Cookie Policy
Last updated: June 2026
1. Introduction
This Cookie Policy explains how PDFik.net (“PDFik”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) uses cookies, browser localStorage, sessionStorage, and similar client-side storage technologies when you visit or use our services. PDFik.net is operated as a Jednoosobowa Działalność Gospodarcza (JDG) registered in Poland and is subject to Polish law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the ePrivacy Directive as implemented under Polish law.
This policy applies to all pages and sub-domains operated by PDFik.net, including the marketing website at pdfik.net and the application dashboard at dashboard.pdfik.net. By using any part of our platform, you acknowledge the practices described in this document.
We have designed our platform with a privacy-first approach: we use only the cookies and storage items that are strictly necessary to deliver our service securely, plus a small number of preference-based items that improve your experience. We do not use advertising networks, third-party analytics trackers, or session-recording tools.
2. What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that a website stores on your device (computer, tablet, or smartphone) when you visit it. Your browser sends these files back to the originating website on every subsequent request, allowing the site to recognise you and remember certain information about your session or preferences.
First-party cookies are set directly by the website you are visiting (pdfik.net or dashboard.pdfik.net). Third-party cookies are set by external services embedded in a page — for example, our payment processor Stripe. PDFik.net sets first-party cookies for session management and may receive third-party cookies from Stripe when you interact with the payment card form.
Session cookies are temporary and are deleted automatically when you close your browser tab or window. Persistent cookies remain on your device for a fixed period or until you delete them manually.
In addition to traditional cookies, we also make use of browser localStorage and sessionStorage APIs. Unlike cookies, data stored in localStorage and sessionStorage is not automatically sent to our servers with every HTTP request — it stays in your browser and is only read by client-side JavaScript. We use both mechanisms to store authentication tokens (Firebase) and user-interface preferences in a way that is efficient and limits unnecessary data transmission.
3. Cookie Categories
We classify all cookies and storage items we use into one of four categories, in line with guidance from the European Data Protection Board and the Polish supervisory authority (UODO):
a) Strictly Necessary
These cookies and storage items are essential for the website to function and cannot be disabled in our systems. They include items required to authenticate you, maintain your session, and protect the security of our platform. Because they are strictly necessary, they do not require your consent under the ePrivacy Directive — however, we disclose them fully here in the interest of transparency. You may still disable them via your browser settings, but doing so will prevent you from logging in or using the service.
b) Functional / Preference
These items remember choices you make (such as your preferred theme or billing interval) so that we can personalise your experience. They are not strictly necessary but improve usability. We ask for your consent via the cookie banner before storing these items. If you decline, you may need to re-select your preferences on each visit.
c) Analytics
We use Google Analytics for Firebase to analyze product usage and traffic sources. This helps us understand how users interact with our platform and improve our services. Google Analytics for Firebase may set cookies or use similar technologies to collect aggregated usage data, but it does not use cross-site tracking cookies. You may opt out of analytics tracking via your device settings or our cookie consent banner.
d) Payment & Security (Stripe)
When you link a payment card or complete a transaction, Stripe — our payment processor — loads its own JavaScript library (Stripe.js) in your browser. Stripe sets several cookies and may use localStorage to perform fraud detection, device fingerprinting, and 3D Secure authentication. Because these cookies are essential to completing a secure payment, they are treated as strictly necessary for the payment flow. We have no ability to read or control the data stored by Stripe in these cookies.
4. Complete Cookie & Storage Reference
The table below lists every cookie and browser storage item currently set by PDFik.net and by third-party services we integrate with. We review and update this table whenever we add or remove technologies.
| Name | Provider | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strictly Necessary — Authentication | ||||
| firebase:authUser:[API_KEY]:[APP_NAME] | Firebase / Google | Stores the Firebase authentication session token used to keep you logged in to the dashboard. The key includes your project's API key and app name. | Session or persistent (depends on “Remember me” setting) | Strictly Necessary (localStorage) |
| __session | PDFik.net | Server-side session management used to authenticate API requests originating from the browser dashboard. | Session | Strictly Necessary (Cookie) |
| Strictly Necessary — Payment & Security (Stripe) | ||||
| __stripe_mid | Stripe | Fraud prevention and risk analysis. Used by Stripe to ensure secure payment processing by identifying the browser machine across sessions. | 1 year | Strictly Necessary (Cookie) |
| __stripe_sid | Stripe | Session identifier for Stripe payment processing. Links the current browser session to ongoing payment operations. | 30 minutes | Strictly Necessary (Cookie) |
| m | Stripe | Device fingerprinting for fraud prevention during card linking (Stripe SetupIntent). Helps Stripe identify your device to authorise the binding of a new payment method to your account. | 2 years | Strictly Necessary (Cookie) |
| cid | Stripe | Persistent client identifier used by Stripe's fraud detection system to associate activity across payment sessions. | 1 year | Strictly Necessary (Cookie) |
| Analytics | ||||
| _ga, _ga_* | Google (Firebase Analytics) | Used to distinguish users and analyze traffic sources. Contains a randomly generated user ID. | 2 years | Analytics (Cookie) |
| Functional / Preference | ||||
| pdfik_consent | PDFik.net | Records your cookie consent choices made via the cookie banner. Prevents the banner from reappearing on subsequent visits within the consent period. | 1 year | Preference (localStorage) |
| pdfik_theme | PDFik.net | Stores your preferred UI theme (e.g. dark or light mode) so the correct appearance is applied without a flash of unstyled content on load. | 1 year | Preference (localStorage) |
| pdfik_billing_interval | PDFik.net | Remembers whether you last viewed pricing in monthly or annual billing mode, preserving your selection when navigating between pages. | Session | Preference (Cookie / sessionStorage) |
5. Local Storage & Session Storage
In addition to traditional HTTP cookies, we use the browser's localStorage and sessionStorage APIs to store certain data locally on your device. There is an important technical distinction between these and cookies: localStorage and sessionStorage data is not automatically transmitted to our servers with every HTTP request — it resides entirely within your browser and is only accessed by JavaScript running on the page.
