What Actually Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that websites store on your device. Think of them as little sticky notes that remind the website who you are when you come back. They can remember your language preference, whether you're logged in, or what you put in your shopping cart.

Some cookies disappear when you close your browser (session cookies). Others stick around for months or years (persistent cookies). We use both types, depending on what we're trying to accomplish.

How We Actually Use Tracking on This Site

Here's the honest breakdown. When you visit elevateenergynet.com, several things happen automatically:

• Your browser connects to our server and tells us what page you want to see
• We send back the page content along with some tracking scripts
• Those scripts collect information about how you interact with our budget tools
• The data gets sent to our analytics platforms so we can improve the service

Most of this is pretty standard for any modern website. But some tracking goes deeper – and that's where your choices come in.

The Different Types of Tracking We Do

Taking Control Through Your Browser

You don't need our permission to block cookies. Every browser has built-in controls that let you decide what gets stored on your device. The "reject all" button above is convenient, but your browser settings are the ultimate authority.

Be aware that blocking all cookies will break some site features. Our budget calculator needs to store your inputs somewhere, and without cookies, it can't remember anything between page loads. You'll still be able to browse our content, but interactive tools won't function properly.

Third-Party Tracking Services

We don't do all the tracking ourselves. Like most websites in 2025, we use specialized platforms that are better at analytics than we are. Here's what connects to third-party servers when you visit:

• Google Analytics for traffic analysis and user behavior patterns
• Hotjar for session recordings and heatmaps (only with consent)
• Content delivery networks that speed up page loading
• Font services that make the site look consistent across devices

Each of these services has their own privacy policy. When you reject non-essential cookies through our system, we tell these platforms not to track you. But you can also block them directly through browser extensions or settings.

What Happens When You Reject Cookies

If you click the "decline" button above, here's what actually changes:

• All existing non-essential cookies get deleted from your browser
• We store your rejection preference in local storage (ironically, a tracking technology)
• Our analytics scripts stop sending data about your behavior
• Marketing tags don't fire when you visit different pages
• You won't see personalized content recommendations based on browsing history

Essential cookies still work because they have to. You can still log in, use our tools, and save your budget data. You just won't be contributing to our usage statistics or seeing targeted content.

Updates and Changes

Technology changes fast. So do privacy regulations. We update this policy whenever our tracking practices change in meaningful ways. You'll see the revision date at the top of this page.

Major changes get announced through email if you have an account with us. We won't start collecting drastically different data without giving you notice and a chance to opt out.