SUBJECT
This policy applies to cookies or similar tools used on the website www.digital4bulgaria.com (hereinafter referred to as the “Site”, “Website” or “Webpage”), operated by the digital agency IMG CONNECT Ltd., UIC 207379619, VAT No. BG 207379619, with registered office and business address: 4 Bregalnitsa Street, Plovdiv, Bulgaria (hereinafter referred to as “We”, “IMG CONNECT”).
When you first visit www.digital4bulgaria.com, we will ask you to accept the use of cookies in accordance with the terms of this policy. By using our website and accepting this policy, you agree to our use and storage of cookies on your device and to providing such cookies to third parties in order to ensure access to our site and electronic services.
WHAT ARE COOKIES
A cookie is a small file consisting of letters and numbers that is stored on your computer, mobile device, or other equipment when internet access is available. A cookie is installed via a request sent by a web server to a browser (e.g., Internet Explorer, Chrome), and is entirely “passive” (it does not contain software programs, viruses, or spyware and does not access information on the user’s hardware).
WHY WE USE COOKIES
We use cookies or similar technologies on our site to improve its performance and your user experience, in compliance with all applicable standards and legislation. In general, the purpose of cookies is to ensure the efficiency and functionality of our website, support its proper operation, and remember key user actions (e.g., items added to the cart, most frequently visited pages, saved preferences, or error messages from specific pages).
Cookies help recognize the user’s device and display the site content accordingly, tailored to the user’s preferences. They provide a pleasant browsing experience and allow the website to offer appropriate products and services, such as privacy preferences, cart content, or relevant advertising. Cookies are also used for preparing anonymous statistics that help us understand how users interact with our web pages, enabling us to improve their structure and content without identifying individual users. Cookies also ensure the correct display of available products that can be added to your shopping cart.
TYPES OF COOKIES WE USE
Our website uses several types of cookies – strictly necessary cookies, session cookies, and third-party cookies.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are essential for the site’s functionality and are stored as files on your computer or mobile device for an extended period, usually for the duration specified by the cookie itself or until deleted manually by the user. We use these cookies to authenticate users when they use the site so we can deliver our services or enforce our Terms and Conditions and maintain the security of our services.
Session Cookies
Session cookies are temporary files that remain on your device during your visit to our website and are active until the end of your session or until you close your browser, after which they are deleted. We may use session cookies, for example:
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To allow you to navigate between pages without having to log in again;
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To recognize you when you return to our site to use our services;
Cookies and Technologies, Including Third-Party Pixels
We also use certain third-party cookies as part of our services. These cookies are managed by the respective websites and are not under our control. Below are the third-party cookies we use, some of which can be disabled through your browser’s general settings. For others, it is necessary to visit the respective websites of the technology providers or the browser and follow the provided instructions. These service providers may collect your IP address and information that does not allow personal identification of your visits to our website. Some of these advertising cookies allow our ads to be displayed while you visit other websites. This information, which is not personally identifiable, is anonymous under the privacy policies of these third parties and does not include your name, address, email address, or any other personal information, although your IP address may be collected. The anonymous information is collected through the use of pixel tags (also known as “cookies” and action tags), which is standard technology used by most major websites. These cookies and technologies are often referred to as targeting cookies and are used to provide ads that are more relevant to you and your interests; limit the number of times you see an ad; measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign; and track behavior after people view an ad. They are usually installed on behalf of advertising networks with the site operator’s permission. They remember that you visited a site, and will often be linked with the functionality of the site provided by another organization.
We use Doubleclick.net for remarketing and Google display ads;
We use Facebook – it helps track user actions after they have seen or interacted with an ad on Facebook. This allows us to track the effectiveness of Facebook ads and collect data for statistical purposes. The data collected this way is anonymous to us, and we do not receive information about the identity of the users. However, the data from Facebook is stored and processed, so there is a possibility of linking to the relevant user profile, and Facebook may use the information for its own advertising purposes, in accordance with Facebook’s data usage policy.
We use Google Analytics – to generate statistics about website traffic and traffic sources. The information collected by cookies about your use of the site is generally transferred to a Google server in the USA and stored there. In cases where IP anonymization is activated for this webpage, your IP address is truncated beforehand by Google within the EU member states and other countries that have ratified the European Economic Area agreement. Your full IP address is only transmitted to a server in the USA in exceptional cases, where it is truncated. Google uses this data on behalf of the website owner to analyze your usage, to prepare reports on website activity, and to perform other services related to the site and internet usage. The IP address sent by your browser within Google Analytics is not linked to other Google data. You can also prevent the transmission of data created by cookies related to your use of the site (including your IP address) to Google, as well as the processing of this data by Google, by downloading and installing the appropriate browser plugin.
Additionally, when using social media buttons (such as Facebook), the social network that created the button will record your action. We may use third-party cookies to help us carry out our business activities, conduct market research, monitor the status of orders, and improve the functionalities of our site.
Use of Third-Party Services and Cookies
We use MailerLite at mailerlite.com or similar companies – to enable unregistered users to subscribe to our free newsletter.
We use Yandex.ru – to generate information about orders, website traffic, and display advertising.
We use Intercom at intercom.com – to provide the chat feature available on our website.
We use pixel tags (web beacons), which do not place information on your device, but may work in conjunction with “cookies” to monitor website activity.
We use several external services – advertising networks, which may also create cookies in your browser. These cookies are managed by the respective services and are not under our control. The information in them is anonymized. The purpose of these external services is to enable advertising campaigns. External services may use cookies to identify and personalize ads on our platform across external websites and services. Such external advertising platforms include:
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Google AdWords
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Facebook Ads
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AdWise
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Etarget
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Httpool
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Easyads
If you are concerned about third-party advertising cookies generated by advertisers, you can disable them here: Your Online Choices site.
