Legal Documents
Cookie Policy
Short version: we use cookies to make the platform work, keep you secure, and understand how people use Hatch. We do not use cookies to track you for advertising. Ever.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 · Last Updated: September 1, 2025
Basics
What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website or use an app. They help the platform remember who you are, keep you logged in, and understand how the service is being used.
Hatch also uses similar technologies including local storage, session storage, and device identifiers on mobile apps. This policy covers all of these.
What We Use
How Hatch Uses Cookies
We use four categories of cookies and tracking technologies:
1. Strictly Necessary — These are required for the platform to function. Without them, you cannot log in, access your account, or use core features. These cannot be disabled.
2. Functional — These remember your preferences (e.g., language, theme) and make your experience smoother. You can disable these but some features may not work as expected.
3. Analytics — We use privacy-first analytics tools to understand how people use Hatch — which pages are visited, where people drop off, how features perform. We use anonymized, aggregated data only. No behavioral profiles are built. No advertiser ever sees this data.
4. Security — These help us detect fraud, abuse, and unauthorized access. They are strictly necessary and cannot be disabled.
Cookie Table
Specific Cookies We Use
| Cookie / Technology | Type | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| hatch_session | Strictly Necessary | Keeps you logged in during your session | Session |
| hatch_auth_token | Strictly Necessary | Authenticates your account securely | 30 days |
| hatch_csrf | Strictly Necessary | Prevents cross-site request forgery attacks | Session |
| hatch_prefs | Functional | Stores your UI preferences (theme, language) | 1 year |
| hatch_onboarding | Functional | Tracks onboarding completion state | 30 days |
| _plausible / analytics | Analytics | Privacy-first, anonymized platform analytics — no personal data | Session / 1 year |
| stripe_sid | Strictly Necessary | Stripe payment session (Stripe's own cookie) | Session |
| hatch_fraud_id | Security | Fraud and abuse detection | 90 days |
This table will be updated as our cookie usage evolves. Last reviewed: September 1, 2025.
Third Parties
Third-Party Cookies
Hatch uses a small number of third-party services that may set their own cookies:
Stripe — for payment processing. Stripe may set cookies related to fraud prevention and session management. See Stripe's Privacy Policy.
Analytics provider — we use a privacy-first analytics tool (such as Plausible) that does not use cookies that track individuals across sites and does not share data with advertisers.
We do not embed third-party advertising pixels, social media tracking tags, or retargeting cookies of any kind.
Your Choices
How to Control Cookies
You can control cookies in the following ways:
Browser settings: All major browsers allow you to view, manage, block, or delete cookies. Visit your browser's help section for instructions.
Cookie consent banner: When you first visit Hatch, you will be presented with a cookie consent banner where you can accept or decline non-essential cookies (analytics, functional).
Account settings: Logged-in users can manage cookie preferences from their account settings at any time.
Disabling all cookies: If you disable all cookies, Hatch's core functionality — including login and account access — will not work. Strictly necessary cookies cannot be disabled.
Do Not Track
Do Not Track Signals
Some browsers send a "Do Not Track" (DNT) signal. Because Hatch does not engage in cross-site behavioral tracking for advertising, our analytics approach is already consistent with the spirit of DNT. We respect DNT signals and do not use any technology that would override them.
Updates
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy to reflect changes in technology, law, or platform features. When we do, we'll update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. Material changes will be communicated via in-app notification or email.
The latest version is always available at hatch.social/legal/cookies.
Contact
Questions?
Cookie and privacy questions: [email protected]
See also our full Privacy Policy for complete details on how we handle your data.