Cookie Policy
Effective Date: June 04, 2026
SearchCans ("we," "our," or "us") uses cookies and similar technologies to provide, secure, and improve our API platform and developer services ("the Services"). This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are, how we use them, and how you can manage your cookie preferences.
1. What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files stored on your device (computer, tablet, or mobile) when you visit a website or use an application. They help websites recognize your device, remember your preferences, and provide essential functionality (such as keeping you logged in).
We also use similar technologies such as pixels, beacons, and local storage. For simplicity, we refer to all of these technologies collectively as "cookies" in this policy.
2. Types of Cookies We Use
We use the following categories of cookies on SearchCans:
Essential Cookies
These cookies are strictly necessary for the Services to function. They handle core features such as:
- Authentication: Keeping you logged in to your dashboard.
- Security: Protecting against Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) and other attacks.
- Load Balancing: Distributing traffic to ensure API stability.
Note: Without these cookies, you cannot log in, access your API keys, or process payments.
Performance & Analytics Cookies
These cookies allow us to collect information about how the Services are used, such as:
- Which pages (e.g., Docs, Pricing) are visited most often.
- Load times and error messages encountered by users.
- Aggregated usage patterns to help us optimize our API infrastructure.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization, such as:
- Remembering your language or region preference.
- Storing your API Playground settings or theme preferences (Dark/Light mode).
Marketing & Third-Party Cookies
We may use third-party cookies to deliver relevant updates or measure the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns. These may be placed by our trusted partners.
Key Cookies Used
| Cookie Name | Provider | Purpose | Type | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Analytics — distinguishes unique users | Analytics | 2 years | |
| _ga_4KT417QS3N | GA4 — persists session state and engagement data | Analytics | 2 years | |
| _gid | Analytics — identifies user session | Analytics | 24 hours | |
| _gcl_au | Google Ads — conversion linker and attribution | Marketing | 3 months | |
| __ahrefs_* | Ahrefs | Web analytics — site traffic and user behaviour | Analytics | Up to 2 years |
| __cf_bm | Cloudflare | Bot management and DDoS mitigation | Essential | 30 minutes |
| __cflb | Cloudflare | Load balancing — routes traffic for API stability | Essential | Session |
| __stripe_mid | Stripe | Payment fraud prevention — machine identifier | Essential | 1 year |
| __stripe_sid | Stripe | Payment fraud prevention — session identifier | Essential | 30 minutes |
| _gcl_aw | Google Ads — stores the Google Click Identifier (gclid) from ad clicks to attribute conversions back to the originating campaign | Marketing | 90 days | |
| test_cookie | Google (doubleclick.net) | Google Ads infrastructure — a temporary probe cookie used to verify that the browser accepts third-party cookies; set and read back immediately, then discarded | Marketing | Session |
| __Secure-ENID | Google (.google.com) | Google Enhanced ID — part of Google's ad-serving and conversion infrastructure; set automatically by Google's scripts when the Google Tag loads. Not set or controlled by SearchCans. | Marketing | ~13 months |
This list is representative and may not be exhaustive. Cookie names and durations may change as we update our technology stack.
Note: Analytics and Marketing cookies (e.g. _ga, _ga_4KT417QS3N, _gcl_au, _gcl_aw) are only written to your browser when you click Accept All. If you click Decline, Google Analytics operates in cookieless mode (Consent Mode v2) and none of these cookies will appear in your browser's storage. Visitors located outside the EEA, UK, and Switzerland are tracked by default under a global consent grant unless they actively click Decline; visitors in those regions are blocked by default until they explicitly click Accept All.
