Can you use useRef to persist values across renders??

Yes, you can use useRef to persist values across renders in React. Unlike useState, changing .current does not cause re-renders, but the value is preserved across renders.

Example:

function Timer() {
const renderCount = useRef(0);
useEffect(() => {
renderCount.current++;
console.log("Render count:", renderCount.current);
});

return <div>Check console for render count.</div>;
}