1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device (computer, tablet, or mobile) when you visit a website. They help the website remember your preferences and understand how you use the site.

2. How We Use Cookies

Whidbey Island Bulletin uses cookies and similar technologies to:

• Keep you signed in to your account
• Remember your preferences and settings
• Understand how you use our website
• Improve our services and user experience
• Process payments securely

3. Types of Cookies We Use

Essential Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly. They enable core functionality such as:

• Authentication: Keeping you logged into your account
• Session Management: Maintaining your session as you navigate the site
• Security: Protecting against cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks

Preference Cookies

These cookies remember your choices to provide a personalized experience:

• Theme Settings: Your light/dark mode preference
• Location: Your selected island zone (North, Central, South)
• Display Preferences: How you like content displayed

Functional Cookies

These cookies enable enhanced functionality:

• Push Notifications: Managing your notification preferences
• Form Data: Remembering information you've entered

4. Third-Party Cookies

We use services from trusted third parties that may set their own cookies:

• Stripe: For secure payment processing
• Supabase: For authentication and database services
• Cloudflare Turnstile: For bot protection and security verification

These third parties have their own privacy and cookie policies. We encourage you to review their policies for more information.

5. Managing Cookies

You can control and manage cookies in several ways:

• Browser Settings: Most browsers allow you to refuse or delete cookies through settings. Check your browser's help section for instructions.
• Device Settings: Your mobile device may have settings to limit tracking.

Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website. Essential cookies cannot be disabled as they are required for the site to work properly.

6. Cookie Retention

Different cookies are retained for different periods:

• Session Cookies: Deleted when you close your browser
• Persistent Cookies: Remain until they expire or you delete them (typically 30 days to 1 year)
• Authentication Cookies: Remain active while you stay logged in

7. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal reasons. We will post any changes on this page with an updated revision date.

8. Contact Us

If you have questions about our use of cookies, please contact us through the contact information provided on our website or visit our Help page.