Cookie Policy

1. What cookies are

A cookie is a small text file a website asks your browser to store. When you come back, the browser sends it again, so the site can recognise the session. Similar technologies do the same job by other means: local storage and session storage keep small values in the browser, pixels and tags report that a page loaded, and device or session identifiers link a series of requests together. Everything in this policy applies to those technologies too, not just to cookies in the narrow sense.

BidFern is operated by Yaroslav Solkh, an individual sole proprietor based in Sainte-Julienne, Quebec, Canada.

2. Categories used on bidfern.com

• Strictly necessary — needed for the site and app to function: signing in, keeping a session, protecting forms, sending quotes, remembering your cookie choice. These are set without consent because the service cannot work without them.
• Functional / preference — remember choices you make, such as interface language or dashboard layout. Optional.
• Analytics — count visits and show which pages and features are used, so effort goes where it matters. Optional.
• Performance — measure page load times and record errors so faults can be found and fixed. Optional.

Optional cookies are switched off by default and are only set after you accept them.

3. The cookies in detail

Names and durations can change when a provider updates its software. This table is reviewed whenever that happens and the "Last updated" date above is changed.

4. Third-party cookies

Two categories of cookie on bidfern.com are set by other parties:

• Payment processor. The checkout and billing pages load our payment processor, which sets its own cookies to detect fraud and keep a checkout session together. These are treated as strictly necessary: without them, subscriptions cannot be taken safely.
• Analytics provider. Analytics cookies are set by our analytics provider, and only after you accept the analytics category. Rejecting analytics means they are never set.

These providers process data under their own terms, and may do so outside Quebec and outside Canada. Section 8 of the Privacy Policy explains how those transfers are assessed.

5. Your choices

The first time you visit bidfern.com, a banner asks what you want. You can Accept all, Reject non-essential, or Manage preferences and switch functional, analytics and performance cookies on or off one by one. Nothing outside the strictly necessary category is set before you choose, and rejecting is exactly as easy as accepting.

Your choice is remembered for 12 months. To change it at any time, use the cookie settings link, which also sits in the footer of every page. Clearing your browser's cookies also clears your choice, and the banner will ask again.

6. Managing cookies in your browser

Your browser can block or delete cookies independently of the banner. Menu names change between versions, but the settings are here:

• Google Chrome — Settings → Privacy and security → Third-party cookies, and Settings → Privacy and security → Delete browsing data.
• Safari (macOS) — Safari → Settings → Privacy, then "Block all cookies" or "Manage Website Data". On iPhone and iPad: Settings → Apps → Safari → Block All Cookies.
• Mozilla Firefox — Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data, and Enhanced Tracking Protection for a stricter default.
• Microsoft Edge — Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Manage and delete cookies and site data.

Most browsers also offer a private or incognito window, which discards cookies when the window is closed.

7. What breaks if you block necessary cookies

Blocking optional cookies has no effect on any of that. Functional cookies only mean the interface forgets your preferences; analytics and performance cookies only mean we see less about what to fix.

8. Changes to this policy

This policy is updated when the cookies we use change or when the law changes. The "Last updated" date at the top always shows the current version. If a new category of cookie is introduced, consent will be asked for again before it is set.

9. Contact

Questions about cookies on bidfern.com go to: