Cookie notice.

Who this policy covers

This Cookie Policy explains what Esim Free stores on your device when you visit esimfree.io, why each item is needed, how long it lasts, and how you control it. The site is operated by ESIM FREE, a limited liability company organised in the United States, which sells data-only unlimited-5G eSIM plans for the UAE on the E& and du networks.

This policy sits alongside our Subscriber Agreement, Privacy Notice, and Refund Policy. Where those documents describe personal data in general, this page describes device-level storage in particular: HTTP cookies, the browser localStorage and sessionStorage areas used by the site, and the fraud-prevention cookies set by our payment processor Stripe on checkout pages. It does not cover the mobile network operators' own processing once your eSIM is active.

What cookies and storage actually are

A cookie is a small text file that a website asks your browser to keep so the site can remember you between pages and visits. Cookies cannot run programs or install software; they are simply name-and-value pairs with an expiry date and scope rules. Your browser sends matching cookies back to the site automatically on each request, which is how login sessions, checkout security checks, and remembered preferences keep working.

Alongside cookies, this site uses two closely related browser storage areas. Local storage (localStorage) keeps small values on your own device until you or your browser clears them, and is used here for durable interface choices such as your theme, language, and recorded cookie consent choice. Session storage (sessionStorage) keeps values only while the tab is open and disappears when you close it, and is used here for transient interface state such as whether the chat teaser has already been shown. Neither storage area is shared across unrelated websites, and neither is used for cross-site advertising tracking.

Our approach: essential first, everything else off unless you agree

Esim Free is designed to work with the minimum device storage possible. By default the site sets or reads only what is strictly necessary to deliver the pages you request, keep you logged in, keep checkout secure, and remember the choices you make in the consent banner and the theme control. Optional measurement, if it is ever enabled on your visit, stays completely off until you press Accept in the on-site banner, and pressing Decline leaves the site fully usable with only essential storage active.

We do not use advertising cookies, social-media tracking pixels, retargeting tags, or cross-site identifiers, and we do not sell or share browsing data with ad networks. The only third party that may set cookies through our pages is Stripe, our payment processor, and only on checkout pages where payment fields are displayed, for fraud prevention and payment security. Plans are billed in AED with no VAT charged as a US digital supply, and payments are processed by Stripe; your card details are entered into Stripe-hosted fields and are never stored by us.

Strictly essential storage (always on, no consent needed)

The items below are strictly necessary to provide the service you request or to remember a preference you have explicitly chosen, such as dismissing the banner or picking a theme. Under the EU ePrivacy rules these categories do not require prior consent, which is why they operate whether you press Accept or Decline. Blocking or deleting them in your browser may break login, checkout, or display settings, as explained further below.

ef-theme, Purpose: remembers whether you use the dark or light version of the site so pages render consistently. Duration: 12 months from when it is set (max-age 31536000), path /, SameSite=Lax. Category: essential preference cookie.

esimfree-theme (localStorage), Purpose: theme fallback that mirrors ef-theme for instant rendering before cookies are read. Duration: kept on your device until you clear site data. Category: essential preference.

esimfree-lang (localStorage), Purpose: remembers your chosen interface language so you are not asked again on every page. Duration: kept until you clear site data. Category: essential preference.

esimfree-cookie-choice (localStorage), Purpose: records your banner decision (accepted or declined) so we do not ask you again on every visit. Duration: kept until you clear site data. Category: essential consent record.

esimfree-auth (localStorage and sessionStorage) and esimfree-session (sessionStorage), Purpose: keep you logged in to your account area and hold short-lived session state while you manage plans, view QR codes, and check out. Duration: session entries end when the tab closes; persisted login lasts until you log out or clear site data. Category: essential login session.

chatTeased (sessionStorage), Purpose: records that the offline chat teaser has already been shown in this tab so it does not pop up repeatedly. Duration: ends when the tab closes. Category: essential interface state.

Stripe fraud-prevention cookies set by Stripe.js on checkout pages (these carry names chosen by Stripe, commonly including __stripe_mid, __stripe_sid, and muid or equivalents), Purpose: distinguish real customers from fraudulent traffic, remember payment-flow state, and keep card-element and payment-request buttons secure. Duration: set by Stripe and typically lasting from the session up to around one year depending on the cookie. Category: essential payment security.

Any server-side session, checkout anti-forgery, or load-balancer affinity cookies set by our hosting infrastructure, Purpose: route your requests reliably and protect forms against cross-site attacks.

Optional measurement (only with your consent)

Optional measurement means aggregated, privacy-friendly counting of how visitors use the site, for example which pages are viewed most, so we can improve content and fix broken flows. On Esim Free this category is strictly opt-in: it is disabled when you first arrive, it is never enabled by pressing Decline or by ignoring the banner, and it starts only after you press Accept. Accepting does not enable advertising of any kind, and declining leaves every plan page, checkout, and account feature fully available.

