Legal

Cookies Policy

What cookies and similar technologies are, which ones may be used and how you can control them.

Last updated
Effective

Introduction

This Cookies Policy explains how HummingByte ("we," "us," or "our") uses cookies and similar tracking technologies on our website https://hummingbyte.org (the "Website"). This policy provides detailed information about what cookies are, how we use them, what types of cookies we use, your choices regarding cookies, and how you can control or delete cookies.

By using our Website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with this Cookies Policy. If you do not agree to our use of cookies, you should change your browser settings accordingly or refrain from using our Website.

This Cookies Policy should be read in conjunction with our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device (computer, tablet, smartphone, or other electronic device) when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently, provide a better user experience, and provide information to website owners.

How Cookies Work

When you visit a website, the website sends a cookie to your browser. Your browser stores the cookie in a file located on your device. The cookie allows the website to recognize your device when you return, remember your preferences, and provide customized features.

Session Cookies

These are temporary cookies that expire when you close your browser. They are used to remember your actions during a browsing session.

Persistent Cookies

These remain on your device for a specified period or until you delete them. They are used to remember your preferences across multiple browsing sessions.

First-Party and Third-Party Cookies

  • First-Party Cookies: Set by the website you are visiting (in this case, hummingbyte.org). We have direct control over these cookies.
  • Third-Party Cookies: Set by external services or partners that appear on our website. We do not have direct control over these cookies, which are governed by the third parties' privacy policies.

Why We Use Cookies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies for several important purposes:

Essential Website Functionality

  • Enable core website features and services
  • Authenticate users and prevent fraudulent activity
  • Remember your login status and security settings
  • Maintain session information as you navigate the site
  • Ensure the website operates correctly and securely

Performance and Analytics

  • Understand how visitors use our website
  • Analyze website traffic and user behavior patterns
  • Identify which pages are most and least popular
  • Measure the effectiveness of our content
  • Improve website performance and user experience
  • Identify and fix technical issues

Functionality and Personalization

  • Remember your preferences and settings
  • Customize content based on your interests
  • Provide personalized features and recommendations
  • Remember language and region preferences
  • Enable interactive features and services
  • Enhance your overall user experience

Marketing and Advertising

  • Deliver relevant advertisements and marketing content
  • Track the effectiveness of marketing campaigns
  • Measure ad performance and conversions
  • Prevent you from seeing the same ads repeatedly
  • Show you ads based on your interests and browsing behavior
  • Provide social media features and functionality

Communication and Support

  • Enable live chat and customer support features
  • Remember your communication preferences
  • Facilitate contact forms and inquiry submissions
  • Improve our customer service and support

Types of Cookies We Use

1. Strictly Necessary Cookies

Purpose: These cookies are essential for the website to function properly and cannot be disabled.

What They Do:

  • Enable core website functionality
  • Authenticate users and maintain security
  • Remember items in your shopping cart or inquiry forms
  • Ensure secure transmission of data
  • Prevent fraudulent activity and abuse
  • Enable access to secure areas of the website

Duration: Session cookies (expire when you close your browser) or short-term persistent cookies

Examples:

  • session_id: Maintains your session as you navigate the website
  • security_token: Ensures secure communication and prevents CSRF attacks
  • load_balancer: Distributes traffic across servers for optimal performance
  • cookie_consent: Remembers your cookie preferences

Legal Basis: These cookies are necessary for legitimate interests in operating our website and do not require consent.

2. Performance and Analytics Cookies

Purpose: These cookies collect information about how visitors use our website to help us improve performance and user experience.

What They Do:

  • Track page views, visits, and unique visitors
  • Measure time spent on pages and bounce rates
  • Identify popular content and navigation patterns
  • Monitor website speed and performance
  • Track errors and technical issues
  • Generate statistical reports on website usage

Duration: Typically persistent cookies lasting from 1 month to 2 years

Examples:

  • Google Analytics cookies (_ga, _gid, _gat)
  • Hotjar tracking cookies
  • Website performance monitoring cookies
  • Error tracking and debugging cookies

Information Collected:

  • Pages visited and time spent on each page
  • Referring websites and search terms
  • Browser type, device type, and operating system
  • Geographic location (country, city)
  • Click patterns and scroll behavior
  • Technical performance metrics

Third-Party Services:

  • Google Analytics: Web analytics service provided by Google Inc.
  • Hotjar: Analytics and feedback service
  • Mixpanel: Product analytics platform

Privacy: These cookies collect aggregated, anonymized data that does not personally identify you.

