Cookie Policy

BēCN Technologies, LLC (d/b/a BēCN Pets)

Effective Date: [DATE] Last Updated: [DATE] Version: 1.0

Important: this policy describes a gap that should be closed

I examined the live site on October 3, 2026. It currently loads third-party resources that set or expose information before any consent interaction, and it has no consent banner.

Three of these fire on page load, before a visitor can consent to anything.

A Cookie Policy cannot fix that by itself — it documents what happens, but the behavior needs to change. Section 6 sets out what I recommend, and Section 7 lists the technical steps. This policy is written to describe the site as it should be configured, with placeholders where the current behavior differs. If you publish it before making those changes, it would not accurately describe the site.

This is a genuinely low-cost fix, and it is worth doing in the same deployment pass as the legal pages, since both touch the same part of the site.

1. Purpose

1.1 This Cookie Policy explains how BēCN Technologies, LLC ("we," "us," "our"), operating as BēCN Pets, uses cookies and similar technologies on becnpets.com and in the BēCN Pets applications.

1.2 It should be read with our Privacy Policy, which explains how we handle personal information more broadly, and our Terms and Conditions.

1.3 This policy uses "cookies" to mean cookies and similar technologies, including local storage, pixels, software development kits, and device identifiers.

2. What cookies are

2.1 A cookie is a small text file placed on your device when you visit a website. It allows the site to recognize your device on later visits or during a session.

2.2 Cookies serve different purposes. Some are necessary for a site to function at all — keeping you signed in, for example. Others remember your preferences. Others measure how a site is used. Others support advertising.

2.3 Cookies may be first-party (set by us) or third-party (set by another company whose service we use). They may last only for a session or persist for a defined period.

2.4 Similar technologies include local storage, session storage, pixels, and device identifiers. Where this policy says "cookies," those are included.

3. How we use cookies

We group cookies into four categories.

3.1 We do not currently run advertising or marketing cookies. If we introduce them, we will update this policy and request consent before they are set.

4. Cookies and third-party services we use

Complete this table against the production site before publishing. Each row must reflect what the site actually loads. Inaccurate cookie disclosure is a common and easily detected compliance failure.

4.1 Strictly necessary

4.2 Functional

4.3 Analytics

4.4 Google Fonts — a specific issue

The site currently loads fonts from Google's servers. This does not set a cookie, but it does transmit the visitor's IP address to Google, which has been treated as a data disclosure by European regulators.

Recommended fix: self-host the fonts. Download the DM Sans, DM Mono, and Cormorant Garamond files, serve them from your own domain, and remove the fonts.googleapis.com and fonts.gstatic.com references. This eliminates the disclosure entirely, improves page load performance, and removes a known regulatory exposure. It is a small change with a clear benefit.

If you prefer to keep Google Fonts, the disclosure must be accurate in this policy and covered by consent where required.

5. Third-party recipients

5.1 Where a third party sets a cookie through our site, that party may receive your IP address, device information, and information about your visit.

5.2 Current third parties:

5.3 We require our service providers to protect information as described in our Privacy Policy.

6. Consent

6.1 When consent is required. Where required by applicable law, we set non-essential cookies only after you consent. Where consent is required, you may refuse, and refusing must be as easy as accepting.

6.2 What this means in practice — the EEA, UK, and Switzerland. Under the ePrivacy Directive and GDPR:

• Non-essential cookies require prior, informed, freely given consent
• Pre-ticked boxes and implied consent are not valid
• Rejecting must be as easy as accepting — a "reject all" option at the same level as "accept all"
• Consent must be granular — you must be able to consent to analytics without consenting to marketing
• You must be able to withdraw consent as easily as you gave it
• Analytics cookies generally require consent

6.3 What this means in practice — the United States. There is no general federal cookie consent requirement. State privacy laws grant opt-out rights that are enforced through the Privacy Policy. California requires disclosure and honors opt-out preference signals (see Section 6.5).

6.4 Our approach. We apply a single consent standard based on the strictest applicable requirement, rather than geo-gating. This is simpler to operate, simpler to audit, and less likely to fail. A .com site is reachable from anywhere, so the strictest standard applies in practice regardless of intent.

6.5 Opt-out preference signals. We honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal where required by law. If your browser sends GPC, we treat it as an opt-out of non-essential cookies and of any sale or sharing of personal information.

6.6 Do Not Track. We do not respond to the legacy DNT header, which is not standardized. We respond to GPC.

6.7 Withdrawing consent. You may change your choices at any time through the cookie preference link in the site footer.

8. Managing cookies in your browser

8.1 You can control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies.

8.2 Blocking strictly necessary cookies may prevent the site and app from working — you may be unable to sign in or to view a pet record.

8.3 Browser controls:

8.4 Blocking cookies may affect how our site and other sites work.

9. Children

Our platform is not directed to children under 13, and account holders must be at least 18. We do not knowingly set cookies based on information from children under 13. See the Privacy Policy §10.

10. Changes to this policy

10.1 We may update this policy to reflect changes in the cookies we use, in our practices, or in the law.

10.2 Material changes will be notified by in-app notice or email, and we will obtain fresh consent where required.

10.3 The "Last Updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision.

11. Contact

BēCN Technologies, LLC (d/b/a BēCN Pets) Email: [privacy@becnpets.com] Privacy requests: see the Privacy Policy §12

12. Summary