Vugola Cookie Policy

This Cookie Policy explains how Vugola, a product of Vugola LLC ("Vugola," "we," "our," or "us"), uses cookies and similar storage and tracking technologies when you visit or use our platform, websites, and other products and services ("Services"). It describes what these technologies are, the categories we use, who places them, how long they last, and the choices you have to accept, reject, or withdraw your consent.

This Cookie Policy is part of, and should be read together with, our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service. Any terms we use here without defining them have the meaning given to them in those documents. Where this Cookie Policy describes how we handle personal data, the broader practices, your rights, and our legal bases are set out in the Privacy Policy.

1. What Are Cookies and Similar Technologies

Cookies are small text files that a website places on your device to store information. We also use related technologies that serve the same purpose, including browser local storage and session storage, software development kits, pixels, and similar identifiers. In this Cookie Policy we refer to all of these together as "cookies."

Cookies can be "first-party" (set by Vugola) or "third-party" (set by a service provider we work with). They can also be "session" cookies, which are deleted when you close your browser, or "persistent" cookies, which stay on your device until they expire or you delete them. Some of the technologies we use, including the analytics tools described below, store information in your browser's local storage rather than in a traditional cookie, but we treat them the same way for the purposes of consent and control.

2. The Categories of Cookies We Use

We group the cookies we use into two categories: strictly necessary and analytics. We do not use advertising or cross-context behavioral advertising cookies, and we do not run third-party ad networks on the Services.

2.1 Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are required for the Services to work. They cannot be switched off through our consent controls, because without them core features such as signing in and keeping your session secure would not function. We rely on these on the basis that they are essential to deliver a service you have requested, so they are set without asking for consent. Strictly necessary cookies include:

• Authentication and session cookies that keep you signed in, maintain your session, and protect against unauthorized access. These are set by our authentication and database provider.
• Security cookies that help protect the Services against abuse and fraud.
• Your consent choice itself, which we store in your browser so that we remember whether you accepted or rejected non-essential cookies and do not have to ask you again on every visit. This is stored in your browser's local storage under the key "vugola_cookie_consent."

2.2 Analytics and Non-Essential Cookies

These cookies help us understand how visitors and users interact with the Services so we can measure performance and improve the product. They are not required for the Services to function, and you can accept or reject them as described in Section 4. The analytics tools we use are:

• Product analytics. We use a product analytics tool to understand how the Services are used, including pages viewed, features used, and aggregate usage patterns. It also provides heatmaps and session replay, which record interactions such as page navigation and clicks so we can diagnose issues and improve the experience. Session replay is configured to mask text entered into form fields, so the content you type is not captured in replays. We use this data to operate, secure, and improve the Services, not to build advertising profiles.
• Website analytics. We use a privacy-focused website analytics tool for traffic and conversion analytics that tell us, in aggregate, how people find and move through our site.

Until you have made a consent choice (where consent is required, as described in Section 3), the non-essential analytics tools above are not loaded. Our product analytics tool is initialized in an opted-out, in-memory state and only begins capturing once enabled, and our website analytics script is not added to the page at all unless and until it is permitted.

3. When Non-Essential Cookies Run, and When They Are Off

How we treat analytics cookies depends on where you are and on any privacy signal your browser sends.

• European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland (opt-in). If you appear to be in the EEA, the UK, or Switzerland, non-essential analytics cookies stay off until you affirmatively opt in. We show a consent banner with equally prominent "Accept" and "Reject" options, and we do not treat continued use of the site as consent. These analytics tools are enabled only if you choose "Accept." If you choose "Reject," or take no action, they remain off.
• United States and the rest of the world (opt-out, with Global Privacy Control honored). Elsewhere, analytics cookies run by default under a notice-and-opt-out approach, except that we always honor a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal sent by your browser or a browser extension. If your browser sends GPC, we treat it as a binding opt-out and do not load or capture with the non-essential analytics tools, regardless of your region. You can also opt out at any time using the controls in Section 4.

We currently determine your region using your browser's time zone, which is a no-network, privacy-friendly method that errs toward showing the consent banner rather than tracking without consent. Strictly necessary cookies are used in all regions because they are essential to the Services.

4. How to Manage or Withdraw Your Choices

You are in control of non-essential cookies, and you can change your mind at any time. You have the following options:

• Cookie Preferences. Use the "Cookie Preferences" link in our website footer to reopen your choice. This clears your stored decision and turns non-essential analytics back off until you make a fresh choice, so you can withdraw consent at any time, just as easily as you gave it.
• The consent banner. If you are in a region where the banner is shown, you can select "Reject" to keep non-essential cookies off, or "Accept" to allow them.
• Global Privacy Control (GPC). If your browser or a browser extension sends a GPC signal, we honor it automatically as an opt-out. You do not need to do anything else, and a GPC signal overrides a prior "Accept."
• Browser controls. Most browsers let you block or delete cookies and clear local storage through their settings. If you block strictly necessary cookies, parts of the Services, including signing in, may not work. Clearing your browser storage will also clear your saved consent choice, so you may be asked to choose again.

Because our consent choice is stored in your own browser, clearing your browser data or using a different browser or device will reset it.

5. Cookies Set by Our Service Providers

Some cookies described above are placed by the third-party providers we use to deliver the Services. These providers process data on our behalf or in line with their own policies. The providers relevant to cookies and on-site tracking cover authentication, session, and security; product analytics, including heatmaps and session replay; and website analytics. Each has its own privacy practices governing data they handle. A fuller description of the providers we work with, and the safeguards that apply, is in our Privacy Policy.

6. How Long Cookies Last

The lifespan of a cookie depends on its purpose. As a general guide:

• Session and authentication cookies last for the length of your signed-in session and are refreshed or cleared when you sign out or when the session expires.
• Your stored consent choice persists in your browser's local storage until you withdraw it through "Cookie Preferences," send a GPC signal, or clear your browser storage.
• Analytics cookies and local storage set by our analytics tools are persistent and typically last from the end of your session up to around 12 months, after which they expire and are renewed only if analytics are still enabled. You can clear them at any time through your browser or by withdrawing consent.

Actual durations are controlled by each provider and may change. The retention of the underlying analytics data, as distinct from the cookies themselves, is described in the Data Retention section of our Privacy Policy.

7. Relationship to the Privacy Policy

This Cookie Policy is part of and incorporated into our Privacy Policy. The Privacy Policy explains, more broadly, the personal data we collect, how and why we use it, the legal bases we rely on, international transfers, your privacy rights (including under the GDPR and the CCPA/CPRA), and how to exercise them. If there is any conflict between this Cookie Policy and the Privacy Policy on a cookie-specific point, this Cookie Policy controls.

8. Children

The Services are intended for users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly use cookies to collect personal information from anyone under 18.

9. Changes to This Cookie Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the technologies we use or in applicable law. When we make material changes, we will update the effective date below and, where required, provide a more prominent notice. Your continued use of the Services after an update takes effect means you accept the revised Cookie Policy, subject to any consent we are required to obtain.

10. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Cookie Policy or our use of cookies, contact us at:

Vugola LLC
Email: hello@vugolaai.com
Website: https://vugolaai.com