3. Functionality Cookies

Purpose: These cookies enable enhanced features and personalization to improve your experience on our website.

What They Do:

  • Remember your preferences and settings
  • Store language and region preferences
  • Remember your login details (if you choose)
  • Customize content based on your interests
  • Enable interactive features (videos, live chat, forms)
  • Provide personalized recommendations
  • Remember items in comparison tools or saved lists

Duration: Persistent cookies typically lasting from 30 days to 2 years

Examples:

  • language_preference: Remembers your language selection
  • region_setting: Stores your geographic preferences
  • theme_mode: Remembers dark/light mode preference
  • font_size: Stores accessibility settings
  • chat_history: Maintains context in live chat conversations

Third-Party Services:

  • Intercom or similar chat services: Customer communication platforms
  • YouTube/Vimeo: Video embedding services
  • Social media plugins: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn integration

Your Control: You can usually control these cookies through your browser settings, but disabling them may limit website functionality.

4. Targeting and Advertising Cookies

Purpose: These cookies track your browsing activity to deliver relevant advertisements and measure campaign effectiveness.

What They Do:

  • Build a profile of your interests based on browsing behavior
  • Deliver targeted ads on our website and other websites you visit
  • Measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns
  • Track conversions and ROI from marketing efforts
  • Limit the number of times you see the same ad
  • Enable social media sharing and interaction
  • Provide personalized product recommendations

Duration: Persistent cookies typically lasting from 30 days to 2 years

Examples:

  • Google Ads cookies (_gcl_au, IDE)
  • Facebook Pixel (_fbp, fr)
  • LinkedIn Insight Tag
  • Twitter conversion tracking
  • Retargeting pixels from various platforms

Information Collected:

  • Pages visited on our website and partner websites
  • Products or services viewed
  • Actions taken (clicks, form submissions, purchases)
  • Ad interactions and conversions
  • Demographic information (age range, interests)
  • Device and browser information

Third-Party Advertising Partners:

  • Google Ads: Display advertising and remarketing
  • Facebook Ads: Social media advertising
  • LinkedIn Ads: B2B advertising platform
  • Twitter Ads: Social media marketing
  • AdRoll or similar platforms: Retargeting services

Behavioral Advertising: These cookies may track your activity across websites to build an advertising profile. You can opt out of behavioral advertising through:

5. Social Media Cookies

Purpose: These cookies enable social media features and track your interaction with social content on our website.

What They Do:

  • Enable social media sharing buttons
  • Allow you to like, share, or comment on content
  • Track social media interactions for analytics
  • Display social media feeds and content
  • Enable single sign-on with social media accounts
  • Personalize content based on social media activity

Duration: Varies by social media platform, typically 30 days to 2 years

Examples:

  • Facebook cookies (datr, sb, c_user)
  • Twitter cookies
  • LinkedIn cookies
  • Instagram cookies
  • YouTube cookies

Third-Party Services:

  • Facebook: Social sharing and login features
  • Twitter: Tweet embedding and sharing
  • LinkedIn: Professional networking features
  • Instagram: Photo and video embedding
  • YouTube: Video hosting and embedding

Privacy Note: Social media companies may use these cookies to track your activity across websites for their own purposes, even if you don't interact with social media features on our site.

Session Cookies

Duration: Deleted when you close your browser

Use Cases:

  • Maintaining login status during a session
  • Remembering items in a form as you navigate pages
  • Enabling security features for the duration of your visit

Short-Term Persistent Cookies

Duration: 24 hours to 30 days

Use Cases:

  • Remembering recent preferences
  • Tracking short-term marketing campaigns
  • Temporary authentication tokens

Long-Term Persistent Cookies

Duration: 30 days to 2 years

Use Cases:

  • Remembering long-term preferences
  • Analytics and performance tracking
  • Advertising and retargeting campaigns

Automatic Deletion: Most cookies are automatically deleted when they expire. Your browser may also delete cookies when you clear your browsing data.

