Cookie Policy

1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device when you visit a website. They help websites provide a better user experience by remembering your preferences and tracking your activity.

Cookies are widely used and enable features like:

• Keeping you logged in to your account
• Remembering your preferences and settings
• Understanding how you use the website
• Providing personalized content and recommendations

2. How DealGuides.net Uses Cookies

2.1 Essential Cookies (Required)

These cookies are necessary for the Service to function properly:

• Authentication: Keeping you signed in to your account
• Security: Preventing fraud and protecting your account
• Session Management: Maintaining your state as you browse
• Preferences: Remembering your settings (e.g., dark mode)

These cookies cannot be disabled without affecting the core functionality of the site.

2.2 Analytics Cookies

Personalized Deal Recommendations: We use analytics to understand your browsing behavior and provide better deal recommendations tailored to your interests.

• Tracking which categories and retailers you browse
• Monitoring deals you interact with (clicks, votes, saves)
• Analyzing time spent on different types of deals
• Identifying your price preferences and shopping patterns

This information helps us:

• Show you deals you're more likely to be interested in
• Improve our deal ranking and recommendation algorithms
• Enhance the overall user experience

2.3 Performance and Functionality Cookies

• Remembering your search history and filters
• Saving your favorite deals and retailers
• Tracking deals you've already viewed
• Enabling social sharing features

2.4 Affiliate Tracking Cookies

When you click on affiliate links, cookies may be set by the retailer or affiliate network. These cookies help us earn commissions when you make a purchase.

Important: Using affiliate links does not cost you anything extra. The commission comes from the retailer's margin, not from the price you pay.

3. Third-Party Cookies

3.1 Authentication Providers

When you sign in with Google or GitHub, these services may set their own cookies:

• Google: Authentication and session management
• GitHub: Authentication and session management

These cookies are governed by the respective privacy policies of Google and GitHub.

3.2 Analytics Services

We may use third-party analytics services to help us understand how users interact with our platform. These services may collect:

• Pages visited and time spent on each page
• Referral sources and traffic patterns
• Browser and device information
• Geographic location (at country/city level)

4. Types of Cookies We Use

5. Managing Your Cookie Preferences

5.1 Browser Settings

You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings:

• Chrome: Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies and other site data
• Firefox: Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data
• Safari: Settings > Privacy > Manage Website Data
• Edge: Settings > Cookies and site permissions > Manage cookies

5.2 Impact of Disabling Cookies

Please be aware that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our Service:

• You may not be able to sign in or stay signed in
• Your preferences may not be saved
• Deal recommendations may be less relevant
• Some features may not work properly

5.3 Opt-Out of Personalized Analytics

If you prefer not to have your browsing behavior used for personalized recommendations, you can contact us to opt-out. Note that this will limit the personalization features of our Service.

6. Your Privacy Rights

For more information about your privacy rights and how we use your data, please review our Privacy Policy.

You have the right to:

• Know what data we collect and how it's used
• Access and download your personal data
• Request deletion of your data
• Opt-out of certain data collection and analytics

7. Updates to This Cookie Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will notify users of significant changes via email or through our platform.

8. Contact Us

If you have questions about our use of cookies or this Cookie Policy, please contact us through our platform or at the contact information provided on our website.

For more information about how we handle your data, please see our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.