookie is set by our authentication system when you successfully sign in using Google OAuth. It contains an encrypted session token that identifies your account to our servers on each subsequent request. Without this cookie, you would be required to sign in again on every page load. This cookie is session-based or has a short expiry period for security reasons. It is strictly necessary for the Service to function and cannot be opted out of while using a signed-in account.
- Admin session cookie (staff only): A separate authentication cookie is set for users with administrative access to the platform back-end. This cookie is only present on accounts with administrator privileges and is not set for regular student accounts. It is strictly necessary for administrative functions and cannot be opted out of by administrators.
- Device identifier (localStorage): A unique, randomly-generated identifier is stored in your browser's localStorage to associate your browser with your account for the purpose of device enforcement and abuse prevention. This identifier has no meaning outside of PastpaperLM and does not identify you personally. It is strictly necessary for fair use enforcement and is created automatically upon first sign-in.
- Theme preference (localStorage): When you toggle between dark mode and light mode using the theme switch in the navigation bar, your preference is saved to localStorage under the key "theme". This value is read on each page load to apply your preferred colour scheme without a flash of the incorrect theme. This storage item is a user-preference item and is created only when you explicitly change the theme. You may delete it at any time by clearing your browser's site data, which will cause the theme to revert to your operating system's preference on your next visit.
3. Third-Party Cookies During Payment
When you initiate a purchase on PastpaperLM, you are redirected to the PayHere payment gateway to complete your transaction. PayHere is a separate website and may set its own cookies or use its own tracking technologies on their domain during the payment process. These cookies are governed entirely by PayHere's own privacy and cookie policies, which you should review before completing a purchase.
Once your payment is complete or cancelled, you are redirected back to PastpaperLM. At that point, you return to our domain and only our cookies described in Section 2 are relevant. We do not receive or read any cookies set by PayHere, nor do we embed PayHere's scripts on our own pages.
4. The Usage Meter & Billing UI
The daily usage counter, credit balance display, and subscription status shown in the PastpaperLM application are driven entirely by server-side data stored in our database. These features do not require any additional cookies beyond the authentication session cookie described in Section 2. Your usage counts, balances, and plan status are fetched from our servers on each page load using your session, not from any client-side storage.
This means that clearing your browser cookies or using PastpaperLM from a different browser will not affect your credit balance or usage counts — that data is stored securely on our servers, associated with your account, not your device.
5. No Advertising or Tracking Cookies
PastpaperLM does not use any advertising cookies, marketing cookies, or behavioural tracking cookies of any kind. We have made a deliberate decision not to integrate any of the following third-party tracking or analytics systems:
- Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager
- Meta Pixel (Facebook Pixel) or any other social media tracking pixel
- Any advertising network cookies from any provider
- Any cross-site tracking technologies
- Any third-party behavioural analytics or session recording tools (such as Hotjar, FullStory, or Microsoft Clarity)
We do not serve advertisements on PastpaperLM and we do not participate in any retargeting or behavioural advertising programmes. Your use of PastpaperLM is entirely private from advertising networks.
6. Controlling Cookies
You have the ability to control cookies through your browser settings. All modern browsers allow you to view, manage, and delete cookies, as well as to block cookies from specific websites or all websites. You can also clear localStorage and sessionStorage data through your browser's developer tools or privacy settings.
Please be aware that deleting the authentication session cookie will log you out of PastpaperLM immediately. You will need to sign in again using Google OAuth to regain access to your account. Your account data, credit balance, and usage history are stored on our servers and will be fully restored when you sign back in.
Deleting the device identifier stored in localStorage may trigger our device enforcement system to treat your browser as a new, previously unseen device when you next sign in. This is not normally a problem for legitimate users, but may require you to re-authenticate in a way that confirms your account ownership.
For guidance on managing cookies in specific browsers, please refer to the documentation provided by your browser's developer (for example, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge support pages).
7. No Consent Banner
You may have noticed that PastpaperLM does not display a cookie consent banner or pop-up. This is a deliberate and considered decision. All cookies and storage items used by PastpaperLM are either strictly necessary for the operation of the Service (the authentication session and device identifier) or are preference items created and controlled by you (the theme preference). Strictly necessary cookies and user-preference storage items are exempt from consent requirements under most modern privacy frameworks, as they are essential for the Service to function or chosen explicitly by the user.
Because we do not use any analytics, advertising, or non-essential tracking cookies, there is no requirement to seek your consent for those categories. We believe this approach — using fewer cookies rather than asking for consent to use more — is a more respectful and privacy-conscious design decision.
If we ever introduce any non-essential cookies in the future, such as analytics or performance monitoring tools, we will update this Cookie Policy before deployment, introduce an appropriate consent mechanism, and notify users of the change.
8. Contact
If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy or about how PastpaperLM uses client-side storage, please contact us at:
PastpaperLM · Sri Lanka