Cookie Policy

What Cookies and Similar Technologies Are

Cookies are small text files placed on your browser or device. Similar technologies include local storage, session storage, pixels, tags, SDKs, and identifiers that store or access information on your device. In this Policy, “cookies” includes these similar technologies where applicable.

Legal Basis and Consent

Under EU/Romanian cookie rules, cookies that are strictly necessary for providing a service you request may be used without prior consent. Non-essential cookies, such as analytics, marketing, or optional preference cookies, are used only where allowed by your consent or applicable law. Refusing non-essential cookies should not block access to the core Service.

Cookie Categories We Use

• Strictly necessary: needed for security, consent storage, authentication/session support, checkout flow integrity, fraud prevention, rate limiting, and core website functionality.
• Preferences: used to remember optional settings such as language, region, display choices, or privacy preferences where enabled.
• Analytics and performance: used to understand product usage, page performance, errors, and aggregate conversion patterns. These should not be used for non-essential tracking unless you allow them.
• Marketing: used only if marketing, advertising, retargeting, or campaign measurement tools are enabled and you consent. Newsletter subscription is handled separately and can be withdrawn through unsubscribe links or account settings.
• Payment and third-party functionality: Stripe or other payment/security providers may use their own strictly necessary cookies or device identifiers during checkout, fraud prevention, and payment authentication.

Current Local Storage and Consent Records

The app stores a cookie/local-storage consent record in your browser under a BuddyFood consent key. It may also store language preference, privacy choices, checkout/flow safety locks, and other strictly necessary application state. The backend may keep an audit record of your cookie/privacy choices, including consent categories, opt-outs such as third-party sharing or personalized ads, consent version, source/action, timestamp, page URL/path, locale, browser user agent, browser privacy signals such as GPC where available, and a privacy-protective IP hash where configured.

Third-Party Cookies and Providers

Some third-party providers may place or access cookies or identifiers when their services are used. This may include payment processors such as Stripe, authentication/database/storage providers such as Supabase, hosting/security providers, email/newsletter tools, analytics tools if enabled, and AI/infrastructure tools where relevant. Third parties process data according to their own policies and our agreements with them where applicable.

Managing or Withdrawing Consent

You can accept all, reject non-essential cookies, or customize categories through the cookie banner. You can reopen cookie settings from the website footer where available, clear browser storage, block cookies in your browser, or use privacy controls such as Global Privacy Control where supported. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing that was lawful before withdrawal.

Retention

Consent records and local cookie preferences are kept only as long as needed to remember your choice, demonstrate compliance, secure the Service, or satisfy legal obligations. If you clear browser storage or use another device/browser, you may need to set your preferences again.

Changes to This Cookie Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy when we add or remove technologies, change providers, deploy new features, or update legal/compliance practices. The latest version will be shown on this page with the updated date.

Contact

For questions about cookies, consent, privacy choices, or data protection, contact us at buddyfood.ai@gmail.com.