Cookie Policy

1. What Are Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer, smartphone, or other device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently, provide a better user experience, and give website owners information about how their site is being used.

When you visit RivalHound's website and application, we and our service providers may use cookies and similar technologies to:

• Keep you signed in to your account
• Remember your preferences and settings
• Understand how you use our website
• Improve our services based on usage patterns
• Process payments securely
• Protect against security threats and fraud

This Cookie Policy explains what cookies we use, why we use them, and how you can manage your cookie preferences. This policy should be read in conjunction with our Privacy Policy, which provides more detail about how we handle your personal information.

2. Legal Basis for Cookies

Different cookies require different legal bases for their use:

2.1 Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are essential for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually set in response to your actions, such as logging in, setting your privacy preferences, or filling in forms. Under GDPR and similar regulations, these cookies do not require consent because they are necessary for the services you have requested.

2.2 Consent-Based Cookies

For cookies that are not strictly necessary (such as analytics or marketing cookies, if we use them in the future), we rely on your consent. Where required by law, we will ask for your permission before placing these cookies on your device. You can withdraw your consent at any time by adjusting your browser settings or contacting us.

2.3 Legitimate Interests

In some cases, we may use cookies based on our legitimate business interests, such as ensuring the security of our platform or improving our services. We balance these interests against your privacy rights and will not use cookies in ways that unfairly impact you.

3. Cookie Categories Overview

We categorize the cookies we use into the following groups:

3.1 Essential Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary for our website and application to function. They enable core functionality such as:

• Authentication: Keeping you logged in to your account securely
• Security: Protecting against cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks and other security threats
• Session Management: Maintaining your session state as you navigate through the application
• Load Balancing: Distributing traffic across our servers for optimal performance

Without these cookies, services you have asked for cannot be provided. You cannot opt out of essential cookies while using our Service.

3.2 Functionality Cookies

These cookies allow us to remember choices you make and provide enhanced, personalized features:

• Preferences: Remembering your dark/light mode preference
• Language: Storing your language or region preference
• Customization: Remembering dashboard layout or view preferences

These cookies improve your experience but are not essential. If you disable them, some personalization features may not work.

3.3 Payment Cookies

When you make a payment or manage your subscription, our payment processor (Stripe) may set cookies to:

• Process transactions securely
• Prevent fraud and detect suspicious activity
• Remember payment preferences for faster checkout

These cookies are essential for payment processing and cannot be disabled if you wish to make purchases.

4. Detailed Cookie Table

The following table provides detailed information about the specific cookies we use:

4.1 Essential Cookies

4.2 Functionality Cookies

4.3 Third-Party Cookies

5. Third-Party Cookies and Services

Some cookies on our website are set by third-party services that we use. These services help us provide and improve our platform:

5.1 Stripe (Payment Processing)

We use Stripe to process payments securely. When you access our checkout or billing pages, Stripe may set cookies to:

• Prevent fraudulent transactions
• Identify your device for security purposes
• Process payments efficiently
• Remember payment methods for faster checkout (with your consent)

Stripe's cookies are essential for payment processing. If you block these cookies, you will not be able to complete purchases on our platform.

5.2 Authentication Services

We use Better Auth for user authentication. If you sign in using Google OAuth or magic links, cookies may be set by:

• Our authentication system to maintain your session
• Google (if you use Google sign-in) to authenticate your account

These cookies are necessary for authentication and cannot be disabled if you want to use our application.

5.3 AWS (Infrastructure)

Our platform is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS may set cookies for:

• Load balancing across servers
• Session affinity (routing you to the same server)
• Security and performance optimization

6. Third-Party Privacy Policies

For more information about how our third-party service providers handle cookies and your data, please review their privacy policies:

• Stripe: stripe.com/privacy
• Google: policies.google.com/privacy
• AWS: aws.amazon.com/privacy

We carefully evaluate the privacy practices of all third-party services we use. However, we are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to review their policies.

