Last updated: 17 July 2026
This Cookie Policy explains how Chatonio ("we", "us", "our") uses cookies and similar browser-storage technologies on our website at chatonio.com and our customer Help Center. It should be read together with our Privacy Policy.
The short version
We do not use third-party analytics, advertising, or social-media tracking cookies on our website. There is no Google Analytics, no advertising pixel, and no cross-site tracker. What we store in your browser is limited to keeping you signed in, remembering your preferences, and protecting the service from abuse.
What are cookies and local storage?
Cookies are small text files a website stores in your browser. "Local storage" and "session storage" are similar technologies that let a website keep small amounts of data in your browser. Data-protection law treats them the same way, so in this policy "cookies" means all of them. Cookies can be strictly necessary (required for the site to function), functional (remember your choices), or non-essential (analytics/marketing). We describe each category we actually use below.
Cookies and storage we use
1. Strictly necessary
- Authentication. When you sign in to the operator dashboard or the Help Center portal, we store your session and access tokens in your browser's local storage so you stay signed in. Clearing them signs you out.
- Security (session & CSRF). Our administrative pages set a standard session cookie and a CSRF-protection cookie. These are required to sign in securely and cannot be switched off.
2. Functional / preference
These remember choices you make and are stored locally in your browser. They include your light/dark theme, interface language, notification-sound setting, the last dashboard tab you used, and dismissal flags (for example, hiding a prompt you have already closed). They contain no tracking identifiers.
3. Referral attribution
If you arrive through a referral link containing a ref code, we store that code in your browser (key chatonio_ref) so that, if you later create an account, the referring partner can be credited. It is a single short code with a limited lifetime, not a browsing-history profile. You can remove it by clearing your browser storage.
4. Security & anti-abuse (captcha)
To stop automated abuse on our sign-up, sign-in, and support forms we use a captcha challenge. By default we use a self-hosted captcha (ALTCHA) that sets no third-party cookies. If we enable a third-party provider (Cloudflare Turnstile, Google reCAPTCHA, or hCaptcha) on a particular form, that provider may set its own cookies under its own privacy policy.
5. Our chat widget
Our website shows the Chatonio support chat widget. When it loads, it stores in your browser's local storage a random visitor identifier (sf_visitor_id) and, if you start a chat, a session token so your conversation can resume. Where our "Live Visitors" feature is active, we also process technical and browsing information while you are on the site — see our Privacy Policy for the full list. This is the same widget our customers can embed on their own websites; when it appears on a third-party site, that site's operator is responsible for obtaining any consent their local law requires.
Third-party services
Our site is delivered through Cloudflare, which may set security and anti-bot cookies (such as __cf_bm) that are considered strictly necessary to protect the service. Where we enable a third-party captcha, that vendor is the only other party that may set cookies through our site. We do not embed advertising networks, analytics SDKs, or social-media widgets.
Your choices
You can delete or block cookies and clear local storage through your browser settings, and most browsers let you refuse cookies entirely. Because we use almost no non-essential storage, blocking it will not break the site — although signing in requires the strictly-necessary items, and clearing storage will sign you out and reset your preferences.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the service evolves. When we do, we will change the "last updated" date above.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your data? Email privacy@chatonio.com or reach us through our Help Center.