Cookie policy

This page lists everything this site stores in your browser, what each item is for and how long it stays. The privacy policy covers the rest of what happens to your data.

Cookies on the public pages

None. The calculators, the quote checker, the rate pages and the guides are sent without a Set-Cookie header, so visiting them sets no cookie at all. We use no advertising cookies, no social media pixels and no cross-site tracking.

What goes into session storage

Session storage belongs to a single browser tab. Your browser wipes it when that tab closes, and other sites can't read it. We keep up to two items there:

• ck_sid holds a random string your browser makes. It ties together the usage events of one visit, such as "calculator viewed" and "result shown", so we can see where people give up on a calculator. It is stored only if you choose Accept in the cookie banner. Until then, or if you choose Decline, the string lives in the page's memory and is gone when you leave the page. It carries no name, email, IP address or anything else about you, and it stops existing when you close the tab.
• abr-focus-main is set to 1 when you pick a link in the calculators menu, and the next page removes it as soon as it loads. Its one job is to move keyboard focus to the main content of that page, which matters if you browse with a keyboard or a screen reader.

Your choice in the cookie banner

The banner at the bottom of the page asks once whether we may store ck_sid. Your answer, Accept or Decline, and the day you gave it are kept in your browser's local storage under abr-consent, so the banner doesn't ask again on every page. That item only records the answer. To change it, use "Cookie settings" at the bottom of any page.

Page analytics without cookies

We count page visits with Cloudflare Web Analytics. Its script sets no cookies and writes nothing to your device. What Cloudflare receives is listed under "Page analytics" in the privacy policy.

Cookies that only signed-in users get

Two groups of people can get a cookie from this domain, and neither of them is a visitor using the calculators:

• Our own staff, when they sign in to the site's admin area. The sign-in cookie, payload-token, lasts up to 14 days or until they sign out.
• People with a contractor account opened before October 13, 2026. Those accounts can no longer be opened on this site, so no new account cookies are set. The ones they used are described under "Cookies and storage" in the privacy policy.

Clearing or blocking browser storage

Closing the tab clears the session storage items. Clearing site data for americanbuildrate.com in your browser settings also removes your banner answer, and the banner will ask again. You can also block storage for the site. Every calculator still works if you do; we just can't group the steps of your visit.

When this policy changes

If we ever add a cookie or another stored item, it will be listed here before it goes live, and anything that needs your consent will ask for it first. The terms of service cover how the site and its estimates may be used.

Questions about cookies

Write to support@americanbuildrate.com, or see the other ways to reach us.