This Cookie Policy explains how our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies, and how you can control them. We value your privacy and strive to comply with all relevant regulations, including the EU ePrivacy Directive and GDPR, as well as Google’s EU User Consent Policy. By understanding this policy, you’ll know exactly what data is collected via cookies, why it’s collected, and how you can manage your preferences.
What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit websites. They are widely used to make websites work efficiently, as well as to provide information to the site owners. Cookies can serve various purposes – from remembering your login details to storing your preferences and delivering personalized content or advertisements.
We also use similar technologies (like browser local storage and tracking pixels) that functionally act like cookies. For simplicity, we refer to all these technologies as “cookies” in this policy.
How We Use Cookies
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site, to understand how our site is used, and to support our advertising efforts. Specifically, cookies help us to:
- Ensure site functionality: Certain cookies are essential for the website to function properly (e.g. enabling basic features like page navigation and access to secure areas). These “strictly necessary” cookies do not require consent.
- Remember preferences: Cookies allow us to recall information about your choices (such as language or region) to provide a more personalized experience.
- Perform analytics: We use cookies to collect aggregate data about site traffic and user interactions (via tools like Google Analytics) to improve our services. These cookies help us understand which pages are popular, how users navigate the site, and where we can make improvements.
- Deliver advertising: Advertising cookies (including those from third parties like Google AdSense) help deliver relevant ads, track campaign performance, and limit how many times you see an ad. They may also allow for personalized ads based on your interests and browsing history – but only if you have given explicit consent in regions where that is required. If consent is not given, we will only serve non-personalized ads. (See the Advertising Cookies section below for details.)
Types of Cookies We Use
We classify the cookies we use into the following categories:
- Strictly Necessary Cookies: These cookies are essential for the operation of our website and enable core functionalities. Without these, services you have asked for (such as logging in or filling out forms) cannot be provided. These cookies do not require your consent, as they are used solely for providing the service you requested.
- Functionality/Preference Cookies: These cookies remember your preferences and choices to enhance your experience (for example, keeping you logged in or remembering your language selection). They may be set by us or third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages.
- Performance/Analytics Cookies: These cookies collect information about how visitors use our site (e.g., which pages are visited most often, and if users get error messages from web pages). The data collected is aggregated and anonymous, used only to improve how the website works. We do not set analytics cookies unless you have consented where required.
- Advertising Cookies: These cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you. They perform functions like preventing the same ad from continuously reappearing, ensuring ads are properly displayed for advertisers, and in some cases selecting advertisements based on your interests. We primarily use Google AdSense for advertising on our site, which may deploy cookies to show you personalized ads only if you have given consent (in regions that require consent). If you do not consent, you will still receive ads, but they will be non-personalized and based only on general context or your rough location (e.g. city-level).
Cookie Consent and Your Choices
Your consent is required for us to use any non-essential cookies or to enable personalized ads, particularly if you are in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom (UK), or Switzerland. We do not rely on “implied consent” (i.e., we will not assume you agree to cookies just because you continue using the site without clicking “accept”). Instead, we implement an explicit consent mechanism in line with legal requirements and industry best practices:
- Consent Banner: When you first visit our site (or after we’ve made significant changes to this policy), you will see a cookie consent banner. This banner clearly explains that we use cookies (and for EEA/UK/CH users, it specifically mentions use of cookies for ads personalization) and asks for your consent before we set any non-essential cookies. You will have the option to take affirmative action to indicate your consent – for example, by clicking an “Accept” or “Agree” button on the banner. We will not drop analytics or advertising cookies until you have actively agreed.
- Choice to Decline/Manage: Our banner (or a linked settings panel) also gives you a clear choice to reject non-essential cookies or to customize your cookie preferences. It is just as easy to decline cookies as it is to accept them – you might see a “Reject” button or a “Manage Settings” option of equal prominence to the “Accept” button. This ensures that your consent is freely given and unambiguous, as required by GDPR’s standards of affirmative action. If you choose to decline certain categories (or all non-essential cookies), we will honor that choice. In that case, no cookies in those categories will be placed on your device, and any features or content reliant on them will be disabled or limited accordingly.
