Cookie Policy

Effective Date: 30 July 2026

MusLinc uses cookies and similar technologies to improve your experience and to understand how our Service is used. This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are, which ones we use, and how you can manage them. We aim to be transparent and user-friendly in describing our practices. By using MusLinc (especially our website), you agree to the use of cookies as outlined in this policy, unless you adjust your browser or device settings to disable them.

1. What are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your browser or device by websites, apps, or advertisements. They serve a variety of functions, like remembering your login session or preferences. When you return to a site, the cookie allows that site to recognize your browser. Cookies typically contain:

• The name of the server the cookie was sent from,
• The cookie’s lifespan (how long it will stay on your device),
• A value (usually a unique identifier or some data).

For example, MusLinc might set a cookie with a random ID number that lets us know you’re the same user who logged in earlier, so you don’t have to log in again on every page. Cookies can also store things like your language preference or whether you’ve seen a particular prompt already. Cookies are either “session” cookies (which are deleted when you close your browser) or “persistent” cookies (which remain until they expire or you delete them). Session cookies help with site navigation or remembering temporary info; persistent cookies help us remember you on future visits.

2. Types of Cookies We Use

MusLinc uses both first-party and third-party cookies:

• First-party cookies are set by us (MusLinc) when you use our Service. They typically help with core functionality.
• Third-party cookies are set by other domains (for example, analytics or advertising partners) when you use MusLinc. These can help us with analytics or enabling certain features (like social media integration).

We categorize cookies (and similar technologies) on MusLinc as follows : a. Strictly Necessary Cookies These cookies are essential for the operation of our Service. They enable core functionality such as user authentication, security, and network management. Without these cookies, our website/app wouldn’t work properly. For example:

• Login and Security: When you sign in, we use a cookie to remember your session so you remain logged in as you navigate through pages. This cookie prevents you from having to log in every time you click a new link, and helps us ensure that it’s you performing actions on your account.
• Preferences Essential to Service: Some preferences (like language or region selection) might be stored so we can serve you the correct content (e.g., date formats, or which site version).
• Load Balancing/Infrastructure: We might use cookies to route your requests to the same server consistently for a session, improving performance and stability.

These cookies are typically first-party and session-based. They don’t gather information for marketing or remembering where you’ve been on the internet. Because they’re essential, you can’t opt-out of them via our preference centre (other than by not using the Service or changing browser settings, which might break functionality). b. Functionality (Preferences) Cookies These cookies allow our Service to remember choices you make and provide enhanced, more personal features. For instance:

• Remembering your preferences such as your notification settings or whether you saw our onboarding tutorial so we don’t show it again.
• Keeping track of your in-app settings, like if you enabled dark mode or a particular filter view.
• If we have a web banner or pop-up and you close it, a cookie might remember that so it doesn’t reappear immediately.

Functionality cookies may be first-party or third-party. They are not strictly necessary, but they improve your experience. For example, a cookie might save your language choice so that on your next visit, the site is automatically in the correct language. If you disable these, some preferences might not be remembered. c. Performance & Analytics Cookies We use analytics cookies to collect information about how users interact with MusLinc, which pages are visited, and any errors encountered. This helps us improve our Service. For example:

• Understanding Usage Patterns: We might use Google Analytics or similar tools to see the number of visitors on certain pages, how long they stay, and how they move through our site. This tells us which features are popular or if users are dropping off at a certain step (which might indicate a problem).
• Measuring Campaign Effectiveness: If we run promotional campaigns (ads on Google, etc.), analytics cookies help us know if a user joined MusLinc after clicking one of our ads and what they did next. This helps us gauge which marketing efforts work.
• Error Monitoring: Some cookies or similar tracking might log if you encountered a bug or crash, so we can fix it.

The information collected is typically aggregated and not meant to identify you personally. For example, we see total counts and trends, not “Alice did X, Y, Z” (unless necessary to debug an issue tied to an account). Nonetheless, these cookies might still collect some data like your IP address or device info, which in combination could be personal data. We treat all analytics data per our Privacy Policy. Common third-party analytics on MusLinc might include Google Analytics, which places cookies like _ga to distinguish users (with a random ID). We may configure Google Analytics to anonymize IP addresses (so it doesn’t store full IP). Data from analytics cookies is used internally to improve our product and generally not shared beyond our service providers. d. Advertising & Marketing Cookies (Currently perhaps minimal or none, but preparing for future) At launch, MusLinc might not have third-party ads, but we may use marketing cookies for our own promotion. For instance:

• If we advertise MusLinc on other platforms, an advertising cookie might help ensure you don’t see the same ad repeatedly, or help measure if you installed the app after seeing an ad.
• If we ever introduce advertising on MusLinc (like partner offers or relevant ads), these cookies would deliver ads relevant to you and measure their effectiveness (clicks, etc.).

