Cookie Policy
Understanding How 5minMail Uses Cookies
Effective Date: December 11, 2025 | Last Updated: December 11, 2025
1. Introduction
This Cookie Policy explains how 5minMail ("we," "us," "our"), operated by Bright Idea Tech Ltd, uses cookies and similar tracking technologies on our website located at https://5minmail.com (the "Site").
By using our Site, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with this Cookie Policy. If you do not agree to our use of cookies, you should change your browser settings accordingly or discontinue use of the Site. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our Site.
This Cookie Policy should be read in conjunction with our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
2. What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer, smartphone, or other device when you visit a website. Cookies are widely used by website owners to make their websites work more efficiently and to provide reporting information.
2.1 Types of Cookies
First-Party Cookies:
These are cookies set by the website you are visiting (in this case, 5minMail). Only we can read and use these cookies.
Third-Party Cookies:
These are cookies set by a domain other than the one you are visiting. For example, when we use Google Analytics, this service sets its own cookies on your device.
2.2 Cookie Duration
Session Cookies:
These are temporary cookies that remain on your device only while you browse the Site. They are deleted when you close your browser.
Persistent Cookies:
These cookies remain on your device for a set period of time or until you manually delete them. They are used to remember your preferences and settings for future visits.
2.3 Similar Technologies
In addition to cookies, we may use similar technologies such as:
- Web Beacons (Pixel Tags): Small transparent images embedded in web pages or emails to track user behavior
- Local Storage: HTML5 local storage that allows websites to store data locally on your device
- Session Storage: Similar to local storage but data is cleared when the browser is closed
For simplicity, this Cookie Policy refers to all these technologies collectively as "cookies."
3. Why We Use Cookies
We use cookies for several reasons:
- Essential Functionality: To enable core features of the Site, such as generating temporary email addresses and managing sessions
- Analytics: To understand how visitors use our Site, which pages are most popular, and how we can improve user experience
- Advertising: To display relevant advertisements and support our free Service
- Preferences: To remember your cookie consent choices and other preferences
- Security: To protect against fraud and abuse
4. Categories of Cookies We Use
4.1 Essential Cookies (Strictly Necessary)
These cookies are necessary for the Site to function properly. They enable basic features such as page navigation, access to secure areas, and generating temporary email addresses. The Site cannot function properly without these cookies, and they cannot be disabled.
| Cookie Name | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
session_id |
Maintains user session and temporary email address state | Session (deleted when browser closes) | First-party |
email_expiry |
Tracks the 5-minute expiration timer for temporary emails | 5 minutes | First-party |
csrf_token |
Prevents Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks | Session | First-party |
4.2 Preference Cookies (Functionality)
These cookies remember your choices and preferences to provide a more personalized experience.
| Cookie Name | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
cookie_consent |
Stores your cookie consent preferences (accept/decline) | 1 year | First-party |
gdpr_consent_status |
Records whether you have interacted with the cookie banner | 1 year | First-party |
language_preference |
Remembers your language selection (if applicable) | 6 months | First-party |
4.3 Analytics Cookies (Performance)
These cookies collect information about how visitors use our Site, such as which pages are visited most often and whether users encounter error messages. This helps us improve the Site's performance and user experience.
Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC, to analyze Site usage. Google Analytics uses cookies to collect information about how visitors interact with our Site.
| Cookie Name | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga |
Distinguishes unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier | 2 years | Third-party (Google) |
_ga_* |
Used by Google Analytics 4 to persist session state | 2 years | Third-party (Google) |
_gid |
Distinguishes users | 24 hours | Third-party (Google) |
_gat |
Used to throttle request rate to limit data collection on high traffic sites | 1 minute | Third-party (Google) |
Data Collected: Google Analytics collects information such as your IP address (anonymized), browser type, device type, pages visited, time spent on pages, and referring website.
Opt-Out: You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on.
For more information, see How Google uses data when you use our partners' sites or apps.
5. How to Manage and Delete Cookies
You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject cookies. You can exercise your cookie preferences through:
5.1 Cookie Consent Banner
When you first visit our Site, a cookie consent banner will appear at the bottom of the screen. You can choose to accept or decline non-essential cookies (analytics and advertising). Your choice will be remembered for 1 year.
5.2 Browser Settings
Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can typically:
- View what cookies are stored and delete them individually or all at once
- Block third-party cookies
- Block all cookies from specific sites
- Block all cookies entirely
- Delete all cookies when you close your browser
Browser-Specific Instructions:
- Google Chrome: Manage cookies in Chrome
- Mozilla Firefox: Manage cookies in Firefox
- Safari (macOS): Manage cookies in Safari
- Microsoft Edge: Manage cookies in Edge
- Safari (iOS): Manage cookies on iPhone/iPad
- Chrome (Android): Manage cookies on Android
5.3 Mobile Device Settings
On mobile devices, you can usually manage cookies through your device's privacy settings or through the browser app settings.
5.4 Do Not Track (DNT) Signals
Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" (DNT) signal that you can enable to request that websites not track your browsing activity. Currently, there is no industry consensus on how to respond to DNT signals. Therefore, our Site does not respond to DNT signals at this time. We continue to monitor developments in this area.
6. Third-Party Cookies and Services
In addition to our own cookies, we use third-party services that may set their own cookies on your device. We do not have control over these third-party cookies. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of these third parties to understand how they use cookies and how you can manage them.
Third-Party Services We Use:
- Google Analytics: Google Privacy Policy
- Content Delivery Networks (CDNs): We use CDNs like Bootstrap CDN, cdnjs, and jsdelivr to deliver CSS/JavaScript libraries. These may set their own cookies.
Social Media: If we integrate social media sharing buttons or plugins, these services may set their own cookies even if you do not interact with them. Please refer to the privacy policies of Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and other social platforms for more information.
7. Updates to This Cookie Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in:
- The cookies we use
- Cookie regulations and laws
- Our business practices
- Third-party services we integrate
When we make changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this Cookie Policy periodically to stay informed about how we use cookies.
If we make significant changes to how we use cookies, we may notify you by prominently posting a notice on our Site or through our cookie consent banner.
8. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy or our use of cookies, please contact us:
Company: Bright Idea Tech Ltd
Address: Holborn, London, EC1 2WV, United Kingdom
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://brightideatech.co.uk
Cookie Summary
We use three types of cookies:
- Essential: Required for the Site to function (cannot be disabled)
- Preference: Remember your choices (e.g., cookie consent)
- Analytics: Help us understand Site usage (Google Analytics)
You can manage your cookie preferences through our cookie consent banner or your browser settings.