1. About cookies
Cookies are small text files a website stores in your browser. They let a site remember things between page loads, such as keeping you signed in or saving a form as you fill it out. This policy explains which cookies PatientPulse sets and why.
PatientPulse uses first-party cookies to run the service, plus a small number of Google Analytics and Google Ads cookies that load only if you accept them. Nothing non-essential runs until you choose Accept on our cookie banner, and you can decline with one click. The treatment finder embedded on a clinic's own website sets no advertising or analytics cookies on that site.
2. Cookies we use
We set three kinds of cookie. Strictly necessary cookies are needed to deliver the service you have asked for. Functional cookies remember your Treatment Finder setup so your onboarding progress is saved as you move through the funnel. Analytics and advertising cookies help us see how the site is used and measure our own advertising. Some of these are set by Google; one, pp_vid, is our own and stays on our own site. All of them are set only after you choose Accept on the cookie banner.
Our own first-party analytics is described in our Privacy Policy. If you decline, we still count the visit using a short-lived code that is not stored on your device and is replaced about every hour.
| Cookie | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
tf_session |
Keeps a clinic operator signed in (dashboard only). | Session | Strictly necessary |
tf_csrf |
Protects forms against cross-site request forgery. | Session | Strictly necessary |
tf_consent |
Remembers your cookie choice (accept or decline), so the banner stays hidden. | 1 year | Strictly necessary |
tf_lead_email |
Remembers the email you entered so your Treatment Finder setup is saved across the funnel. | 30 days | Functional |
tf_clinic_name |
Remembers your onboarding progress (your clinic name). | 30 days | Functional |
tf_website |
Remembers your onboarding progress (your clinic website). | 30 days | Functional |
tf_preview |
Remembers your onboarding progress (your preview state). | 30 days | Functional |
tf_utm |
Remembers which link or campaign first brought you to a Treatment Finder, so the clinic can see where an enquiry came from. Set when the finder loads. First-party only, never shared. | 30 days | Functional |
pp_first_touch |
Remembers which of our own marketing first brought you to this site (for example a search or an ad), so we know what works. First-party only, never shared. | 90 days | Functional |
pp_last_touch |
Remembers how your current visit arrived. First-party only, never shared. | 90 days | Functional |
pp_vid |
Recognises your browser across pages of our own site so we can count one visit as one visit, see whether you come back, and connect your visit to your sign-up if you become a customer. Set only if you choose Accept. First-party only, never shared, never used to track you on other websites. | 390 days | Analytics |
_ga |
Google Analytics: tells returning visitors apart using a random id. Set only after you accept. | 2 years | Analytics |
_ga_* |
Google Analytics: keeps track of a browsing session. Set only after you accept. | 2 years | Analytics |
_gcl_au |
Google Ads: records that you arrived from one of our ads, so we can measure which ads work. Set only after you accept. | 90 days | Advertising |
3. What we do not use
We do not sell your data, we do not use cookies from ad networks other than Google, and we do not follow you around the wider web. The Google cookies above measure our own site and our own advertising only. Most importantly for our clients: the Treatment Finder embedded on a clinic's own website sets no advertising or analytics cookies on that site, and patients who use it there are never tracked by us for advertising.
4. How to control cookies
When you first visit our public site we show a short banner where you can accept or decline the analytics and advertising cookies. Decline and the site works exactly the same, with only the strictly necessary and functional cookies. Your choice is remembered for a year, and you can change your mind at any time by clearing this site's cookies in your browser, after which the banner appears again.
You can also manage cookies in your browser at any time: most browsers let you view, block or delete cookies in their settings, and you can browse in private or incognito mode. The strictly necessary cookies are required for the dashboard and our forms to work, so blocking them may stop you signing in or submitting a form. Blocking the functional cookies will not break the site, but your onboarding progress may not be remembered between steps.
5. Changes & contact
We may update this policy from time to time and will revise the "last updated" date above. For any question about cookies or privacy, contact privacy@patientpulse.co.
See also our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.