Cookie Policy
This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are, how Trade Bargains uses them, what types of cookies we place on your device, and how you can control them. We believe in transparency about how we track and optimize your experience on our website.
What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device (computer, smartphone, or tablet) when you visit a website. Cookies allow websites to remember information about you, such as your preferences, login status, and browsing behaviour.
Cookies do not:
- Contain viruses or malware
- Automatically reveal personal information like your name or email
- Give websites access to files on your computer
Cookies do:
- Store your browsing preferences and session data
- Help websites recognise you on repeat visits
- Allow features like shopping carts and login to function
- Help analyse how people use websites
Types of Cookies We Use
We use cookies in four main categories. Here's what each category does:
Strictly Necessary Cookies Required
What they do: These cookies are essential for basic website functionality. Without them, core features like your shopping cart, login sessions, and payment security would not work.
Examples: PHPSESSID, woocommerce_cart_hash, wordpress_logged_in_*, woocommerce_session_*
Duration: Session (cleared when you close your browser)
Can you opt out? No. These are mandatory for the website to function.
Functional Cookies Optional
What they do: These cookies remember your preferences and choices to personalise your experience. They allow the website to remember settings you've made, like language or currency preference.
Examples: Language preference, currency selection, theme preference, display settings
Duration: Up to 1 year
Can you opt out? Yes, through the cookie consent banner or cookie settings.
Analytics Cookies Optional
What they do: These cookies help us understand how visitors use our website. We collect anonymised data about pages visited, time spent, traffic source, and general browsing patterns.
Provider: Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Your IP address is anonymised before processing.
Examples: _ga, _ga_* (Google Analytics identifiers)
Duration: Up to 2 years
Can you opt out? Yes. You can disable analytics cookies via the cookie consent banner or opt out via Google Analytics settings.
Marketing Cookies Optional
What they do: These cookies are set by advertising networks to track your browsing and show you relevant advertisements. This includes conversion tracking and remarketing.
Provider: Google Ads. Only set after explicit consent.
Examples: _gcl_au (Google Ads conversion cookie)
Duration: Up to 90 days
Can you opt out? Yes. Marketing cookies require explicit consent and can be disabled anytime.
Specific Cookies and Their Purposes
Below is a detailed table of all the cookies we place on your device:
| Cookie name | Purpose | Type | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHPSESSID | PHP session identifier for secure checkout | Strictly necessary | Session |
| woocommerce_cart_hash | Stores your shopping cart contents | Strictly necessary | Session |
| woocommerce_session_* | WooCommerce session data | Strictly necessary | Session |
| wordpress_logged_in_* | Tracks whether you are logged into your account | Strictly necessary | Session / Until logout |
| wordpress_sec_* | WordPress security token for account authentication | Strictly necessary | Session |
| TB_Language | Stores your preferred language (English, French, etc.) | Functional | 1 year |
| TB_Currency | Remembers your selected currency (USD, EUR, GBP, INR) | Functional | 1 year |
| TB_Theme | Your preferred display mode (light/dark) | Functional | 1 year |
| _ga | Google Analytics: unique user identifier (anonymised) | Analytics | 2 years |
| _ga_* | Google Analytics: session tracking (anonymised) | Analytics | 2 years |
| _gcl_au | Google Ads: conversion tracking (requires consent) | Marketing | 90 days |
Cookie Consent and Your Choices
Consent Banner
The first time you visit Trade Bargains, a cookie consent banner appears at the bottom of the page. This banner allows you to:
- Accept all cookies — Accept all four categories (strictly necessary are always active)
- Reject non-essential — Accept only strictly necessary cookies
- Choose by category — Select which optional cookie categories to accept
Cookie Settings
You can change your cookie preferences at any time by clicking "Cookie Settings" in the footer of our website. You can enable or disable each category independently:
- Strictly necessary — always on, cannot be disabled
- Functional — toggle on/off
- Analytics — toggle on/off
- Marketing — toggle on/off
We Remember Your Choice
Your cookie preferences are stored in a special "consent cookie" so we remember your choice on future visits. This preference cookie never contains personal information.
How to Control Cookies in Your Browser
In addition to using our cookie consent banner, you can also control cookies directly through your web browser:
Browser Settings
Chrome: Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies and other site data > Manage all cookies and site data
Firefox: Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data > Manage Data
Safari: Preferences > Privacy > Cookies and website data
Edge: Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Clear browsing data > Cookies and other site data
Important Warning
Disabling strictly necessary cookies in your browser may prevent core website features from working, such as:
- Your shopping cart will not remember items
- You will be logged out on each page refresh
- Payment and checkout will not function
We recommend keeping strictly necessary cookies enabled and only disabling optional cookies (functional, analytics, marketing) if desired.
