Cookie Policy

This Cookie Policy explains how Gaugon (“Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), a business operating in the State of Florida, United States, uses cookies and similar technologies on our website at gaugon.com and the client portal at app.gaugon.com.

This policy should be read alongside our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

2. What Cookies Are

A cookie is a small text file placed on your device (computer, tablet, or mobile) by a web server when you visit a website. Cookies are widely used to make websites function correctly and to provide information to site operators.

Cookies are not programs and cannot execute code, deliver malware, or access files on your device. They can only be read by the server that set them. For a technical reference on how cookies work, see the MDN Web Docs: HTTP Cookies.

Cookie types by duration:

• Session cookies — exist only for the duration of your browser session and are deleted when you close your browser
• Persistent cookies — remain on your device for a defined expiry period or until you manually delete them

Cookie types by origin:

• First-party cookies — set directly by gaugon.com
• Third-party cookies — set by an external domain; see Section 5 for our current third-party inventory

3. Cookies We Use

We operate a minimal cookie footprint. We do not deploy advertising cookies, behavioral tracking cookies, or third-party analytics cookies.

3.1 Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are required for the website and client portal to function. They cannot be disabled. Without them, services you have requested — such as logging into the client portal — cannot be provided.

These cookies contain no personally identifiable information beyond an opaque session identifier. They are transmitted over HTTPS only and are flagged HttpOnly and SameSite=Strict where applicable to reduce exposure to cross-site request attacks.

Note on hCaptcha:Our contact forms use hCaptcha for bot prevention. When you interact with an hCaptcha challenge, hCaptcha may set its own strictly necessary cookies for fraud detection. These are third-party cookies set by hcaptcha.com and governed by hCaptcha's privacy policy (see Section 5).

3.2 Functional Cookies

These cookies enhance your experience by remembering preferences and settings you have selected. Disabling them will not prevent you from using the website, but some features may behave differently.

4. Cookies We Do Not Use

For clarity, we explicitly do not use:

• Google Analytics, GA4, or any behavioral analytics platform
• Facebook Pixel or any social media tracking pixel
• Advertising network cookies (DoubleClick, AdSense, etc.)
• Heat-mapping or session recording tools (Hotjar, FullStory, etc.)
• A/B testing platforms that set persistent tracking cookies

If this changes, this policy will be updated before any such cookie is deployed, and your consent will be obtained where required.

5. Third-Party Services

Our website is hosted on infrastructure that may set technical cookies or process request headers as part of normal CDN and server operation. These are strictly operational and do not identify you individually:

We do not have contracts permitting these providers to use your data for their own commercial purposes beyond service delivery.

6. Legal Basis for Cookie Use

Under applicable U.S. privacy law and, where applicable, the EU ePrivacy Directive:

• Strictly necessary cookies require no consent. They are deployed on the basis of legitimate interest in operating a functioning, secure service.
• Functional cookies are deployed based on your consent, captured via our cookie consent banner on first visit.

California residents: We do not sell or share personal information collected through cookies. Our cookie use does not constitute a “sale” or “sharing” under the CCPA/CPRA.

7. Managing Your Cookie Preferences

7.1 Cookie Consent Banner

On your first visit to gaugon.com, a cookie consent banner will appear. You may:

• Accept all cookies — enables both strictly necessary and functional cookies
• Manage preferences — choose which optional categories to enable
• View this policy for full details before deciding

Your preference is stored in the cookie_consent cookie for 1 year. You can change your preference at any time by clearing your browser cookies and revisiting the site, which will re-trigger the consent banner.

7.2 Browser-Level Controls

All major browsers provide controls to view, manage, block, and delete cookies. Instructions for common 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

Note: Blocking strictly necessary cookies (Section 3.1) will prevent you from logging into the client portal and may break core website functionality.

7.3 Do Not Track

Our website does not currently respond to browser-level “Do Not Track” (DNT) signals as there is no uniform standard for their interpretation. Given our minimal cookie footprint and absence of behavioral tracking, this has no material effect on your privacy.

8. Cookie Retention and Deletion

Cookies are retained only for the periods listed in Section 3. Upon expiry, cookies are automatically deleted by your browser. You may delete cookies at any time using your browser controls (Section 7.2).

Deleting cookies does not delete any personal information stored on our servers. To request deletion of personal data, see the Privacy Policy.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy when:

• We introduce new cookies or remove existing ones
• A third-party provider's status changes
• Legal requirements change

The “Last Updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. If we introduce any cookies beyond the strictly necessary category not already listed here, we will update this policy before deployment and re-trigger the consent banner where required.