This Cookie Policy explains how Bull Bear Stock uses cookies and similar technologies on our website. This policy should be read together with our Privacy Policy.

We use cookies to provide essential functionality for our services, particularly for secure payment processing. Under GDPR, technical cookies that are strictly necessary for the service do not require consent.

1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device (computer, tablet, or mobile) when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently and provide information to website owners.

Cookies allow websites to recognize your device and store some information about your preferences or past actions. This helps improve your experience and enables certain features to function properly.

2. Technical Cookies (Essential Cookies)

We use technical/essential cookies that are strictly necessary for our website to function, particularly for secure payment processing when you make a donation.

Legal Status: Under GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and Romanian data protection laws (ANSPDCP), technical cookies that are strictly necessary for a service do not require consent. These cookies are exempt from consent requirements because they are essential for the website to provide the requested service.

Why We Use Them: These cookies are required for:

• Secure payment processing when you make donations through our platform
• Fraud prevention and security measures
• Ensuring the payment functionality works correctly

Your Choice: These cookies cannot be disabled because they are essential for payment processing to work. If you disable cookies in your browser, you will not be able to complete donations on our platform. You can, however, delete these cookies after your session, though this may affect functionality on your next visit.

3. Stripe Cookies

When you make a donation on our platform, we use Stripe (Stripe Payments Europe Ltd.) to process payments securely. Stripe uses cookies to enable secure payment processing and fraud prevention.

Stripe Cookies We Use:

• __stripe_mid: A persistent cookie that helps Stripe identify your device for fraud prevention and security purposes. This cookie is set by Stripe when you interact with the payment form.
• __stripe_sid: A session cookie that maintains your session during the payment process. This cookie is deleted when you close your browser.

Purpose: These cookies are used exclusively for:

• Fraud prevention and detecting suspicious payment activity
• Ensuring secure payment processing
• Maintaining your payment session security
• Compliance with payment industry security standards (PCI DSS)

Legal Basis: These cookies are necessary for the legitimate interest of preventing fraudulent transactions and ensuring secure payment processing. They are technical cookies that do not require consent under GDPR.

Duration:

• __stripe_mid: Persists for up to 1 year (persistent cookie)
• __stripe_sid: Session cookie, deleted when you close your browser

Third-Party Processing: These cookies are set by Stripe (not directly by us) when you interact with their payment form. Stripe processes these cookies according to their own Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

We do not have access to or control over these cookies beyond what is necessary for payment processing.

3A. Advertising Cookies (Google AdSense)

When advertisements are enabled on our platform, Google AdSense and its partners may set cookies to serve relevant ads, limit ad frequency, and measure ad performance.

Advertising Cookies Used:

• __gads: A persistent cookie set by Google AdSense to serve relevant advertisements and measure ad interactions. Duration: up to 13 months.
• __gpi: A persistent cookie set by Google AdSense to store and track advertising interactions. Duration: up to 13 months.
• DSID: Set by DoubleClick (Google) to track ad interactions for ad personalization. Duration: up to 2 weeks.
• IDE: Set by DoubleClick (Google) to serve targeted ads based on browsing behaviour across websites. Duration: up to 2 years.
• NID: Set by Google to store user preferences and provide personalized ad experiences. Duration: up to 6 months.
• ANID: Set by Google to remember your ad opt-out preferences. Duration: up to 2 years.

Purpose: These cookies are used for:

• Serving relevant advertisements based on your interests and browsing history
• Limiting the number of times you see a particular ad (frequency capping)
• Measuring the effectiveness and performance of ad campaigns
• Preventing the same ad from being shown repeatedly

Legal Basis: Advertising cookies require your consent under GDPR. We will ask for your consent before setting these cookies. If you decline, you will still see advertisements, but they will be generic (non-personalized).

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Third-Party Processing: These cookies are set by Google (not directly by us) when advertisements are displayed on our pages. Google processes these cookies according to their Privacy Policy.

We respect the Do Not Track (DNT) browser setting. If your browser sends a DNT signal and you have not explicitly consented to advertising cookies, personalized advertisements will not be served.

4. Consent Requirements

Under GDPR and Romanian data protection laws (ANSPDCP), different types of cookies have different consent requirements:

The cookies used on our platform fall into these categories:

• Essential/technical cookies (Stripe payment cookies), do NOT require consent, as they are strictly necessary for the service to function
• Advertising cookies (Google AdSense cookies), DO require consent, as they are used for ad personalization and tracking
• If you decline advertising cookies, you will still see ads but they will not be personalized to your interests
• You can change your cookie preferences at any time through our cookie settings or your browser settings

We display a cookie consent banner when advertising cookies are active, allowing you to accept or decline non-essential cookies.

5. Your Choices

Can You Disable These Cookies?

While you can disable cookies in your browser settings, we strongly advise against doing so if you plan to make a donation, as:

• Payment processing will not work without these cookies
• You will not be able to complete donations on our platform
• Fraud prevention measures may not function correctly

How to Manage Cookies:

• Browser Settings: Most browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can typically find these in your browser's Privacy or Security settings.
• Delete Cookies: You can delete cookies that have already been set by clearing your browser's cookie data. Note that this may log you out of services and affect functionality.
• Browser-Specific Instructions:
  • Chrome
  • Firefox
  • Safari
  • Edge

Important: If you choose to disable cookies, you acknowledge that some features of our website, particularly donation functionality, may not work correctly or at all.

6. More Information

For more detailed information about how Stripe uses cookies, please refer to:

• Stripe's Cookie Policy
• Stripe's Privacy Policy

For information about how we handle your personal data, please see our Privacy Policy.

For questions about this Cookie Policy, please contact us at contact@bullbearstock.com.

7. GDPR Compliance

We comply with GDPR and Romanian data protection laws (ANSPDCP) regarding cookie usage:

• Transparency: We clearly inform you about our use of cookies through this policy and our informational notice
• Legal Basis: We use technical cookies based on legitimate interest (fraud prevention) and necessity for contract performance (payment processing)
• No Consent Required: Technical cookies that are strictly necessary for a service are exempt from consent requirements under GDPR Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive
• Minimal Data: We only use cookies that are necessary for payment processing and security
• Third-Party Compliance: Stripe is GDPR-compliant and processes cookies according to applicable data protection laws

8. Future Cookie Usage

If we introduce additional non-essential cookies in the future (e.g., analytics or additional tracking cookies), we will:

• Update this Cookie Policy to reflect the new cookie usage
• Provide clear consent options for any new non-essential cookies
• Allow you to accept or reject non-essential cookies individually
• Clearly distinguish between essential and non-essential cookies

We are committed to transparency about all cookies used on our platform.