Local Storage & Similar Technologies
In addition to cookies, we use browser localStorage to store certain data essential to our service. Unlike cookies, these values are never transmitted to third parties and remain solely on your device.
| Key | Purpose | Type |
|---|---|---|
| sc_cookie_consent | Stores your cookie consent choice as JSON ({"v":"all"|"declined","exp":<timestamp>}) with a 1-year expiry. Legacy values all / essential are automatically migrated on your next visit. | Essential |
| token | Authentication JWT — keeps you logged in to the dashboard | Essential |
| recommend | Your personal referral code — powers the Rewards dashboard (referral links, credit earnings) | Essential |
| sc_ref | Inbound referral code — records which referral link originally brought you to SearchCans so credits are correctly attributed | Functional |
| sc_ref_vpath (sessionStorage) | Referral opt-out helper — records the page path where the referral code (?r=) is currently visible in the URL; used to detect when you intentionally remove it so storage is cleared accordingly | Functional |
| sc_relate_vpath (sessionStorage) | Campaign opt-out helper — records the page path where the campaign code (?relate=) is currently visible in the URL; used to detect when you remove it from the address bar | Functional |
| sc_relate_url_off (sessionStorage) | Campaign URL suppression flag — set when you remove ?relate= from the URL bar; prevents the campaign code from being re-injected into the address bar while keeping it in storage for registration attribution | Functional |
| sc_relate (sessionStorage) | Campaign attribution — records the marketing campaign source of your current visit; cleared when the browser tab is closed | Functional |
| rewards-bar-dismissed (sessionStorage) | UI preference — records that you have dismissed the Rewards Program announcement bar; cleared when the browser tab is closed | Functional |
| sc_pending_payment | Stripe return helper — holds order details (30-min TTL) while you complete checkout on Stripe's hosted page; used to fire the purchase conversion event when you return | Functional |
| sc_ga_signup_fired | Sign-up dedup guard — prevents the registration conversion event from firing more than once per registration attempt; expires after 5 minutes | Analytics |
| google_oauth_pending | Google OAuth state — temporarily holds the OAuth state token and post-login redirect URL during Google sign-up on mobile or when the popup is blocked; removed immediately after login completes | Essential |
| sc_ga_purchase_{orderId} | Purchase dedup guard — records which orders have already been reported to analytics to prevent double-counting if the page is refreshed after checkout | Analytics |
3. Third-Party Services
Some cookies are set by third parties that provide services for analytics, payments, or security integrations. SearchCans does not control these third-party cookies.
Examples include:
- Payment Processors: Stripe may use cookies to process payments and detect fraud.
- Analytics Providers: Google Analytics (GA4) to track site performance and user behaviour patterns (Google Privacy Policy). Ahrefs Web Analytics to measure organic traffic and user engagement — loaded only after "Accept All" consent (Ahrefs Privacy Policy).
- Advertising: Google Ads may set cookies (e.g.,
_gcl_au) to measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns and attribute conversions. - Security & CDN: Cloudflare uses cookies (e.g.,
__cf_bm,__cflb) for bot management, load balancing, and DDoS protection.
For more details, please review the privacy or cookie policies of those specific providers.
4. Managing Your Cookie Preferences
You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject cookies. Here is how you can manage them:
- Browser Settings: Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings preferences. You can usually find these settings in the "Options" or "Preferences" menu of your browser.
- Opt-Out Tools: You may opt out of certain analytics cookies (e.g., by using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on).
- Withdraw Consent: Click Decline in the cookie banner to opt out at any time. Your previous analytics data is not retroactively deleted. To reset your preference, clear your browser's local storage for this site and reload the page to see the banner again.
Important: Blocking or deleting essential cookies may affect the functionality of the SearchCans dashboard and API Playground. You may not be able to log in or manage your API keys.
5. Updates to This Cookie Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, regulation, or our business operations. Updates will be posted on this page with an updated "Effective Date." If the changes are significant, we will notify you through the dashboard or via email.
6. Contact Us
If you have any questions about our use of cookies, please contact us at:
SearchCans Privacy Team
support@searchcans.com
This Cookie Policy is part of and subject to the Terms of Service. Please also review our Privacy Policy.