R.A.C.E. - Land, Sea & Air Photo Competition Platform

What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit websites. They help us provide you with a better, more personalized experience.

1. How We Use Cookies

R.A.C.E. uses cookies and similar technologies to improve your experience, provide core functionality, and understand how our platform is used. We are committed to being transparent about our cookie usage and giving you control over your preferences.

Cookie Consent

When you first visit our site, you'll see a cookie banner asking for your consent. You can accept all cookies, customize your preferences, or decline non-essential cookies. Your choices can be updated anytime in your account settings.

2. Types of Cookies We Use

Essential Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the platform to function and cannot be disabled in our systems.

Authentication: Keep you logged in during your session
Security: Protect against cross-site request forgery (CSRF)
Session Management: Maintain your session state and preferences
Form Data: Remember information you've entered in forms
Load Balancing: Ensure proper distribution of server load

Legal Basis: Legitimate interest (necessary for core platform functionality)

Functional Cookies

These cookies enhance functionality and personalization but are not essential for the basic operation.

User Preferences: Remember your display settings and preferences
Language: Store your preferred language and regional settings
Theme: Remember your dark/light mode preference
Recent Activity: Show your recently viewed contests and profiles
Customization: Personalize your dashboard and content layout

Legal Basis: Consent (you can disable these in settings)

Performance Cookies

These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our platform by collecting anonymous information.

Google Analytics: Track page views, user flows, and site performance
Error Monitoring: Help us identify and fix technical issues
Performance Metrics: Monitor page load times and user experience
Feature Usage: Understand which features are most popular
A/B Testing: Test different versions of features for improvement

Legal Basis: Consent (data is anonymized and aggregated)

Marketing Cookies

These cookies are used to deliver relevant advertisements and track the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns.

Social Media: Enable sharing on Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms
Advertisement Tracking: Measure the effectiveness of our ads
Retargeting: Show relevant ads on other websites you visit
Campaign Analytics: Track which marketing channels are most effective
Conversion Tracking: Measure how many visitors become users

Legal Basis: Consent (you can opt-out of marketing cookies)

3. Third-Party Cookies

Some cookies are set by third-party services we use to enhance our platform. These services have their own privacy policies and cookie practices.

Google Analytics

Provides insights into website traffic and user behavior to help us improve our platform.

Cookies: _ga, _ga_*, _gid
Purpose: Analytics and reporting
Retention: Up to 2 years

Google Privacy Policy ↗

Stripe

Handles secure payment processing for contest entries and other transactions.

Cookies: __stripe_mid, __stripe_sid
Purpose: Payment security and fraud prevention
Retention: Session-based

Stripe Privacy Policy ↗

Social Media

Enable social sharing and login functionality through various platforms.

Platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Purpose: Social features and login
Control: Managed by each platform

CloudFlare

Provides content delivery and security services to improve site performance.

Cookies: __cf_bm, cf_clearance
Purpose: Security and performance
Retention: Session to 1 year

CloudFlare Privacy Policy ↗

4. Managing Your Cookie Preferences

Cookie Settings

You can manage your cookie preferences at any time through your account settings or by clicking the cookie preferences link in our footer.

Browser Controls

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. Here's how to manage cookies in popular browsers:

Chrome

Settings → Privacy and security → Cookies and other site data

Firefox

Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data

Safari

Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data

Edge

Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Cookies and site data

Important Note

Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our platform. Essential cookies cannot be disabled as they are required for the platform to work properly. If you disable functional or performance cookies, some features may not work as expected.

5. Mobile Apps and Local Storage

Our mobile applications may use local storage and similar technologies to provide functionality similar to cookies in web browsers.

Local Storage

Store app preferences and settings
Cache frequently accessed data for better performance
Remember your login state and user preferences
Enable offline functionality where applicable

Device Permissions

Our mobile apps may request certain device permissions:

Camera: To take photos for contest entries
Photo Library: To select existing photos for upload
Location: To find local events and services (optional)
Notifications: To send contest updates and reminders

6. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our technology, legal requirements, or business practices.

How We Notify You

Email notification to registered users for significant changes
Updated policy posted on this page with new effective date
Cookie banner notification for changes affecting consent
In-app notifications for mobile app changes

7. Contact Us

If you have questions about our use of cookies or this Cookie Policy, please contact us:

Cookie and Privacy Inquiries

Email: [email protected]
Subject Line: Cookie Policy Question
General Contact: Contact Form
Response Time: We aim to respond within 7 business days