Cookie and Tracking Policy
Effective Date: January 15, 2025At Pulse Kinetic Wave, we're pretty straightforward about how we track usage on our site. This policy breaks down what we collect when you visit pulsekineticwave.com, why we collect it, and what you can do about it.
We use various tracking technologies—mostly cookies but also some other tools—to understand how people interact with our blockchain programming resources. It helps us figure out what works and what doesn't, so we can keep improving the learning experience for students throughout Taiwan and beyond.
What Are Cookies and Why Do We Use Them
Cookies are small text files that get stored on your device when you visit websites. Think of them as digital sticky notes that help websites remember who you are and what you were doing.
We use them for a few reasons. Some are absolutely necessary—like remembering that you're logged into your student account. Others help us understand which course materials get the most attention, or whether people actually read our blog posts about smart contract development.
When you browse our site, cookies track things like which pages you visit, how long you stay, and what buttons you click. This sounds more invasive than it actually is—we're not watching individual people. We're looking at patterns across hundreds of visitors to see what's useful.
Types of Tracking We Use
Essential Functionality Cookies
These are the ones you can't really opt out of if you want the site to work properly. They handle basic stuff like keeping you logged in, remembering your language preferences, and maintaining security as you move between pages.
Without these, you'd have to log in every single time you clicked to a new page. That would get old fast.
Performance and Analytics
This is where we collect data about site usage. We want to know if our course navigation makes sense, whether people find what they're looking for, and which content gets ignored.
For example, if we notice that everyone abandons our introduction to Ethereum development halfway through, that tells us something needs fixing. Maybe it's too long, maybe it's poorly explained—analytics help us spot these issues.
- Page visit tracking: Which sections of the site get the most traffic
- Session duration: How long people spend reading course materials
- Click patterns: What links and buttons actually get used
- Device information: Whether you're on mobile or desktop, so we can improve responsiveness
- Referral sources: How people find us—search engines, direct links, social media
Preference Cookies
These remember choices you make about how the site should work for you. Things like your preferred viewing mode, notification settings, or which course modules you've bookmarked.
They're basically for convenience. You set something up once, and these cookies make sure it stays that way next time you visit.
Marketing and Engagement Tracking
We occasionally run campaigns to promote specific courses or workshops—like our upcoming solidity programming intensive scheduled for September 2025. Marketing cookies help us understand which promotional efforts actually work.
They also prevent us from showing you the same promotional message twenty times if you've already signed up. That would just be annoying.
Specific Cookies We Deploy
| Cookie Name | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| pkw_session | Maintains your login session and security tokens | Until browser closes |
| user_preferences | Stores your site configuration choices | 12 months |
| analytics_id | Tracks site usage patterns anonymously | 24 months |
| course_progress | Remembers where you left off in course materials | 6 months |
| marketing_ref | Identifies which promotional campaigns brought you here | 30 days |
Third-Party Tracking
We also work with external services that place their own cookies. Analytics platforms, video hosting for our tutorial content, and payment processors for course enrollment all use tracking technologies.
These third parties have their own privacy policies, and honestly, some of them are pretty long and technical. We try to work with companies that respect user privacy, but you should know that when you use our site, you're also subject to their data practices.
Video Content Providers
When you watch embedded course videos, the hosting platform tracks playback data. This helps them deliver content efficiently and helps us see which tutorials students actually watch.
Payment Processors
If you enroll in paid courses, payment systems use cookies for security and fraud prevention. We don't see your payment details, but they track transaction information.
How Long We Keep This Data
Different cookies stick around for different lengths of time. Session cookies disappear when you close your browser. Others might last months or even a couple of years.
We periodically clean out old tracking data that's no longer useful. If you haven't visited the site in over two years, your analytics profile gets deleted. Course progress information sticks around longer because students sometimes take breaks and come back.
Data Minimization Principle
We only keep tracking data as long as it serves a legitimate purpose. Once analytics information becomes too old to be useful for improving the site, it gets purged from our systems.
Managing Your Cookie Preferences
You've got several options if you want to limit or block cookies entirely. Browser settings let you refuse cookies, delete existing ones, or get notifications before they're set.
Keep in mind that blocking all cookies will break some site functionality. You might not be able to log in, your preferences won't save, and interactive course features might not work right.
Browser Controls
Every major browser has built-in cookie management. You can usually find it in privacy or security settings. The exact location varies—Chrome puts it in one place, Firefox in another, Safari somewhere else entirely.
Most browsers also offer private or incognito modes that automatically delete cookies when you close the window. That's useful if you're using a shared computer.
Selective Cookie Management
Some browsers let you allow cookies on a site-by-site basis. You could block third-party tracking cookies while still allowing the essential ones that make pulsekineticwave.com function properly.
This requires a bit more setup but gives you finer control over your privacy.
Other Tracking Technologies
Beyond cookies, we use a few other techniques to understand site usage. Web beacons—tiny transparent images embedded in pages—tell us when content gets loaded. Local storage in your browser holds some data for offline functionality.
These technologies serve similar purposes to cookies but work a bit differently under the hood. They're harder to manage through standard browser settings, but the same general principles apply about what we collect and why.
- Pixel tags: Track email opens for course announcements and newsletters
- Browser fingerprinting: Creates rough device profiles for security purposes
- Session replay: Records anonymous interaction patterns to diagnose usability issues
- Server logs: Standard web server records of all requests to our site
Impact on Your Learning Experience
All this tracking actually makes the learning platform better. When we see that students consistently struggle with a particular module, we know to add more explanation or break it into smaller pieces.
If analytics show that mobile users can't easily navigate course materials, we prioritize fixing mobile responsiveness. The data guides our development priorities toward changes that actually help students learn blockchain programming more effectively.
Real Example from 2024
Last year, tracking data revealed that students were abandoning our smart contract security course right before the final section. After investigation, we realized the last module was way too advanced compared to earlier content. We added intermediate steps, and completion rates jumped significantly.
Updates to This Policy
Technology changes, regulations evolve, and we occasionally adjust our tracking practices. When that happens, we'll update this policy and change the effective date at the top.
Significant changes might get announced through email or prominent notices on the site. Minor clarifications or updates to reflect new browser features usually happen without fanfare.
We recommend checking back here occasionally if you're particularly concerned about privacy and tracking. The policy date at the top tells you when it was last modified.
Questions About Our Tracking Practices
If something in this policy isn't clear, or you want more details about specific cookies, we're happy to explain. Reach out through any of these channels.