Cookie Policy

Name: thoughtbot
Address: 186 Lincoln Street, Boston, 02111, US
Telephone: +1 617-411-6822

This policy explains how this website uses cookies and similar technologies, what each type is for, and how you can control them. It applies to thoughtbot.digital and is operated by thoughtbot, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

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 browser on later visits or during the same session. Similar technologies, such as local storage, serve comparable purposes and are covered by this policy as well. Cookies are read only by the site that set them, or by a service running on that site, and they do not run programs or scan files on your device. They typically hold a short identifier, a timestamp, and settings that help a page remember a choice you already made. When you clear your browser data, this stored information goes with it.

Necessary cookies

The cookies the site needs to work

Keeping forms usable

A cookie remembers the state of a form while you fill it in, so a page reload or a step back does not clear what you typed. Turning it off can mean re-entering information or losing progress mid-way through a request.

Security and session state

These cookies help keep a session stable and protect the site against forged requests. They keep a visitor recognised as the same browser while they move between pages, then expire when the session ends or after a short set period.

Traffic balancing

Some cookies route requests across servers so a busy hour does not slow the site down. They record which server handled your last request and are used for that purpose only. They do not track you across other websites.

Your controls over them

These cookies cannot be switched off through the site's own controls without affecting basic functionality. You can still block or delete them in your browser settings, though some parts of the site may then stop working correctly. If that happens, re-enable cookies or contact us for another route to the same page or form.

Consultant reviewing aggregate site analytics beside a window

Analytics cookies

Analytics cookies help us understand which pages are visited and how visitors move through the site, in aggregate. The data is used to improve content and fix problems. Where required, these cookies are set only after you give consent, and you can withdraw that consent at any time.

We read counts and trends for groups of visits. We do not build a profile of an individual visitor.
Reports show which pages help people and which pages they leave quickly, so we can rewrite or rebuild them.
Withdrawing consent stops further collection from your browser. Data already gathered in aggregate is not linked back to you.

Third-party cookies

Pages may include content or functionality from third parties, such as embedded media or fonts, which can set their own cookies. These providers process data under their own policies, not ours. We list the providers we use in our internal records and can share the current list on request. Write to [email protected] and we will send the providers currently active on the site.

Embedded media

A player or hosted clip shown on a page is delivered by the platform hosting it. That platform can set cookies or read its own identifier when the embed loads.

Typefaces

Fonts may be served by a hosting service that logs the request. It sees the page that asked for the font file, not the content you read on it.

What we keep in house

We keep our own record of which providers are in use and what each one collects, so a change in our stack can be checked against this page and updated if the law requires it.

Person reviewing browser cookie settings on a phone at home

Managing cookies

You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings, and most browsers let you block them entirely. Blocking necessary cookies may prevent parts of the site from working correctly. Where a consent tool is shown, you can change your choices at any time through it. Below are the places to look, depending on how you browse.

Desktop browsers: Settings hold a privacy or cookies section where you can view stored items, remove them one by one, or clear everything for this site.
Mobile browsers: The same controls usually sit under a site settings or privacy menu. On some phones, clearing all browsing data is the fastest route.
Private or incognito windows: These start a fresh session each time. Cookies are discarded once the window closes, so a returned preference will not survive.
Consent choices: Where a consent tool appears, reopening it lets you change or withdraw your selections for analytics and third-party content.

Do Not Track and similar signals

Browsers can send signals such as Do Not Track. There is no common industry standard for interpreting them, so this site does not currently respond to these signals differently. We limit non-essential cookies through the consent mechanism described above.

Changes and contact

We may update this policy when our use of cookies changes or when the law requires it. Questions about cookies and how they are used here can be sent to [email protected].

thoughtbot, Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Open Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Call +1 617-411-6822 if a question about this page is easier to talk through.

Boston office entrance where the team works