Cookies Policy

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. We also use similar technologies such as local storage, session storage, and IndexedDB on the website and Android app, which let the browser or app remember information between visits or during a single session.

This Cookies Policy explains what we store, why we store it, and how you can control it. For broader data practices, see our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

On Civil Service Exam Review Platform, cookies and browser storage help us:

• Keep the platform working reliably and securely on the web and Android app.
• Remember your preferences (such as light or dark theme).
• Recognize anonymous returning visitors for community statistics.
• Track live reviewer presence and daily visitor metrics.
• Remember UI choices (guided tour, dismissed announcements, promo banners).
• Hold a referral code temporarily when you arrive from an invite link.
• Save optional practice timer preferences on your device.
• Store offline practice and flashcard packs and queue progress for sync when you are back online.
• Resume interrupted full exam sessions during the same session.
• Measure anonymous site usage and performance through Vercel Analytics.
• Maintain signed-in sessions when you use an account (via Firebase Authentication).

We do not use cookies for third-party advertising or cross-site tracking profiles.

The table below describes the main cookies and storage items used on this platform:

Firebase and Vercel may set additional technical cookies required for authentication, security, and hosting. Refer to their respective privacy documentation for details.

A core feature of Civil Service Exam Review Platform is the Reviewer Community panel, which shows how many people are studying on the platform.

• While you browse, your browser sends a lightweight heartbeat about every 30 seconds (when the tab is visible) using your anonymous visitor ID.
• The first time you use the platform, you are counted once toward our total active reviewers community metric. Your first visit each day (Philippine time) is included in visitors today.
• Heartbeats also power the “reviewing right now” live count.

These metrics use anonymous identifiers — they do not require an account and do not display your name publicly.

We group our use of cookies and storage into these categories:

• Strictly necessary — required for security, authentication, and core functionality. The site cannot operate properly without these.
• Functional — remember preferences and improve your experience (theme, tour, dismissed prompts, promo banners, referral capture, practice timer settings, offline packs, and session recovery).
• Analytics — help us understand usage patterns and performance (visitor metrics, Vercel Analytics).

Because many features are free and essential to the study experience, we do not currently show a separate cookie consent banner. You can still control storage through your browser settings as described below.

Some cookies and storage are managed by trusted third parties:

• Google Firebase — authentication sessions, database access tokens, optional push notification support (web and Android), and stored support chat messages for signed-in users.
• Google Play services — when you install or update the Android app from Google Play.
• AI providers (e.g. Groq) — when you use the help assistant or when admins use optional reply suggestions, message content is sent to generate responses. Help assistant chats are not stored as permanent history on our servers by default.
• Vercel — hosting infrastructure and privacy-friendly analytics.
• Google Sign-In — if you choose Google authentication, Google's policies apply to that sign-in flow.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of these providers for more information about their cookies and data handling.

You can control cookies and local storage at any time:

• Browser settings — most browsers let you block, delete, or clear site data. Look for “Privacy,” “Cookies,” or “Site data” in your browser settings.
• Clear site data for Civil Service Exam Review Platform — removes your visitor ID, theme preference, offline queues, and other locally stored values. You may need to sign in again and re-download offline packs.
• Android app data — clear storage for CSEREVIEWPLATFORM in your device settings to remove offline packs, cached sessions, and local preferences.
• Notification permission — revoke push notification access in your browser or Android device settings.
• Do Not Track — we honor reasonable browser privacy signals where technically feasible, though industry standards vary.

Blocking strictly necessary cookies or storage may prevent sign-in, progress saving, or accurate community statistics.

If you switch between light and dark mode, your choice is saved locally so the platform looks the same on your next visit. Similarly, if you complete the guided tour, dismiss optional prompts, close the premium promo banner, or arrive from a referral link, we store a small flag or code so we do not interrupt your study flow repeatedly and can attribute referral rewards correctly after sign-up.

These preferences are not used for advertising and are not sold to third parties.

If you install our Android mobile app, the same storage technologies described above may be used inside the app's WebView shell. In addition:

• Offline practice and flashcard packs are stored in IndexedDB under cse-offline-questions until you delete them from account settings or clear app data.
• Firebase may persist authentication tokens locally so you stay signed in between app launches.
• Push notification tokens are managed through Firebase Cloud Messaging when you grant Android notification permission.

Clearing the app's storage in Android settings removes offline packs, queued sync data, and local preferences, but does not delete your cloud account or server-side progress unless you also request account deletion.

We may update this Cookies Policy when we add features or change how technologies are used. Check the “Last updated” date above. Significant changes may be noted on the website.

Questions? Email support@csereviewplatform.com or read our Privacy Policy.