7. Consent Management

7.1 How We Obtain Consent

For cookies that require consent (non-essential cookies), we will:

• Display a clear cookie notice when you first visit our website
• Explain what cookies we want to use and why
• Obtain your explicit consent before setting non-essential cookies
• Provide an easy way to manage your preferences

7.2 Withdrawing Consent

You can withdraw your consent at any time by:

• Adjusting your browser settings to block or delete cookies
• Using our cookie preferences settings (if available)
• Contacting us at privacy@rivalhound.com

Please note that withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before withdrawal. Also, blocking essential cookies may affect your ability to use our Service.

7.3 Record of Consent

We maintain records of consent for compliance purposes, including:

• When consent was given
• What information was provided at the time
• How consent was obtained

8. Managing Your Cookie Preferences

You have several options for managing cookies on your device:

8.1 Browser Settings

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can typically:

• View cookies stored on your device
• Delete all or specific cookies
• Block all cookies or cookies from specific sites
• Set preferences for first-party vs. third-party cookies
• Receive notifications when cookies are set

Here's how to manage cookies in popular browsers:

• Google Chrome: Settings → Privacy and Security → Cookies and other site data
• Mozilla Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
• Safari: Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data
• Microsoft Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Manage and delete cookies and site data

8.2 Mobile Device Settings

On mobile devices, you can manage cookies through your device or browser settings:

• iOS (Safari): Settings → Safari → Clear History and Website Data
• Android (Chrome): Chrome menu → Settings → Privacy → Clear browsing data

8.3 Do Not Track

Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" (DNT) setting. While there is no industry standard for how websites should respond to DNT signals, we respect your privacy choices. Currently, our website does not specifically respond to DNT signals, but you can control tracking through the cookie management options described above.

8.4 Impact of Blocking Cookies

If you choose to block or delete cookies, please be aware that:

• You may not be able to log in or use authenticated features
• Your preferences may not be saved between visits
• Some features may not function properly
• You may not be able to complete purchases

9. Similar Technologies

In addition to cookies, we may use similar technologies to store and access information on your device:

9.1 Local Storage

Local storage allows websites to store data locally on your device with no expiration date. We use local storage for:

• Storing user preferences (like theme settings)
• Caching data for faster performance
• Maintaining application state

You can clear local storage through your browser's developer tools or settings.

9.2 Session Storage

Session storage is similar to local storage but is cleared when you close your browser tab or window. We use session storage for:

• Temporary data during your browsing session
• Form data while you're filling out multi-step forms
• Navigation state within the application

9.3 Web Beacons

Web beacons (also known as pixel tags or clear GIFs) are small transparent images that may be included in our emails or web pages. We may use web beacons to:

• Track email delivery and open rates
• Understand how users interact with our content
• Improve our communications

Most email clients allow you to disable images, which will prevent web beacons from loading.

10. Cookie Retention Periods

Cookies have different retention periods depending on their purpose:

10.1 Session Cookies

Session cookies are temporary and are deleted when you close your browser. They are used for:

• Maintaining your logged-in state during a browsing session
• Security tokens (CSRF protection)
• Temporary preferences

10.2 Persistent Cookies

Persistent cookies remain on your device until they expire or you delete them. Our persistent cookies have the following typical retention periods:

• Authentication cookies: Up to 30 days (for "remember me" functionality)
• Preference cookies: Up to 1 year
• Stripe fraud prevention cookies: Up to 2 years (set by Stripe)

You can delete persistent cookies at any time through your browser settings.

11. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect:

• Changes in the cookies we use
• Changes in applicable laws or regulations
• Changes in our technology or services
• Feedback from users or regulators

When we make changes:

• We will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy
• For significant changes, we may notify you by email or through a notice on our website
• We encourage you to review this policy periodically

Your continued use of our website after any changes indicates your acceptance of the updated Cookie Policy.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Cookie Policy or how we use cookies, please contact us:

• Email: privacy@rivalhound.com
• Contact Form: rivalhound.com/contact

We will respond to your inquiry and help you understand or manage our cookie practices.

For more comprehensive information about our data practices, please see our Privacy Policy. For our terms of use, please see our Terms of Service.