Cookie Policy

1. What cookies and browser storage are

Cookies are small files that a website stores in your browser. They are commonly used to remember who you are, to keep you signed in, or to track how you use a site.

Modern browsers also offer other ways for websites to store information locally in your browser, including localStorage and sessionStorage. These work in a similar way to cookies, but they are not sent automatically to the server on every request, and they can hold more data.

When we refer to "cookies" in this policy, we mean cookies and these other browser storage technologies together.

2. Legal framework we follow

ACE handles cookies and browser storage in accordance with:

• The Personal Data Protection Proclamation No. 1321/2024 of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, which governs how personal data — including data collected through cookies and browser storage — is processed.
• The African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo Convention), which requires the principles of consent, lawfulness, purpose limitation and transparency for any processing of personal data.
• Applicable national laws of the countries in which our users operate, where those laws apply. Where a national law requires consent for a category of cookie that ACE uses, we honour that requirement for users in that country.

Where the law requires consent for a category of storage that ACE does not currently use — for example, analytics or advertising cookies — we will not deploy that category until we have put a consent mechanism in place.

3. Categories of storage used on ACE

There are four common categories of cookies and browser storage. Here is what ACE uses in each.

Strictly necessary

These are required for the Platform to work. Without them, you cannot sign in, stay signed in, or use the services. Because they are essential to a service you have explicitly requested, they do not require separate consent.

Functional

These remember choices you have made on the Platform — such as whether a menu is open — so you do not have to make them again. ACE uses a small number of functional storage items to improve usability. All of them are session-only and are cleared when you close your browser tab.

Analytics

ACE does not currently use analytics cookies or browser storage. We do not use Google Analytics, Matomo, Plausible or any similar third-party analytics tool.

If we add analytics in the future, we will update this policy, and — where required — display a consent banner asking for your permission before any analytics storage is set.

Advertising and cross-site tracking

ACE does not use advertising cookies. We do not track you across other websites. We do not sell or rent your data to third parties.

We do not embed advertising pixels, social media tracking pixels, or any similar technology on the Platform.

4. Full list of what ACE uses

The tables below list every item of browser storage that ACE sets. This list is complete. If you find an item in your browser's storage for the ACE Platform that is not listed here, please tell us at privacy@ecopiagroup.com.

Authentication

Legacy and compatibility names

The Platform is read-compatible with a small number of alternative storage names that may have been set by earlier versions of the site or by other ACE pages. These are not written to on the current site but may still be present in your browser if you used an earlier version.

Functional (session)

What is not set by ACE

ACE does not set:

• Any advertising, marketing or retargeting cookie.
• Any cross-site tracking cookie.
• Any analytics cookie (see Section 3).
• Any cookie or storage item that identifies you to a third party for that party's own purposes.

5. Third-party storage

When you use certain parts of the Platform, you are redirected to a page operated by a third party. That page may set its own cookies and browser storage, governed by its own privacy and cookie policies, not by this one.

The main cases are:

• Payment. When you pay an invoice, you are redirected to the payment provider's hosted checkout. The payment provider may set its own cookies and storage to process the payment and prevent fraud.
• Partner links. When you click a link to a partner site (for example, in the ACE Partners section of the homepage), that site operates its own cookies and policies.

ACE does not control those third-party cookies. We recommend that you read the cookie and privacy policy of any third-party site you visit — particularly the payment provider's, before you complete a payment.

6. How to control cookies and browser storage

You can control and delete cookies and browser storage through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to:

• View the storage currently stored by a site.
• Delete individual items or all storage for a specific site.
• Block storage from specific sites.
• Block all third-party storage.
• Clear all storage when you close the browser.

Here is how to find these settings in common browsers:

• Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Third-party cookies and Site data
• Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
• Safari: Settings → Privacy → Manage Website Data
• Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions
• Brave: Settings → Shields → Cookies and other site data

7. Do Not Track signals

Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" (DNT) setting that asks websites not to track you. Because ACE does not track you across other websites in any case, and does not use analytics or advertising cookies, DNT signals do not change how the Platform behaves. ACE respects DNT in spirit by not tracking users at all.

Similarly, we do not use "Global Privacy Control" signals because we do not sell or share personal data in the way that setting is designed to control.

8. Changes to this policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Where the change is significant — for example, if we introduce a new category of cookie — we will notify you by email or by a notice on the Platform before the change takes effect.

If we introduce analytics cookies or any other category that requires consent, we will display a consent banner before those cookies are set, and you will be able to accept or refuse them.

9. Contact