What cookies are
Cookies are small files a site stores in your browser. Some are needed for the site to work; others help us understand how the app is used. We keep our use minimal.
Strictly-necessary cookies (always on)
These are required for Podbay to function, so they don’t need consent:
- Session cookie — keeps you signed in (set by our authentication).
- Cookie-choice cookie (
pb-cookie-consent) — remembers whether you accepted or declined analytics, so we don’t ask again.
Landing A/B testing (first-party)
On our landing page we test different versions to see which explains Podbay best. This uses two first-party cookies — pb_landing_visitor (a random id, so you see a consistent version) and pb_landing_..._variant (which version you saw) — and we count views and sign-ups on our own servers. No third party is involved and no data leaves Podbay. We treat this as a first-party functional/measurement use under our legitimate interest in improving the site; you can opt out by declining analytics below or by clearing these cookies.
Analytics cookies (only with your consent)
With your consent, we use PostHog for product analytics — to see which features are used and where the app is slow, so we can improve it. Until you accept, PostHog runs in a cookieless, no-capture mode and sets no analytics cookies. When you accept, it stores analytics identifiers to recognise your browser across sessions.
We also use Google Analytics to understand traffic and which pages people reach. It runs in Google’s Consent Mode with storage defaulted to denied, so until you accept it sets no analytics cookies (_ga, _ga_*). When you accept, those cookies are used to measure visits and distinguish returning browsers. Declining, or clearing your cookie choice, stops them.
We deliberately limit what analytics can see: the pod terminal and secret inputs are excluded from any session recording, outbound events are scrubbed of credential-shaped values, and the fleet’s fetch-memory stores only a domain — never a URL, page content, or who asked.
The support chat
Our in-app support chat (also PostHog) uses storage to keep your conversation with us. If you decline analytics, the support widget still works when you open it, but your ticket may be scoped to that browser session.
Managing your choice
You choose when the cookie banner appears. To change your mind later, clear the pb-cookie-consent cookie in your browser (or all Podbay cookies) and reload — the banner will reappear so you can choose again. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings; strictly-necessary cookies may be needed for sign-in to work.
More
See our Privacy Policy for the fuller picture of what we collect and why.