Cookie Policy
How promptstudy.org uses cookies — the small data files that make this knowledge hub function and help us understand which explainers readers find useful — and how you stay in control of them.
Last reviewed: June 2026. promptstudy.org is an educational reference on hereditary cancer genetics, multi-gene panel testing, and patient registries. We keep our use of cookies deliberately narrow. This page explains what cookies are, the two categories we rely on, exactly why each is present, and the precise steps you can take to control or remove them.
What a cookie actually is
A cookie is a small text file that a website asks your browser to store on your device. When you return to a page, the browser sends that file back, which lets the site recognize your session or remember a preference. Cookies cannot run programs, read other files on your device, or carry viruses. They hold short pieces of text — typically an identifier and an expiry date. Understanding that mechanism matters, because it sets the limits of what any cookie on this site can and cannot do: a cookie is a memory aid, not a surveillance tool.
The two categories we use
1. Essential cookies
Essential cookies are required for the site to load and behave correctly. They are set by promptstudy.org itself (first-party) and are not used to profile you or to advertise. They handle functions such as preserving your session state as you move between explainer pages, remembering whether you have already seen and acknowledged this notice, and protecting form submissions against cross-site request forgery. Because these cookies are strictly necessary for the pages to work, the site cannot function properly without them. They are not used for analytics or marketing.
2. Analytics cookies
Analytics cookies help us understand, in aggregate, how readers use the hub — which guides on BRCA variants, panel testing, or patient registries are read most often, how visitors arrive, and where pages could be clearer. We use this only to improve the educational content. The data is aggregated and reported at the level of trends, not individuals; we do not use it to build advertising profiles, and we do not sell it. Analytics cookies are optional: the site remains fully readable if you decline or remove them. Their only effect when absent is that we lose visibility into usage patterns that guide future writing.
What we do not do
We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. We do not run third-party ad networks, social-media tracking pixels, or retargeting tags on this site. promptstudy.org is an authority-building reference resource, not a storefront or a lead-generation funnel, and our cookie footprint reflects that: essential function and aggregate analytics, nothing more.
How to control cookies
You hold the controls. Every modern browser lets you view, block, and delete cookies, and your choices override anything this site sets. Common paths:
- Google Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Third-party cookies (and “Clear browsing data” to remove existing cookies).
- Mozilla Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data.
- Apple Safari: Settings → Privacy → Manage Website Data / Block all cookies.
- Microsoft Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Manage and delete cookies and site data.
You can also browse in your browser's private or incognito mode, which discards cookies at the end of the session, or install a privacy extension that blocks analytics scripts. Note that blocking all cookies, including essential ones, may prevent some pages or forms from working as intended — this is a general consequence of how essential cookies operate, not specific to this site.
Cookies set by linked resources
Where we cite or link to external sources — such as published registry literature, society guidelines, or institutional pages — those destinations have their own cookie practices governed by their own policies. This Cookie Policy covers only promptstudy.org. We encourage you to review the privacy and cookie notices of any third-party site you visit from a link here.
Changes to this policy
If our use of cookies changes, we will update this page and revise the “Last reviewed” date above. Because the site's purpose is educational rather than commercial, we expect changes to be infrequent and limited in scope.
Questions
If anything here is unclear, or you would like to understand exactly which cookies your visit set, we are glad to explain. See our Privacy Policy for how we handle data more broadly, or reach us through the contact page.