What is a cookie
A cookie is a small text string stored by your browser at our request. We use cookies to keep you signed in across pages, to keep admin sessions distinct from candidate sessions, and for nothing else.
Cookies we set
ciq_session — a candidate authentication cookie. Set when you log in; contains a random session token, not your identity. Removed on logout. Expires after 30 days of inactivity.
ciq_admin_session — an admin authentication cookie. Set only when an administrator logs in to the admin panel. Stricter same-site policy than the candidate cookie. Expires after 12 hours.
Both cookies are HTTP-only (not readable by JavaScript), are sent only over HTTPS in production, and are restricted to the cognitiveiq.in domain.
Optional analytics cookies
If you accept analytics cookies via the consent banner, we load Google Analytics 4 to understand how people use the site — which pages are visited, how long sessions last, and where visitors come from. Google Analytics sets cookies on your browser (prefixed _ga) to distinguish unique visitors. IP addresses are anonymised before being stored. We do not enable advertising features, remarketing, or cross-site tracking.
If you decline or ignore the banner, no analytics cookies are set and no data is sent to Google. You can change your preference at any time by clearing your browser’s local storage for this site, which will re-show the consent banner on your next visit.
Cookies we don’t set
We do not use Facebook Pixel, advertising remarketing tags, A/B testing tools, heatmap recorders, or any behavioural profiling tracker. We do not share cookie identifiers with third parties for advertising purposes.
Third-party cookies during payment
When you proceed to payment, the Razorpay checkout window opens in an embedded modal served from checkout.razorpay.com. Razorpay sets its own cookies on its own domain to operate that flow. We do not control those cookies; their use is governed by Razorpay’s privacy policy. They are essential for completing your purchase; if you block them, payment will fail.
Managing cookies
You can clear cookies via your browser’s privacy settings at any time. Doing so will sign you out of CognitiveIQ. Browsers also let you block cookies for a specific site; if you block cookies for cognitiveiq.in you will not be able to sign in or take a test, since the session cookie is required to maintain your authenticated state.
Changes
If we introduce additional cookies beyond those listed above, we will update this page and prompt you for consent before any new non-essential cookie is set on your browser.
Last updated: May 2026 (draft)