Advertising cookies can remember that you visited our site/app, and possibly your activity, and this information could be shared with advertising networks to display more relevant ads to you on other sites (this is sometimes called “retargeting”). For example, if you visited MusLinc and then see an ad for MusLinc on Facebook, that’s likely due to such cookies or similar trackers. Right now, we do not “sell” personal data in the traditional sense, but under laws like CCPA, sharing for tailored advertising could be considered a “sale”. We currently do not do this without consent. If and when we do, we will provide a clear opt-out (“Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information”) if required. Examples of marketing cookies might include those from Facebook Pixel or Google Ads:

• Facebook Pixel: Helps us retarget or measure our Facebook/Instagram ads. It tracks if you sign up after clicking an ad, etc.
• Google Ads cookies (like IDE or DoubleClick cookies): These may track your browsing to tailor ads. If we run Google ad campaigns, these cookies measure conversions.

If advertising cookies are present, you can usually control them via our consent management tool or through industry opt-outs (see Section 5). e. Social Media and Content Cookies If our site or app integrates with social media (like a “Share” button or using social login) or pulls in content from third parties, cookies from those services might be present:

• For instance, if you log in via Facebook, Facebook may set a cookie to manage the authentication and possibly use for its own purposes.
• Or if we embed a YouTube video in a help page, YouTube might set cookies to track video views or remember your player preferences.

These cookies might track your interactions with that content. We don’t control these, but we list them for transparency.

3. Similar Technologies

Beyond cookies, we may use technologies like:

• Web Beacons/Pixels: Small transparent images or code snippets on pages or in emails that track whether you have viewed certain content. For instance, our email newsletters might contain a tiny pixel that tells us if you opened the email. This helps us measure engagement.
• SDKs (Software Development Kits): In our mobile app, an SDK integrated can function like a cookie by collecting information and storing in your app’s local storage or tracking within the app environment. Example: Firebase or an analytics SDK might collect usage events (like “user swiped profile”, “user sent a message”) for analytic purposes. These don’t place “cookies” per se in a browser, but it’s the same concept for apps.
• Local Storage: Modern browsers and apps can use local storage or similar to store data, which can persist like cookies. We might use this to store certain settings on your device.
• Device Identifiers: We may utilize mobile device identifiers (like Apple’s IDFA or Android’s Advertising ID) for analytics and advertising. These aren’t cookies but serve a similar role for mobile tracking.

For simplicity, we refer to all these as “cookies” or “tracking technologies” in this policy.

4. What We Use Cookies For

To put it succinctly, MusLinc uses cookies to:

• Provide and maintain the Service (keeping you logged in, keeping the Service secure).
• Save your preferences and settings.
• Understand and analyse how our Service is used so we can improve it.
• Measure the effectiveness of outreach and marketing campaigns (did that promotion bring new users?).
• Possibly personalize content or ads to your interests (in the future, if applicable), so your experience is more relevant.
• Facilitate social features or third-party integrations (like social logins).

Concretely:

• Login/Authentication: A cookie remembers your session ID, as mentioned.
• Security: Cookies help us implement security features, e.g., by enabling multi-factor or detecting suspicious logins (if a session cookie changes in odd ways).
• Preferences: If you mute the sound in the app or set a custom filter, a cookie or local storage might remember that so it persists next time.
• Analytics: We use data from cookies to find out things like which features are used most (maybe “the majority of users use the match feature but only 20% use the video call feature”), how users move through the onboarding, where they may get stuck, etc. This info can lead to improvements. For example, if analytics show few users complete profile verification, we might redesign that flow.
• Advertising (if/when used): If at some point we have an in-app promotion like “Upgrade to premium”, a cookie might limit how often you see that message. And externally, cookies help us not waste ads on people who already have the app (we can exclude current users from ad campaigns).
• Social Media: If you use a social login or share a profile externally, cookies related to that process are used so it works smoothly.

Our use aligns with common practices of online services and we try to minimize cookies where not necessary.

5. How Can You Control Cookies?

We respect that users may want to manage their cookie preferences. Here are ways you can control cookies and similar tech: In-App/On-Site Cookie Preferences: If you visit our website (or possibly from app settings if provided), you should see a cookie consent banner or preferences tool on first visit (especially if in EU/UK). This allows you to opt-in/out of non-essential cookies (like analytics, marketing). You can adjust these anytime by going to [Cookie Settings] on our site (we might provide a link in footer or settings). Through this tool:

• You can enable or disable categories of cookies (except necessary ones which are always on).
• If you disable, say, “Analytics”, our site will stop using those cookies on future pages.
• If you ever clear cookies from your browser, it may also clear your preferences, so you’d need to set them again.