Links to Other Websites
Our website contains links to other websites (known as “links”), which, if followed, may direct you to the websites of other companies and organizations. For example, if you click on the Facebook “Like” button or log in to our website via this social network, you share data with these third parties. We are not responsible for the content and data protection strategies of these websites. These other websites, services, and applications may set their own cookies on users’ computers, collect data, or request personal information.
Do Cookies Contain Personal Data?
Cookies themselves do not require personal information to function and usually do not identify the identity of internet users. Personal data collected through the use of cookies may only be gathered to facilitate the user’s experience. This data is encrypted in a way that prevents unauthorized persons from accessing it.
Can Cookies Be Blocked and How?
In general, web browsers allow cookies to be stored by default. These settings can be changed so that the automatic handling of cookies is blocked by the web browser, or the user will be informed every time cookies are sent to their device. Detailed information about the options and ways to manage cookies can be found in the application settings (in the web browser). Limiting the use of cookies may affect some features of the website.
Most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies. For example:
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In Internet Explorer (version 10), you can block cookies by going to Settings → Internet Options → Privacy, and then Advanced.
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In Firefox (version 24), you can block all cookies by clicking on Tools → Options → Privacy, selecting Use custom settings for history from the dropdown menu, and removing cookies.
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In Chrome (version 29), you can block all cookies by opening the Personalize and Control menu, clicking on Settings → Show Advanced Settings, and Content Settings.
Blocking all cookies will negatively affect the usability of many websites. If you block cookies, you may not be able to use all the features on our website.
Deleting Cookies
You can delete cookies that have already been stored on your computer. For example:
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In Internet Explorer (version 10), you must manually delete the cookie files (instructions can be found HERE).
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In Firefox (version 24), you can delete cookies by clicking on Tools → Options → Privacy, then selecting Use custom settings for history, and clicking Show Cookies.
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In Chrome (version 29), you can delete all cookies by opening the Personalize and Control menu, clicking on Settings → Show Advanced Settings, and Clear Browsing Data.
Deleting cookies will negatively affect the usability of many websites.
Settings Through External Tools:
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Google’s tool in the form of a browser extension that allows you to easily prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics, which is widely used by many websites for tracking visits and statistical data. Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
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Tools through which you can check the status and explicitly block a large number of advertising platforms from using your data in relation to targeting and personalizing ads:
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Google platform settings for cookies created and managed by them for advertising purposes: Google Ads Settings.
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Facebook platform settings for cookies created and managed by them for advertising purposes: Facebook Ads Preferences.
Why Are Cookies Important on the Internet?
Cookies are a central point for the effective functioning of the internet, helping to create a specific model of each user’s preferences and interests. Disagreeing with or deactivating cookies can make some websites impossible to use.
Refusing or deactivating cookies does not mean you will no longer receive online ads; it just means that these ads will no longer appear in your account as preferred and interesting, as determined by browsing behavior.
Examples of important roles of cookies (which do not require account authentication):
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Content and services adapted to the user’s preferences – product and service categories.
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Offers adapted to the user’s preferences – remembering passwords.
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Remembering child protection filters for internet content (e.g., family mode, safe search function).
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Limiting the frequency of ads – limiting how often a particular ad is shown to a specific user on the site.
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Providing ads that might interest the user.
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Measuring, optimizing, and analytics features – confirming a specific level of traffic on the website, the type of content displayed, and how the user arrives at a given website (e.g., search engines, direct visits, other websites, etc.). Websites develop these analyses and use them to improve the site for users.
Security and Privacy
Cookies ARE NOT viruses! They use plain text format. They are not made from code pieces, so they cannot be executed or run on their own. Therefore, they cannot be duplicated or copied across networks to start or replicate. Since they cannot perform these functions, they cannot be considered viruses.
However, cookies can still be used for malicious purposes. Since they store information about preferences, as well as the user’s browsing history on a specific site and across most other websites, cookies can be used as a form of spyware. Many anti-spyware software programs are not aware of this fact and constantly flag cookies to be removed during removal/scanning/anti-virus/anti-spyware processes.
Typically, browsers have built-in privacy settings that offer various levels of acceptance of cookies, the duration of their validity, and automatic deletion after the user has visited a particular site.
Other Security Aspects Related to Cookies:
Since data protection is extremely important and represents every user’s right on the internet, it is recommended to be aware of potential issues that cookies may create. They constantly send and receive information between the browser and the website, and if a hacker or unauthorized person interferes during the transmission of the data, the cookie information may be intercepted.
This may happen in rare cases if the browser connects to the server using an unencrypted network (e.g., an unsecured wireless network without a password).
Another type of attack based on cookies requires incorrect cookie settings on the server. If a website does not require the browser to use only encrypted channels, hackers may exploit this vulnerability to trick browsers into transmitting information via unsecured channels. Hackers then use this information for unauthorized access to websites. It is crucial to be cautious when selecting the most appropriate personal data protection.
Tips for Secure and Responsible Browsing Based on Cookies
Thanks to their flexibility and the fact that most of the most visited and largest websites use cookies, these are almost unavoidable.
Deactivating cookies will prevent the user from accessing some of the most popular and commonly used websites, including YouTube, Gmail, Yahoo, and others.
All modern browsers offer the option to change cookie settings. These settings are generally found in the “options” or “preferences” menu of your browser, where you can customize the use of cookies in your browser.
Retention Period for Cookie Data
Please review the Privacy Policy, where we have comprehensively outlined the retention periods for data collected via cookies and similar technologies.
