Cookie Policy & Consent Framework

1. Regulatory Framework & Legal Context

This Cookie Policy explains how Dunsel (operating under the domain https://dunsel.us, hereinafter referred to as "the Platform," "we," "us," or "our") employs cookies, web beacons, clear GIFs, pixel tags, HTML5 local storage, and similar digital tracking technologies when you interact with our website, application interfaces, and scheduled communication services.

This policy has been meticulously constructed in full compliance with international digital privacy regulations, including:

• The European Union ePrivacy Directive: Directive 2002/58/EC (as amended by Directive 2009/136/EC), mandating prior informed user consent before storing or accessing non-essential data on an end user's terminal equipment.
• The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): Regulation (EU) 2016/679, establishing strict standards for freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous consent regarding identifiers linked to personal telemetry.
• The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA / CPRA): Providing California residents with explicit opt-out rights regarding the sale or sharing of behavioral personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.
• The United Kingdom Data Protection Act 2018 & UK GDPR: Regulating persistent identifiers and online telemetry across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
• Google AdSense Publisher Policies: Including mandatory disclosures regarding the Google DoubleClick DART cookie, third-party vendor advertising networks, and user consent management.

2. What Are Cookies and Web Beacons?

A cookie is a compact text file containing an alphanumeric string of characters transmitted by a web server to your browser client and subsequently stored locally on your device's persistent storage (hard drive, solid-state drive, or mobile flash memory). Whenever your browser sends a subsequent page request back to the server, the cookie accompanies the request, enabling the platform to recognize your unique browser instance across continuous requests and returning visits.

Cookies fulfill diverse technological functions:

• Session Cookies: Temporary files that remain exclusively in your browser's volatile memory for the duration of your active browsing session. They are immediately discarded the moment you terminate your browser window.
• Persistent Cookies: Durable text files assigned an explicit expiration timestamp that remain on your hard drive across multiple browsing sessions, allowing the platform to remember your authentication status, theme preferences, and consent choices over months or years.
• First-Party Cookies: Set directly by the domain you are visiting (e.g., https://dunsel.us) to govern essential platform functionality.
• Third-Party Cookies: Set by external domains operating alongside our platform, such as certified advertising networks (Google AdSense), content delivery networks, and security analytics providers.

Alongside standard HTTP cookies, we may utilize Web Beacons (tiny single-pixel transparent GIF graphics embedded into web pages or delivery verification emails to verify message receipt) and HTML5 Web Storage (enabling client-side caching of unsaved time capsule drafts so your thoughts remain safeguarded even if your internet connection experiences momentary interruptions).

3. Detailed Classification of Cookies Used on Our Platform

We believe in providing itemized clarity. We classify every cookie utilized on our services into four clear functional categories:

Category A: Strictly Necessary & Security Cookies (Always Active)

These cookies are indispensable for our service to function properly and securely. Under applicable privacy laws (including Article 5(3) of the EU ePrivacy Directive), strictly necessary cookies are exempt from the requirement of prior consent because the platform cannot provide the requested communication service without them.

Category B: Functionality & Preference Cookies

These cookies enable enhanced personalization, remembering customized selections you have made during previous visits. While not strictly vital for core HTTP delivery, disabling them may require you to re-specify certain interface preferences on every visit.

• Theme & Visual Mode: Records your preference for light or dark color schemes.
• Writing Interval Presets: Remembers your most frequently selected capsule duration (e.g. 1 year, 3 years, 5 years) to accelerate future composition.
• Draft Autosave Storage (LocalStorage): Safely buffers your in-progress letter text directly inside your local browser storage, shielding your prose against unexpected device power failures or lost Wi-Fi connections.

Category C: Analytical & Performance Cookies

Analytical cookies help us understand how users discover, navigate, and engage with our website. The insights generated are strictly aggregated, pseudonymized, and utilized exclusively to measure server latency, evaluate editorial guide popularity, diagnose 404 broken links, and optimize server dispatch queues for millions of scheduled time capsules.

Category D: Targeting, Advertising & Google AdSense Cookies

To preserve our commitment that any individual on Earth may compose and dispatch personal time capsules free of monetary charge, Dunsel partners with third-party advertising services, predominantly Google AdSense. When you browse pages on our platform containing advertising placements, third-party advertising vendors may deposit and read cookies on your browser:

• Google DoubleClick DART Cookie: Google uses cookies to serve ads on our site. Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve targeted ads to our users based on their visits to our site and other destinations across the World Wide Web.
• Interest-Based Behavioral Profiling: Certified advertising partners may collect non-personally identifiable behavioral signals to deliver advertisements aligned with your demonstrated interests rather than irrelevant random commercial notices.
• Frequency Capping: Ensures that individual visitors are not subjected to repetitive, annoying exposures of identical advertising creatives.
• Invalid Click & Fraud Prevention: Protects our advertising sponsors by identifying and mitigating artificial automated traffic, bot crawlers, and click-fraud syndicates.