Browser Controls: Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings preferences. Options typically include:

• Blocking all cookies (not recommended as many sites, including ours, may break).
• Blocking third-party cookies only (which still allows site’s own cookies but not those from others).
• Clearing cookies when you close the browser.
• Viewing cookies and deleting specific ones.

For example, in Chrome you can go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies and other site data, to manage cookie behaviour. In Safari on iOS, you can block all cookies or clear history and cookies. Note: if you block cookies from MusLinc, some functionality (like staying logged in) may not work. Mobile Device Controls: Mobile OS have controls for certain tracking:

• Apple iOS: Has an option “Allow Apps to Request to Track” – if you deny tracking, apps cannot access your device’s IDFA (identifier for advertisers) to track you across apps for advertising. We will respect that; if disabled, we don’t use that ID for targeted ads.
• Android: Has a setting to “Opt out of Ads Personalization” which instructs apps not to use your advertising ID for profiling.
• Resetting Identifiers: Both iOS and Android let you reset your device’s ad ID, which is akin to clearing cookies for ads. Then any past profiling is disassociated from your device.

Opt-outs for Specific Third Parties:

• Google Analytics offers a browser opt-out add-on (which prevents GA from running) if you don’t trust site controls.
• For interest-based ads, you can use industry opt-out tools:
• NAI Opt-Out (US): http://optout.networkadvertising.org lets you opt out of many ad networks.
• DAA (US): http://optout.aboutads.info
• EDAA (EU): http://www.youronlinechoices.eu
• AppChoices (mobile): You can install the AppChoices app to control interest-based ads in mobile apps.

These don’t remove ads entirely but should make them less personalized. Do Not Track Signals: “Do Not Track” (DNT) is a setting in browsers that signals to sites not to track you. However, there isn’t a consistent standard for how sites respond. Currently, MusLinc’s systems may not specifically respond to DNT headers. Instead, use the aforementioned methods to control tracking on our site. (If laws change and require honouring DNT, we will adjust accordingly.) Global Privacy Control (GPC): This is an emerging standard (like a DNT successor for CCPA/CPRA) where a browser can send a “GPC” signal that indicates the user wants to opt-out of sale/sharing of data. If we detect a GPC signal from a supported browser and know the user is in California, we will treat it as a valid opt-out request for targeted advertising cookies. Important Note: If you disable cookies, some parts of MusLinc might not function properly. For example, if you block necessary cookies, we can’t keep you logged in, etc. If you block analytics, we won’t see your interactions in stats but it won’t affect your usage.

6. Cookies We Use (Examples)

(This section might list actual cookie names for transparency. For example:) Here are some cookies that may be set when you use MusLinc:

• MusLinc_session (First-party, Necessary): Keeps you logged in and maintains session state. Expires after 24 hours of inactivity.
• cookie_consent (First-party, Necessary): Remembers your cookie preference selections. Lasts 6 months.
• muslinc_csrf (First-party, Necessary): Security cookie to prevent cross-site request forgery attacks.
• _ga, _gid (First-party via Google Analytics, Analytics): Used by Google Analytics to distinguish users (anonymously). _ga lasts 2 years, _gid 24 hours.
• _gat (First-party via Google, Analytics): Throttles request rate to GA (1 minute lifespan).
• IDE (Third-party from Google/DoubleClick, Advertising): Helps with ad delivery or retargeting. Lasts ~1 year.
• fr (Third-party from Facebook, Advertising): Used by Facebook to deliver a series of advertisement products such as real time bidding from third party advertisers. Lasts 3 months.
• MusLinc_test (First-party, Functional): Maybe used to test if cookies are enabled on your browser (set and immediately removed).
• language (First-party, Functional): Remembers your language preference (e.g., “en” for English). Lasts until you change language or clear cookies.
• Local Storage: We might store small pieces of data like last known tab you were on, whether you’ve seen certain tooltips, etc. (This isn’t a cookie per se, but important to mention).
• App-specific identifiers: In the mobile app, we might generate a unique user ID stored in the app’s storage to keep track of your session and preferences.

(This list would be updated as our usage changes. We provide it to be transparent about typical cookies in use.)

7. Updates to this Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, law, or our Service. If we make significant changes, we will notify you by updating the effective date above and perhaps providing a notice (like on our website or via email if appropriate). We encourage you to review this policy periodically for the latest on our cookie practices.

8. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about our use of cookies and similar technologies, feel free to contact us:

• Email: Contact@muslinc.com
• Address: 60 Tottenham Court Road, Suite 6621a, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 2EW
• Attn: Privacy

For more details on how we handle your personal information (including data collected via cookies), please see our Privacy Policy. By using our Service, you agree to the use of cookies as described (to the extent you’ve consented where required). We hope this explanation helps you feel informed about what’s happening under the hood when you’re enjoying MusLinc. Thank you for reading!