Cookies and tracking
Last updated: Effective: [EFFECTIVE DATE]
This notice explains the cookies and similar technologies (such as browser storage) that Playbuy uses in three places: on the storefronts of merchants who use our widgets, in the merchant dashboard, and on our website. It should be read with our Privacy Policy.
Summary
- Our website, playbuy.app, sets no cookies and uses no analytics or advertising trackers.
- On a merchant's storefront, we set a visitor cookie only when the shopper has allowed analytics, as reported by Shopify's Customer Privacy API.
- We never use cookies for advertising, never set third-party cookies, and never track shoppers across different stores.
1. On merchants' storefronts
Merchants add Playbuy widgets to their Shopify store with a theme app extension, and measure orders with a Shopify web pixel. The merchant controls this data, and the merchant's own cookie banner collects the shopper's choice. Our code reads that choice from Shopify's Customer Privacy API and acts on it:
- If the shopper allows analytics, the widget sets the
_pbvcookie described below, and our web pixel can report completed orders for attribution. - If the shopper does not allow analytics, or has not chosen yet where consent is required, no visitor cookie is set, any existing
_pbvcookie is deleted, and the web pixel does not run. Widgets still work, and we record events without any identifier. - If the shopper changes their choice on the store's banner, the widget picks up the change straight away.
| Name | Type | Purpose | Duration | When it is set |
|---|---|---|---|---|
_pbv | First-party cookie on the store's domain | A random visitor ID. Lets the merchant count unique viewers, keep a shopper in the same A/B test group, and attribute orders to videos the shopper watched. Contains no personal details. | 1 year | Only with analytics consent |
_pba | First-party cookie on the store's domain | A list of up to 20 product IDs the shopper added to cart from a Playbuy widget, so the order can be attributed. Contains no personal details. | 7 days | Only with analytics consent |
_pbs | Session storage (not a cookie) | A random value that keeps a shopper in the same group of an A/B test the merchant is running, for the current browser tab only. It is not sent to our servers. | Deleted when the tab is closed | Only when a widget on the page is part of an A/B test and there is no analytics consent |
Our servers at e.playbuy.app receive the shopper's IP address and browser details with each widget event, as any web server does. We hash the IP address on receipt, use it only to stop abuse and to count each video view once a day, and do not store it. Video files are delivered by Cloudflare and widget files from cdn.playbuy.app; these providers process technical request data to deliver the content.
Merchants: you are responsible for describing these technologies in your store's privacy and cookie notices and for showing a consent banner where the law requires one. Shopify's built-in cookie banner works with Playbuy automatically.
2. In the merchant dashboard (app.playbuy.app)
The dashboard uses only strictly necessary cookies. They are needed to sign you in and keep your account secure, so they do not require consent.
| Name | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|
__Host-pb_session | Keeps you signed in. Secure and HTTP-only; the server stores only a hash of its value. | Ends after 7 days without use, or 30 days at most |
__Host-pb_oauth | Protects the Shopify sign-in and install flow against forged requests. | 10 minutes |
__Host-pb_oauth_instagram, __Host-pb_oauth_tiktok | Protects the flow for connecting a social account against forged requests. Deleted once used. | 10 minutes |
When you open Playbuy inside the Shopify admin, Shopify may set its own cookies, which Shopify's privacy policy covers.
3. On our website (playbuy.app)
Our website sets no cookies and does not use browser storage, analytics, advertising pixels or social media plugins. Fonts are served from our own domain. The live demo runs in a preview mode that sends no events and sets no cookies. Demo videos stream from Cloudflare, which processes technical request data to deliver them.
If we ever add analytics or other non-essential cookies to the website, we will update this notice first and ask for consent where the law requires it.
4. Your choices
- Shoppers: use the store's cookie banner or privacy settings to allow or refuse analytics. You can also delete or block cookies in your browser settings; widgets will keep working.
- Merchants and staff: blocking the dashboard's strictly necessary cookies will stop you from signing in.
5. Contact
Questions about this notice: [CONTACT EMAIL].