Cookie Policy
Effective Date: January 1, 2025 | Last Updated: January 1, 2025
Understanding Cookies and Similar Technologies
Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit our website. They help us remember your preferences, maintain your login session, and provide personalized garden route recommendations based on your interests and previous visits.
We also use similar technologies like local storage, session storage, and web beacons to enhance your experience with our digital garden guides and ensure optimal functionality across different devices and browsers.
Essential Cookies for Core Functionality
Essential cookies are necessary for our website to function properly and cannot be disabled. These include authentication cookies that keep you logged in, security cookies that protect against fraud, and preference cookies that remember your language and accessibility settings.
These cookies also store your subscription status, payment verification, and access permissions for premium garden content and certified guide booking features.
Analytics and Performance Tracking
We use analytics cookies to understand how visitors interact with our garden guides, which routes are most popular, and where users encounter difficulties. This data helps us improve our content and user experience.
Performance cookies monitor page load times, error rates, and system performance to ensure our GPS navigation and offline map features work reliably across different devices and network conditions.
Personalization and Feature Enhancement
Functional cookies enable personalized features like saved favorite gardens, customized route recommendations based on your interests (temples, imperial sites, seasonal viewing), and remembered accessibility preferences.
These cookies also power our location-based content delivery, ensuring you receive relevant information about nearby gardens, current seasonal highlights, and real-time access updates.
Third-Party Services and Integration
We use third-party cookies for payment processing, customer support chat functionality, and integration with certified guide booking systems. These partners have their own privacy policies governing their cookiege.
Map services and GPS functionality may use third-party cookies to provide accurate navigation and location-based recommendations for garden routes and nearby cultural sites.
Managing Your Cookie Preferences
You can control cookie settings through our cookie banner, which appears on your first visit and can be accessed anytime through the cookie preferences link in our footer. You can accept all cookies, reject non-essential ones, or customize your preferences by category.
Your browser settings also allow you to block or delete cookies, though this may affect website functionality. Most browsers provide options to manage cookies on a site-by-site basis.
Mobile Applications and Device Storage
Our mobile applications use similar technologies to cookies, including local storage for offline maps, cached garden information, and user preferences. These help provide seamless experiences even when internet connectivity is limited in garden areas.
Mobile-specific identifiers may be used to sync your preferences across devices and provide consistent access to your subscriptions and saved content.
Cookie Lifespan and Data Retention
Session cookies are deleted when you close your browser, while persistent cookies remain for specified periods ranging from 30 days to 2 years, depending on their purpose. Authentication cookies typically last 30 days, while preference cookies may persist for up to one year.
Analytics cookies are generally retained for 26 months to provide meaningful trend analysis, while functional cookies for saved routes and preferences persist until you delete them or close your account.
Regional Privacy Laws and Compliance
Our cookie practices comply with applicable privacy laws including GDPR for European users, CCPA for California residents, and's Personal Information Protection Act. We obtain appropriate consent before setting non-essential cookies.
Users in different regions may see different cookie consent options based on local legal requirements, but all users can control their cookie preferences regardless of location.
Cookie Security and Protection Measures
All cookies containing sensitive information are encrypted and transmitted securely. We use secure, HTTP-only cookies for authentication and implement measures to prevent cross-site scripting and other security vulnerabilities.
Regular security audits ensure our cookie implementation follows best practices and protects against unauthorized access to your personal information and preferences.
Policy Updates and User Notification
We may update this cookie policy to reflect changes in technology, legal requirements, or our services. Significant changes will be communicated through our website and may require renewed consent for certain cookie categories.
We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how we use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your garden exploration experience.
Cookie-Related Inquiries and Support
For questions about our cookie practices, technical issues with cookie settings, or concerns about data collection, please contact our privacy team at cookies@malrinford.com or through our general support channels.
We are committed to transparency in our data practices and will respond to cookie-related inquiries within 48 hours during business days.