Similar Technologies

In addition to cookies, we use other similar tracking technologies:

Web Beacons (Pixel Tags)

Small, invisible images embedded in web pages or emails that:

  • Track whether you've opened an email
  • Monitor page views and user behavior
  • Measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns
  • Work in conjunction with cookies to collect data

Local Storage

Browser technology that stores data locally on your device:

  • HTML5 Local Storage: Stores larger amounts of data than cookies
  • Session Storage: Temporary storage that's cleared when you close the browser
  • IndexedDB: Client-side database for structured data

Purpose: Enable advanced website features, improve performance, and store user preferences

Browser Fingerprinting

Technique that collects information about your browser configuration:

  • Browser type and version
  • Operating system
  • Screen resolution
  • Installed plugins and fonts
  • Time zone and language settings

Purpose: Detect fraud, prevent abuse, and enhance security

Device Identifiers

Unique identifiers associated with your device:

  • Mobile advertising IDs (IDFA on iOS, AAID on Android)
  • Device identifiers for analytics purposes

Purpose: Track mobile app usage and deliver targeted advertising

Analytics Scripts

JavaScript code that tracks user behavior:

  • Page views and navigation patterns
  • Clicks, scrolls, and interactions
  • Form submissions and conversions
  • Technical performance metrics

Third-Party Cookies and Services

We work with third-party service providers who may set cookies and use similar technologies on our website. These third parties have their own privacy policies and cookie policies.

Analytics Providers

Advertising Networks

Communication Tools

Intercom / LiveChat
Purpose: Customer support and live chat
Data Collected: Chat conversations, user behavior, contact information
Privacy Policy: Check specific provider's website

Social Media Platforms

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram
Purpose: Social sharing, login, content embedding
Data Collected: Social interactions, profile information, sharing activity
Privacy Policies: Available on respective platform websites

Payment Processors

Stripe, PayPal, or other payment gateways
Purpose: Secure payment processing
Data Collected: Payment information, transaction details
Privacy Policies: Available on payment provider websites

Note: We do not have control over third-party cookies. Please review the privacy policies of third-party services for more information about their data practices.

You have several options for managing cookies and controlling your privacy preferences:

Cookie Consent Banner

When you first visit our website, you'll see a cookie consent banner that allows you to:

  • Accept all cookies
  • Reject non-essential cookies
  • Customize your cookie preferences by category
  • Learn more about our cookie practices

You can change your preferences at any time by clicking the "Cookie Settings" link in our website footer.

Browser Settings

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can:

  • View Cookies: See what cookies are stored on your device
  • Delete Cookies: Remove some or all cookies
  • Block Cookies: Prevent websites from setting new cookies
  • Manage Cookie Preferences: Allow cookies from specific websites while blocking others

How to Manage Cookies in Popular Browsers:

  • Google Chrome
    1. Click the three-dot menu icon > Settings
    2. Click "Privacy and security" > "Cookies and other site data"
    3. Choose your preferred cookie settings
    4. Manage exceptions and view stored cookies
  • Mozilla Firefox
    1. Click the menu button > Settings
    2. Select "Privacy & Security"
    3. Under "Cookies and Site Data," adjust your preferences
    4. Click "Manage Data" to view and delete specific cookies
  • Safari (Mac)
    1. Click Safari menu > Preferences
    2. Go to "Privacy" tab
    3. Adjust cookie settings and blocking options
    4. Click "Manage Website Data" to view cookies
  • Microsoft Edge
    1. Click the three-dot menu > Settings
    2. Select "Cookies and site permissions"
    3. Click "Manage and delete cookies and site data"
    4. Choose your cookie preferences
  • Mobile Browsers (iOS/Android)
    Access browser settings through the device settings app
    Look for "Safari" or "Chrome" in settings
    Find privacy or content settings
    Manage cookie preferences

Opt-Out Tools

Browser "Do Not Track" Signals

Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" (DNT) setting that sends a signal to websites requesting not to be tracked. Currently, there is no industry-wide standard for how websites should respond to DNT signals.

Our website does not currently respond to DNT signals, but we respect your privacy choices through our cookie consent banner and opt-out mechanisms.

