Cookies policy
Last updated October 30, 2026
Founders School is run by Alpha School 78701, LLC. This page lists the cookies founders.school sets, what it keeps in your browser, and the other companies whose services its pages load. How we handle personal information is in our Privacy Policy.
You can change your choice any time:
Analytics, only if you accept
Google Analytics, from Google, counts visits and a few actions: clicking an Apply link, starting and finishing the steps of the application, submitting it, and signing up for the newsletter. It never gets your name, email address, phone number or what you write in a form. The one form answer it sees is the application cohort you picked.
It loads only after you choose Accept analytics in the cookie banner. If you choose Reject, make no choice, or your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, it doesn't load at all. It never runs on the admin dashboard, the Student Hub, Guide tools, the Enrollment Desk, or a page opened from a private link we sent you (a form, feedback, RSVP or pledge link).
Once you accept, it sets two cookies, _ga and _ga_7H9JG63RFG. They last up to 2 years, Google's default. Choosing Reject later deletes them, and until you accept, the site deletes any it finds, including ones left from visits before this banner existed.
Needed to run the site, always on
These don't track you, and the site can't work without them, so there is no switch for them.
fs_consent: remembers your choice in the cookie banner, for founders.school and its other addresses (like launch.founders.school). Up to 180 days.afa-session: keeps you signed in after you use the code or link we email you, on the application dashboard, the Student Hub and Guide tools. 7 days.admin_session: keeps Founders School staff signed in to the admin dashboard. Up to 400 days.
Kept in your browser, not cookies. They stay on your device and are never sent to us on their own:
afa-apply-draft: your unfinished application, so a reload doesn't lose your answers. Removed when you submit, or when you sign in and your answers are saved to your application.afs-build-video:followed by the file's details: where a build video upload stopped, so it can pick up again. Removed when the upload finishes.fs_blog_capture_v1: whether you signed up for, or closed, the newsletter box on the blog, so it stops asking.- For staff on the admin dashboard, a few display settings:
afadmin-nav-folded,afdoor-autoprintandafdoor-ql-label.
Other companies our pages load
- Sentry, to keep the site working: each page view notes that a session started, so we can count visits that hit no error, and an error, or a small sample of page loads (to measure speed), sends a report. All of it goes through our own address (founders.school/monitoring) with personal details left out. It sets no cookies and keeps nothing in your browser.
- YouTube, Vimeo and Loom: a blog post can include a video. The player loads only when you press play, and YouTube videos play in YouTube's privacy-enhanced mode (youtube-nocookie.com). Once a player loads, that company's own cookie rules apply.
- Stripe: payments. The application's assessment fee is paid on Stripe's own checkout page. A pledge on Launch loads Stripe's card form from js.stripe.com when you continue to the card step. Stripe may set the cookies it needs to take the payment and prevent fraud.
- Supabase, our database and file storage: a video you upload (the build video in your application, or a video answer in a job application) goes from your browser straight to it.
Every font is served from founders.school. Nothing loads from Google Fonts or any other font service.
Your choices
- Cookie settings, in the site's footer and at the top of this page, opens the cookie banner again.
- Reject deletes the Google Analytics cookies on this site.
- We treat a Global Privacy Control signal as Reject.
- Your browser's settings can block or delete cookies too. Blocking
afa-sessionoradmin_sessionsigns you out.
Questions
Email events@founders.school.