- Geographic Application: Users from the EEA, UK, and Switzerland will always be shown the consent banner due to legal requirements. We have implemented a Consent Management Platform (CMP) to handle consent in these regions in compliance with Google’s policies. As of January 16, 2024, Google requires publishers to use a Google-certified CMP integrated with the IAB Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) for EEA and UK visitors (and as of July 31, 2024 for Swiss visitors) when serving personalized ads. We utilize Google’s own certified CMP solution (integrated with the IAB TCF) as part of our compliance measures. This means that when you visit from one of these regions, the consent prompt you see is managed through an industry-standard framework that communicates your choices to our advertising partners (like Google). Traffic that comes through a certified CMP with your consent allows us to show personalized or non-personalized ads as appropriate. Traffic without a valid consent will only receive non-personalized ads or potentially no ads, as required by Google’s policies and law.
- No Cookie Wall: Access to our site is not conditioned on your consent. You can use the site even if you decide not to accept any non-essential cookies. We do not employ “cookie walls” that block you from content for refusing cookies. However, please note that certain functionalities (for example, personalized content or tailored ads) might not be available without consent to the relevant cookies.
Advertising Cookies and Google AdSense
We participate in Google AdSense to display advertisements on our website. For users in regions where it’s required (EEA, UK, Switzerland), AdSense will only serve personalized ads if you have given consent through the consent banner. Here’s what you should know about our advertising cookies and AdSense:
- Personalized Ads: These are ads tailored to you based on your past browsing behavior or interests. We will only show personalized ads if you opt-in (consent) to advertising cookies and ad personalization. Google AdSense uses cookies and mobile identifiers to collect data such as your interests, previous websites visited, or demographic information in order to show more relevant ads. For example, if you’ve been reading about travel on various sites, you might see travel-related ads on our site. Personalized ads improve your ad experience and help support our website by increasing the effectiveness of ads. Importantly, all such personalization activity will only occur with your explicit permission.
- Non-Personalized Ads: If you do not consent to personalized advertising cookies, you will still see ads on our site, but they will be non-personalized. Non-personalized ads are contextual – meaning they’re primarily based on the content of the page you’re viewing or your general location (e.g., the city or region) rather than tracking your past behavior. Google does not use your personal data to tailor these ads. However, even non-personalized ads require the use of cookies or similar technologies for certain limited purposes such as frequency capping (to avoid showing you the same ad too many times in a row), aggregated ad reporting, and fraud prevention. This means that minimal data may still be collected during ad delivery (for example, to count impressions or prevent abuse), and we still request your consent for these limited cookies where required by law. If you have declined all optional cookies, we will either serve only basic “limited” ads that involve minimal cookies or no cookies at all, or in some cases refrain from showing advertising to comply with your preferences.
- Third-Party Cookies: Through AdSense and possibly other advertising or social media plugins, third-party cookies may be set on your device. These cookies might be used by our partners to determine whether you’ve seen an ad before, to measure the effectiveness of an ad, or to personalize ads on other sites based on your visit to our site. Each of these third parties (including Google) is identified and described in our Privacy Policy and/or in the consent banner interface. We recommend reviewing their privacy policies for more information on their cookie practices. In particular, Google, as our ad partner, may collect and process data as described in Google’s Privacy & Terms site and Google’s Business Data Responsibility statement (which explains how Google uses information from sites that use its services). We provide links to these resources as required by Google’s EU User Consent Policy to ensure you know how Google will use your data if you consent.
- Google Certified CMP: As mentioned, we use Google’s certified Consent Management Platform to obtain and transmit your consent choices. This platform is in line with the IAB TCF standards and Google’s requirements, helping ensure that only traffic with proper consent is eligible for fully personalized ads. If you have any questions about how Google handles consent signals or about the IAB framework, please refer to Google’s support documentation or contact us for more information.