Do Not Track (DNT)
Some browsers support a "Do Not Track" (DNT) signal. While we respect this preference, not all third parties honour it. For the best privacy experience, use our cookie settings banner to disable the optional cookie categories you don't want.
Third-Party Cookies
Some cookies are placed by third-party services that we use. These services operate under their own privacy policies:
Google Analytics (GA4)
What it does: Tracks anonymous user behaviour and site performance metrics. IP addresses are anonymised before processing.
Your data: Only aggregate, anonymised data is processed. Individual user identification is not possible.
Opt out: Disable analytics cookies in our consent banner, or visit: Google Analytics opt-out
Google Ads (Conversion Tracking)
What it does: Tracks when visitors complete a purchase, helping us measure campaign effectiveness. Only set after explicit consent.
Your data: Conversion data is linked to your cookie ID, not your personal name or email.
Opt out: Disable marketing cookies in our consent banner, or visit: Google Ads Settings
Stripe (Payment Processing)
What it does: Processes secure payments and detects fraud. Does not place cookies for tracking purposes.
Privacy policy: stripe.com/privacy
PayPal
What it does: Processes payments securely. May place cookies for fraud prevention and session management.
Privacy policy: paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full
Contact Us
If you have questions about our use of cookies, your privacy, or how to manage your preferences, please reach out:
Privacy & Cookie Questions
Your Privacy Matters
We are committed to being transparent about how we use cookies and respecting your privacy choices. If you have any concerns, we are happy to discuss them with you.
Wishlist & Price Alert Cookies
When you use the Save to Wishlist feature, we store a persistent cookie to remember your saved items and notification preferences across sessions.
| Cookie name | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
tb_wishlist_[user_id] | Stores product IDs you have saved to your wishlist | 365 days | Non-essential — requires consent |
tb_price_alert_prefs | Stores your price alert notification preferences | 365 days | Non-essential — requires consent |
These cookies are only set after you explicitly save an item to your wishlist. You can remove all wishlist cookies by clearing your wishlist in My Account, or by clearing site data in your browser settings.
Abandoned Cart Tracking Cookies
When you add items to your cart, we use cookies and local storage to preserve your cart contents and — if you opt in — to enable abandoned cart recovery emails.
| Cookie / storage key | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
woocommerce_cart_hash | Session cart contents (standard WooCommerce) | Session | Strictly necessary |
woocommerce_items_in_cart | Tracks whether cart is empty (UI display) | Session | Strictly necessary |
tb_cart_recovery | Persistent cart state for abandoned cart recovery emails (only set if you opt in via popup) | 7 days | Non-essential — requires explicit opt-in |
tb_cart_session_id | Links your cart session to a recovery email send event | 30 days | Non-essential — requires consent |
Opt-In Required for Recovery Tracking
The tb_cart_recovery and tb_cart_session_id cookies are only set when you explicitly check the opt-in box in the abandoned cart popup. The standard WooCommerce cart session cookies are strictly necessary and set regardless of consent, as they are required for the cart to function.
Android App — Tracking & Local Storage
The Trade Bargains Android app does not use traditional browser cookies. Instead, equivalent tracking is performed through the following app-level mechanisms:
| Mechanism | Purpose | Duration | Can be disabled? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android ID (device identifier) | Session management, fraud prevention, crash correlation | Until app uninstalled or reset | Via device settings (Android → Privacy → Ads) |
| Firebase Analytics SDK | App usage behaviour, screen views, conversion tracking | Up to 14 months | Yes — Settings → Privacy → Analytics in app |
| Session tokens (SQLite) | Keep you logged in between sessions | 30 days or until logout | Clear by logging out |
| Local app cache (SQLite) | Offline browsing, faster load times | Until app cleared or uninstalled | Settings → Storage → Clear Cache |
| FCM push token | Deliver push notifications to your device | Until uninstalled or token refreshed | Disable in device notification settings |
No app-level identifiers or analytics data are shared with advertising networks. Firebase Analytics data is used exclusively for internal product analytics and crash diagnosis. You can disable analytics tracking entirely from Settings → Privacy inside the app.