Until that confirmation is recorded, treat the Accept choice as permission for future privacy-friendly measurement only, with details to be listed in the table above before any tool is switched on.

The consent banner and how to change your choice

On your first visit, a small banner titled “Cookies, minus the crumbs” appears near the bottom of the screen after a short delay. It explains in one line that essential cookies keep login and checkout working and that optional measurement stays off unless you accept, with a link to this page. Two equal buttons are offered: Accept, which records an accepted choice, and Decline, which records a declined choice. Both buttons dismiss the banner immediately, and your decision is saved in esimfree-cookie-choice on your own device so the banner does not reappear on later visits.

You can change your mind at any time. The reliable method today is to clear site data for esimfree.io in your browser settings (or use the per-site controls described below) and reload the page: with no stored choice, the banner appears again and you can pick differently. You can also write to support@esimfree.io and we will talk you through it within 24 hours.

Payments and Stripe

Checkout pages load Stripe.js from js.stripe.com so that card fields, the Payment Request button, and confirmation calls (including elements, confirmCardPayment, and paymentRequest flows) run securely. Stripe sets its own cookies and device identifiers in that context to prevent fraud and to remember where a payment attempt stands; these are controlled by Stripe's own privacy documentation rather than this page, and we encourage you to read it before paying. We receive payment confirmations and subscription references from Stripe, not your full card number.

Subscriptions renew on each anniversary minus two days, and failed renewals are retried for 48 hours; none of that retry logic depends on optional cookies. If checkout ever behaves strangely after you have tightened browser privacy settings, allow essential cookies for esimfree.io and js.stripe.com temporarily and try again, then restore your stricter setting once the payment completes.

Login sessions

When you sign in, the site keeps a session so you can move between account, Billing, and support pages without re-entering credentials, and so that checkout can recognise your account and referral attribution. Signing out ends the server session; clearing site data for esimfree.io removes the local copies. On shared or public devices, always sign out and close the tab when finished, and avoid choosing any stay-signed-in option if one is offered.

No advertising or cross-site tracking

We state this plainly: Esim Free sets no advertising cookies, buys no retargeting audiences, embeds no social tracking pixels, and permits no third party to observe your browsing across other sites from our pages. Our referral program, which gives both referrer and referred customer 5% duration-matched credit with no cap, is attributed inside your account rather than through third-party affiliate cookies. Analytics, where ever enabled after consent, is used only to understand aggregate site usage and never to build advertising profiles.

Legal basis for EU and UK visitors (GDPR and ePrivacy)

If you visit from the European Union, the European Economic Area, or the United Kingdom, two frameworks apply to device storage. First, the ePrivacy rules require prior consent before storing or reading anything that is not strictly necessary; that is why optional measurement waits for your Accept while essential login, checkout-security, and remembered-preference storage does not ask first. Second, the GDPR (and the UK GDPR) requires a lawful basis for any related processing of personal data: we rely on contract necessity and legitimate interests for the strictly essential items, including fraud prevention at checkout, and on your freely given, specific consent under Article 6(1)(a) for any optional measurement.

Consent can be withdrawn at any time with effect for the future using the methods above, without affecting the lawfulness of anything done before withdrawal, and refusing consent never degrades the service or the price you pay. You also hold the usual rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, and objection, plus the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority. Because the operator is a US company, requests and data may be handled in the United States.

How to block or delete cookies in your browser

Every major browser lets you block some or all cookies, delete what is already stored, or set exceptions per site, and your choice here works independently of the on-site banner. In Chrome, use Settings, then Privacy and security, then Third-party cookies and the per-site settings; in Safari, use Settings or Preferences, then Privacy, including website-data removal; in Firefox, use Settings, then Privacy and Security, with standard, strict, or custom profiles plus per-site data management; in Edge, use Settings, then Cookies and site permissions. Mobile browsers offer equivalent controls under their privacy or site-settings menus, and most browsers also offer a private or incognito mode that discards storage when the window closes.

Blocking everything, including essential cookies, will likely sign you out, empty checkout state, reset theme and language choices, and may prevent Stripe's security checks from completing a payment. If that happens, add an exception allowing esimfree.io (and js.stripe.com during checkout), complete what you need, and re-tighten afterwards. Note that browser do-not-track signals do not change anything on our side, because there is no behavioural tracking to switch off in the first place.

Changes to this policy

We update this page when the storage we use changes, for example if a measurement tool is added behind consent or if Stripe alters its cookie set. The updated date at the top of the page always shows the latest revision.

Contact

Questions about cookies, a request to exercise a privacy right, or trouble with the banner or browser settings: write to support@esimfree.io and we reply within 24 hours. The operator is ESIM FREE, a limited liability company organized in the USA. For account or plan help you can also reach us through the contact page.