Managing and Withdrawing Consent
Your control over cookies is a continuous right. Even after you’ve made your initial choices on our site’s cookie consent banner, you can change your mind at any time. We make it easy for you to withdraw consent or adjust your preferences, in accordance with Google’s policy that revoking consent should be as easy as giving it.
Here’s how you can manage your cookie consent on our site:
- Cookie Settings Link: At any time, you can access our Cookie Settings tool (for example, via a “Privacy Settings” or “Manage Cookies” link on our website – usually located in the footer or in this policy). Clicking that link will bring up our consent management preferences, where you can review and modify your selections. You might choose to withdraw consent entirely (e.g., “Reject All” for previously accepted categories) or toggle specific categories of cookies on/off according to your comfort. Any changes you make will be saved and applied immediately.
- Effect of Withdrawal: If you withdraw your consent for a certain type of cookie, we will stop using that cookie type and will endeavor to delete (or anonymize) any previously set cookies of that type on your device. For instance, if you initially allowed advertising cookies but later opt-out, our site and our advertising partners will cease personalized advertising for you, and Google AdSense will switch to non-personalized ads (or no ads) for your browser. Withdrawing consent will not retroactively undo data processing that happened while consent was in effect, but it will stop further collection/use of those cookies.
- Ease of Withdrawal: We ensure that withdrawing consent is as simple as giving it. There are no penalties or degraded service for choosing to opt out of non-essential cookies. You will always have access to an easy-to-find option to change your cookie preferences – as easy as the one-click consent you gave initially. If at any point you have trouble finding the opt-out mechanism, you can also contact us (details below) and we will assist you in opting out or provide you with an direct link to manage your preferences.
- Device and Browser Specific: Please note that your cookie preferences are typically stored per browser, per device. If you use our site on a different device or a different browser, or if you clear your cookies, you may need to set your preferences again. Our consent tool will present the banner again if it does not detect an existing consent record for your device or if a significant policy change has occurred.
- Withdrawal on Third-Party Platforms: If cookies have been set by third parties via our site (such as Google), withdrawing consent on our site will communicate your choice to those third parties through the CMP. However, you can also manage preferences directly in your browser settings (e.g., block or delete cookies) or through third-party opt-out pages. For example, Google provides ad settings for your Google account and participates in industry opt-outs like the Network Advertising Initiative for interest-based advertising. Keep in mind, browser or account-level opt-outs are outside of our control but are additional tools you can use.
Data Retention and Consent Records
When you provide consent via our cookie banner, we keep a record of that consent as required by Google’s policies and applicable law. Google’s EU User Consent Policy mandates that we retain records of consent given by end users, including what disclosures were shown and what choices were made, along with timestamps of consent. We do this to demonstrate compliance (for audits or legal purposes) and to remember your preferences so we don’t bother you with repeated consent prompts unnecessarily. Your consent record is stored securely and is used solely for compliance and logging purposes. We will not use your consent decisions for any other purpose beyond what is necessary to comply with regulations and to honor your choices.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, legal requirements, or our practices. When we make significant changes, we will notify you by updating the date of this policy and, if required, by showing you an updated cookie consent banner or by other means. We encourage you to review this Cookie Policy periodically for any updates. Your continued use of our website after any changes to this policy will be subject to the new terms (however, remember that we will never assume your consent to cookies – any substantive changes in how we use cookies will always prompt a new consent request).
Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about our use of cookies, your choices, or this policy, please feel free to contact us. You can reach our privacy team at info@chat-deep.ai or via contact form. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority if you believe your rights are being infringed.
By providing clear information and obtaining your consent, we aim to comply with all regulations and to protect your privacy while also providing a functional and personalized browsing experience. Thank you for your trust in us.