XSci

Cookie Policy

1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They help the site remember your preferences and understand how you use the Service.

2. How We Use Cookies

2.1 Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the Service to operate and cannot be switched off through standard cookie preference controls. They may be used to maintain authentication sessions, support security and fraud-prevention functions, and remember certain essential settings. Some of these cookies remain only for the duration of your browser session, while others may remain for a longer period where necessary for authentication, security, or operational purposes.

2.2 Analytics and Statistical Measurement

For analytics we use a first-party cookie, named oxsci_v, to measure how the Service is used, and a second one, named app_visit, only while you are signed in (see below). Both are operated by us, on our own infrastructure. The information they produce is not shared with, or transmitted to, any third-party analytics provider.

What it contains. A randomly generated identifier, and nothing else. It is not derived from your device, your network, or anything you type. If you later create an account, this identifier is linked to that account.

What we record with it. Only the following: the pages you reach on the Service and the page you arrived from; whether you started, moved through, or left a form — for example account registration, manuscript upload, or plan selection — and whether a step succeeded or failed, together with a general category for the failure; how long a visit lasted; when you open our home, browse or news page or a paper's page: how quickly it loaded and, until you first leave or switch away from that tab, how quickly the Service responded when you interacted with it and how much its layout shifted — three standard page-speed measurements (Largest Contentful Paint, Interaction to Next Paint and Cumulative Layout Shift), recorded as numbers; and, with each of these, the country you are connecting from, as identified by our content delivery network, and a general category for your device (for example, desktop or mobile). The country is used for statistics only, to count visits by country; it does not change what we record or how the Service works for you. We do not record the contents of anything you type into a form. The set of events that may be recorded is fixed in advance, and anything outside that set is rejected.

How long it lasts. 90 days from your most recent visit.

While you are signed in. The app_visit cookie lets us count how often signed-in users come back. It holds a code derived from your account, not your account identifier itself, and expires 30 minutes after your last request; when it has expired, your next request is recorded as the start of a new visit. It follows the same control and the same Global Privacy Control signal as oxsci_v, described below.

Why we do this. To understand where the Service is confusing, slow, or broken — for example, how many people who begin registration are unable to complete it. This information is used for statistical purposes only. It is not used to make decisions about, or to take any action in relation to, an individual user, and it is not used for advertising, profiling, or any form of cross-site tracking.

How to switch it off. You can switch this off at any time using the control at the end of this page. You do not need an account to use it. When you switch it off, the oxsci_v cookie is deleted, no new identifier is issued, and no further analytics events are recorded for your browser. We also honour the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal automatically: if your browser or extension sends it, no analytics cookie is set in the first place.

We separately keep standard server-side records of requests made to the Service, including the pages requested, timestamps, and the technical information described in our Privacy Policy. These records are kept for security, operational, and statistical purposes, and are not affected by the control described above.

2.3 Campaign Attribution

When you arrive through a link we published — an email to preprint authors, a social post, an advertisement, a newsletter placement — that link may carry tags naming the campaign it belongs to, for example utm_source=reddit. If it does, we store those tags in a second first-party cookie, named oxsci_src, together with the page you landed on, the site that referred you if there was one, and the time. If the link carries no tags but you arrived from another website — a search engine, for example — we set the same cookie with the referring site in place of the tags, so that we can tell which channel brought you to the Service. It is operated by us, on our own infrastructure, and its contents are never shared with an advertising network or any other third party.

What it contains. Only the campaign tags that were already in the link you clicked — the ones visible in your browser's address bar — if there were any, plus the landing page, the referring site, and a timestamp. No identifier for you or your device is created for this purpose, and nothing you type is recorded.

What we do with it. One thing only. If you go on to create an account, its contents are copied onto your account record once, at the moment the account is created, and the cookie is not read again. From the referring address we keep only the site and the page path; anything after the path, such as a query string, is dropped. That is what lets us answer "how many of the people who arrived from this campaign, or from this site, went on to sign up". It is not used to target advertising to you, to build an advertising or interest profile, to personalise anything you see, or to decide anything about your account: nothing in pricing, eligibility, or the services available to you reads it.

How long it lasts. 30 days from the landing that set it. It is written once and never overwritten — a later visit through a different link does not replace it — and it is not renewed on subsequent visits.

How to switch it off. This cookie is not governed by the analytics control at the end of this page, which applies to the oxsci_v cookie described in section 2.2. You can block or delete it through your browser settings at any time. We honour the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal automatically: if your browser or extension sends it, this cookie is not set and no campaign tags or referring site are recorded.

2.4 Cookies We Do Not Use

At this time, we do not use:

  • Advertising cookies. We do not use cookies to target advertising to you, to build advertising or interest profiles, or to share your activity with an advertising network. The campaign-attribution cookie described in section 2.3 measures whether a campaign led to sign-ups; it stays on our own infrastructure and plays no part in selecting what is shown to you.
  • Third-party social media cookies for tracking purposes
  • Cross-site tracking cookies

3. Third-Party Cookies

Third-party service providers may use cookies or similar technologies in connection with services they provide to us or to you through the Service. For example, Stripe may use cookies or similar technologies in connection with payment processing. The use of such technologies by third parties is governed by their own policies, including Stripe's Cookie Policy: https://stripe.com/cookie-policy.

4. Managing Cookies

You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to review, block, or delete cookies. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the Service.

You can also switch off our analytics cookie directly, using the control at the end of this page. It works without an account and takes effect immediately. That control applies to the oxsci_v analytics cookie in section 2.2; the campaign-attribution cookie in section 2.3 is managed through your browser settings or the Global Privacy Control signal. Strictly necessary cookies (section 2.1) cannot be switched off in this way, because the Service cannot operate without them.

5. Impact of Disabling Cookies

If you disable strictly necessary cookies, some features of the Service may not function properly, including features relating to authentication, security, or session continuity. Switching off the analytics cookie will not prevent you from using any feature of the Service; it only limits our ability to understand and improve how the Service is used. The same is true of blocking the campaign-attribution cookie: it affects only our own measurement of which campaigns reached you, and nothing about what the Service does for you.

6. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated date.

7. Contact

If you have questions about our use of cookies:

XSci LTD Email: support@xsci.com