Last updated September 16, 2026
This Cookie Policy explains how Buttondown, LLC ("we", "us", or "our") uses cookies and similar technologies when you visit our website at buttondown.com or interact with any newsletter hosted on Buttondown. This policy should be read alongside our Privacy Policy.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files placed on your device by a website. They are widely used to make websites work, improve efficiency, and provide information to site owners. We use both session cookies (which expire when you close your browser) and persistent cookies (which remain on your device for a set period).
Cookies we use
The table below lists every cookie we set. Hold your pointer over a name to read what that cookie does, click a name to copy it, and tap a column heading to sort. Essential cookies are necessary for the site to work and cannot be switched off. Functional cookies enable product features for newsletter publishers and their subscribers. Analytics cookies help us and publishers understand how visitors use their content.
| Functional | 30 days | |
| Functional | 30 days | |
| Functional | 30 days | |
| Essential and analytics | Session | |
| Functional | Up to 90 days | |
| Functional | 1 day | |
| Analytics | Session | |
| Functional | 90 days | |
| Functional | Up to 90 days | |
| Essential | 2 weeks | |
| Essential | 1 hour | |
| Functional | Up to 90 days | |
| Functional | Up to 90 days | |
| Functional | Up to 90 days | |
| Functional | Up to 90 days | |
| Functional | Up to 90 days | |
| Essential | 1 year |
Local storage
Our marketing site also keeps a copy of the attribution values above (initial page, referrer, referral code, and UTM parameters) in your browser's local storage under the key bd_first_touch_v2. This is a backstop: if the cookies are cleared between your first visit and the day you sign up, we can still tell where you first heard about us. It is cleared when you clear site data for buttondown.com.
Cookies on custom domains
If you are a newsletter publisher using a custom domain, the same cookies described above may be set on your domain to support the subscription process and provide analytics.
Turning off page view tracking in your newsletter's analytics settings stops us recording pageviews. The visitor identifier cookie is still set, because the subscription form needs it to block automated signups.
Cookies on embedded forms
If a publisher embeds a Buttondown subscription form on their own site with our iframe embed, the browser loads that form from buttondown.com, and the cookies above are set on buttondown.com rather than on the publisher's domain. No script sets them: our server sets them with HTTP response headers, so there is no script URL for a consent tool to block.
Publishers who want their pages to set no Buttondown cookie at all should use our HTML form embed instead. That version sets no cookie when the page loads.
Third-party cookies
We do not use third-party advertising cookies. We do not sell your data to advertisers.
Other tracking technologies
In addition to cookies, we use tracking pixels in emails to help publishers measure open rates. This is a standard practice across email service providers and can be disabled by publishers in their newsletter settings.
Managing cookies
Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can typically:
- View what cookies are set
- Delete individual or all cookies
- Block cookies from specific or all sites
- Block third-party cookies
Please note that disabling essential cookies may prevent you from using certain features of our service, such as logging in to your account.
Changes to this policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by an updated "Last updated" date at the top of this page.