Mobile Device Settings

  • iOS Devices
    Settings > Privacy > Advertising
    Enable "Limit Ad Tracking"
  • Android Devices
    Settings > Google > Ads
    Enable "Opt out of Ads Personalization"

Impact of Disabling Cookies

While you have the right to refuse cookies, disabling certain cookies may affect your experience on our website:

Essential Cookies

Cannot be disabled: Required for basic website functionality

Impact if blocked: The website may not function properly, and you may be unable to access certain features or services

Performance Cookies

Can be disabled: Not required for basic functionality

Impact if blocked:

  • We cannot improve website performance based on user data
  • Limited ability to identify and fix technical issues
  • Less optimized user experience

Functionality Cookies

Can be disabled: Not required for basic functionality

Impact if blocked:

  • Website won't remember your preferences
  • You'll need to re-enter settings each visit
  • Reduced personalization and convenience
  • Some interactive features may not work
  • Limited customization options

Advertising Cookies

Can be disabled: Not required for basic functionality

Impact if blocked:

  • You'll still see ads, but they won't be personalized
  • Ads may be less relevant to your interests
  • You may see the same ads repeatedly
  • We cannot measure advertising effectiveness

Cookies and Personal Data

What Information Do Cookies Collect?

Cookies may collect various types of information:

  • Technical Information: IP address, Browser type and version, Device type and operating system, Screen resolution, Referring website, Pages visited
  • Behavioral Information: Browsing patterns and navigation, Time spent on pages, Links clicked, Search terms used, Actions taken (downloads, form submissions)
  • Preference Information: Language and region settings, Display preferences, Saved items or favorites

Is Cookie Data Personal Data?

Under data protection laws (such as the GDPR and the NDPA), cookie data may be considered personal data if it can be used to identify you, either alone or in combination with other information.

Identifiable Data: IP addresses, user IDs, and advertising identifiers may be personal data

Non-Identifiable Data: Aggregated, anonymized data that cannot identify individuals

We process cookie data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable data protection laws.

Your Privacy Rights

You have rights regarding your personal data collected through cookies:

  • Right to access cookie data we hold about you
  • Right to correct inaccurate data
  • Right to delete cookie data (subject to legal requirements)
  • Right to object to certain types of processing
  • Right to withdraw consent for non-essential cookies

For more information about your privacy rights, see our Privacy Policy or contact us at [email protected].

Cookies and Children's Privacy

Our website is not directed to children under the age of 18, and we do not knowingly collect information from children through cookies or any other means.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with information through our website, please contact us immediately at [email protected] so we can delete the information.

Updates to This Cookies Policy

We may update this Cookies Policy from time to time to reflect:

  • Changes in our cookie practices
  • New technologies or tracking methods
  • Legal or regulatory requirements
  • Feedback from users
  • Best practice developments

When we make changes:

  • We will update the "Effective Date" at the top of this policy
  • We will post the revised policy on our website
  • For material changes, we may notify you via email or website banner
  • Your continued use of the website after changes constitutes acceptance

We encourage you to review this Cookies Policy periodically to stay informed about how we use cookies.

International Users

Our website may be accessed from countries around the world. If you are visiting from outside Nigeria, please be aware that:

  • Cookies may transfer your data to servers located in different countries
  • Different countries have different privacy and data protection laws
  • We implement appropriate safeguards for international data transfers
  • We comply with applicable international data protection regulations

For users in the European Union, we comply with GDPR requirements for cookie consent and data protection.

Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Cookies Policy or our use of cookies, please contact us:

We will respond to your inquiries within a reasonable timeframe and in accordance with applicable law.

Additional Resources

For more information about cookies and online privacy:

About Cookies

Privacy Tools

Browser Privacy

Information and guides provided by your browser manufacturer
Help documentation for managing cookies and privacy settings

Data Protection Authorities

By using our website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Cookies Policy and consent to the use of cookies as described herein.

Related documents

Privacy Policy

How we collect, use, share and protect personal information, and the rights you have over it.

Terms of Service

The terms that govern use of our website and services, including payments, intellectual property and liability.

Questions about this document?Email [email protected] and we will respond as soon as we can.

Contact us