We currently use localStorage for the following purposes:
- Firebase Authentication tokens — Firebase stores your authentication state (including ID tokens and refresh tokens) in localStorage under keys prefixed with
firebase:authUser. This allows you to remain logged in across browser sessions without repeatedly re-entering your credentials. - Cookie consent record — your acceptance or rejection of non-essential cookies is stored under the key
pdfik_consent, so the consent banner does not reappear unnecessarily. - UI preferences — lightweight settings such as your selected theme are stored under
pdfik_themeto provide a consistent experience on return visits.
You can inspect and delete all localStorage and sessionStorage entries by opening your browser's developer tools (usually F12 or Ctrl + Shift + I), navigating to the Application tab, and expanding the Local Storage or Session Storage entries for pdfik.net. Please note that clearing Firebase authentication tokens will log you out immediately.
6. Stripe and Card Linking
PDFik.net requires all accounts — including accounts on the free plan — to have a valid payment method on file. This is implemented via Stripe SetupIntent, a Stripe feature that securely collects and stores your card details without charging you immediately.
When you access the card-linking form in your account settings, our platform loads Stripe.js directly from Stripe's servers (js.stripe.com). Stripe.js operates an isolated iframe for the card input fields — your full card number, expiry date, and CVC are entered directly into Stripe's systems and are never transmitted to or stored by PDFik.net's servers.
As part of this process, Stripe may set or read the following on your device:
- Cookies used for device fingerprinting and fraud scoring (
__stripe_mid,__stripe_sid,m,cid). - localStorage entries for additional anti-fraud signals collected by Stripe.js.
- Temporary sessionStorage items used during 3D Secure (3DS) authentication flows if required by your card issuer.
These cookies are strictly necessary for the card-linking process to work securely. Blocking them will prevent you from adding or updating a payment method, and your account will remain in an inactive state with API access blocked until a valid payment method is on file.
PDFik.net has no ability to read, modify, or delete the data stored by Stripe in these cookies. For full details on how Stripe uses cookies, please refer to:
7. Third-Party Cookies We Do Not Use
We want to be explicit about the tracking technologies we have deliberately chosen not to deploy. PDFik.net does not use any of the following:
- Meta / Facebook Pixel or Conversions API
- LinkedIn Insight Tag
- Hotjar, FullStory, or any other session-recording or heatmap tools
- Advertising or retargeting cookies of any kind — we do not participate in programmatic advertising networks
- A/B testing platforms that rely on third-party cookies (e.g. Optimizely, VWO)
- Customer chat widgets that set persistent tracking cookies (e.g. Intercom, Drift, Zendesk)
Aside from Google Analytics for Firebase which is used strictly for internal traffic analysis, all product usage metrics, conversion tracking, and performance monitoring at PDFik.net are conducted server-side using our own infrastructure logs hosted on AWS us-east-1. Your browser activity is not shared with advertising platforms or third-party behavioral tracking networks.
8. How to Manage Cookies
You have several options for controlling how cookies are stored on your device:
Browser Settings
All modern browsers allow you to view, block, or delete cookies through their built-in settings menus. You can typically find these options under “Privacy & Security” or “Site Settings”. Instructions for widely used browsers:
- Google Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Cookies and other site data
- Mozilla Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
- Apple Safari: Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data
- Microsoft Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Cookies and site data
Important: Blocking or deleting strictly necessary cookies — including the Firebase authentication tokens and the __session cookie — will prevent you from logging in to the PDFik.net dashboard. Blocking Stripe cookies will prevent you from completing card linking, which will leave your account inactive and without API access until resolved.
Cookie Consent Banner
On your first visit to pdfik.net, a cookie consent banner will appear. You may accept all cookies, accept only strictly necessary cookies, or customise your preferences by category. Your choices will be saved to localStorage under the key pdfik_consent.
Withdrawing Consent
You may withdraw previously given consent at any time. To do so, delete the pdfik_consent entry from your browser's localStorage (Developer Tools → Application → Local Storage → pdfik.net). On your next page load, the consent banner will reappear and you can make a fresh selection. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal, in accordance with Article 7(3) of the GDPR.
9. Updates to This Policy
We review and update this Cookie Policy whenever we add, change, or remove technologies that affect how data is stored in your browser. Material changes — such as introducing a new analytics tool or a new third-party integration — will be reflected by an updated “Last updated” date at the top of this page, and where required by law, we will re-seek your consent via the cookie banner.
We encourage you to check this page periodically to stay informed about how we use cookies. The most current version of this policy is always available at https://pdfik.net/legal/cookies. Your continued use of our platform following the publication of changes constitutes acceptance of those changes to the extent permitted by applicable law.
This policy was last reviewed and updated in June 2026.
10. Contact & Supervisory Authority
If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy or about how we handle your personal data more broadly, please contact us:
- Privacy enquiries: [email protected]
- General support: [email protected]
- Legal matters: [email protected]
If you believe that our processing of your personal data or our use of cookies infringes applicable data protection law, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority. In Poland, the supervisory authority is:
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority in the EU member state of your habitual residence, place of work, or place of the alleged infringement, in accordance with Article 77 of the GDPR.