4. Google AdSense & Third-Party Vendor Disclosures

Pursuant to Google AdSense Publisher Requirements, we explicitly disclose that:

1. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to your website or other websites across the internet.
2. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to your users based on their visit to your sites and/or other sites on the Internet.
3. Users may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting the official Google Ads Settings page described below.

The contents of your private time capsules are never shared with, indexed by, or made accessible to Google AdSense, third-party advertising exchanges, or behavioral profiling trackers. Advertisements are displayed solely within designated container slots clearly marked on editorial, public letters, and informational pages.

5. Your Opt-Out Rights & Industry-Wide Advertising Controls

We strongly advocate for consumer choice. If you prefer not to receive personalized behavioral advertisements from Google and participating network advertising vendors, you may exercise opt-out choices through the following globally recognized consumer defense portals:

• Google Ad Personalization Controls: Customize or entirely turn off ad personalization across Google services by visiting https://adssettings.google.com/.
• Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) (United States): Opt out of interest-based ads from hundreds of participating corporate networks via the Consumer Choice Page at https://optout.aboutads.info/.
• European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (EDAA) (Europe): European Union and United Kingdom citizens can manage behavioral preferences at https://www.youronlinechoices.eu/.
• Network Advertising Initiative (NAI): Comprehensive multi-network behavioral opt-out tool available at https://optout.networkadvertising.org/.
• Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada (DAAC): Canadian residents may opt out via https://youradchoices.ca/en/tools.

Please note: Opting out of personalized behavioral advertising does not eliminate advertisements from displaying on our website; rather, it ensures that advertisements rendered will be contextual (tailored to the page topic) rather than personalized to your browsing history across third-party websites.

6. Comprehensive Browser-Specific Cookie Management Guide

You possess total control over whether your web browser stores cookies. Below are comprehensive step-by-step instructions for adjusting cookie preferences across all mainstream web browser platforms:

A. Google Chrome (Desktop Windows & macOS)

1. Click the three vertical dots menu icon in the upper-right corner of the Chrome window and select Settings.
2. Navigate to the Privacy and security tab on the left navigation rail.
3. Select Third-party cookies (or Cookies and other site data).
4. Choose your preferred security posture: Allow third-party cookies, Block third-party cookies in Incognito mode, or Block third-party cookies entirely.
5. To delete existing cookies, select See all site data and permissions and search for https://dunsel.us to purge specific cookies.

B. Mozilla Firefox (Desktop Windows & Linux & macOS)

1. Click the application menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
2. Select the Privacy & Security panel on the left navigation menu.
3. Under Enhanced Tracking Protection, select Standard (balanced protection) or Strict (blocks all known trackers and third-party cookies).
4. Scroll to the Cookies and Site Data section to manage exemptions or click Clear Data... to remove all stored cookies.

C. Apple Safari (macOS & iOS)

1. On macOS: Open Safari, click Safari in the top menu bar, select Settings (or Preferences), and navigate to the Privacy tab. Check Prevent cross-site tracking and optionally check Block all cookies.
2. On iPhone / iPad (iOS): Open Settings → Safari → toggle on Prevent Cross-Site Tracking → toggle on Block All Cookies if desired.

D. Microsoft Edge (Windows 10 / 11)

1. Click the three dots in the top right corner and open Settings.
2. Select Cookies and site permissions from the left sidebar.
3. Click Manage and delete cookies and site data.
4. Toggle Block third-party cookies on or off according to your privacy preferences.

7. "Do Not Track" (DNT) and Global Privacy Control (GPC)

Modern web browsers offer "Do Not Track" (DNT) and "Global Privacy Control" (GPC) headers designed to signal your privacy preferences automatically to web servers. Although the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has not established a legally binding universal consensus on DNT interpretation, Dunsel respects Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals where technically feasible, honoring user preferences by suppressing non-essential third-party tracking beacons when such headers are detected.

8. Audit Schedules & Modifications to This Policy

The regulatory and technological landscape surrounding online cookies is continually evolving. We conduct comprehensive technical audits of all active scripts, third-party libraries, and advertising slots every six months. Any material amendments to our cookie collection practices will be promptly reflected on this page, accompanied by an updated "Last Updated" timestamp at the top of the document.

If changes significantly alter the processing of user data or require renewed user authorization under European Union or California statutory requirements, we will re-display our interactive Cookie Consent Banner upon your subsequent visit to solicit fresh consent.

9. Data Protection Officer Contact Details

If you have questions, feedback, or require technical assistance regarding our deployment of cookies, web beacons, or advertising integrations, our dedicated Data Protection and Compliance Desk is available to assist you: