Cookie Policy

**BBB Payouts (bbbpayouts.com)**
**Effective Date: January 1, 2025**
**Last Updated: January 1, 2025**

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## 1. Introduction

This Cookie Policy explains how Visualize One Inc (“we,” “us,” “our,” or “Company”) uses cookies and similar tracking technologies on our websites bbbpayouts.com and bbbpayout.com (collectively, the “Service”). This policy should be read in conjunction with our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, which provide additional information about how we collect, use, and protect your personal information.

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device when you visit our website. They help us provide you with a better user experience, improve our services, and ensure the security and functionality of our R&D tax credit platform. We are committed to transparency about our use of cookies and providing you with control over your cookie preferences.

This Cookie Policy complies with applicable laws and regulations, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and other relevant privacy legislation. We obtain your consent for non-essential cookies and provide clear information about all cookies used on our Service.

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## 2. What Are Cookies and Similar Technologies

### 2.1 Cookies Defined

Cookies are small text files containing a string of alphanumeric characters that are downloaded and stored on your computer, smartphone, tablet, or other device when you visit our website. Cookies allow our website to recognize your device and remember information about your visit, such as your preferred language, login status, and other settings that make your next visit easier and our Service more useful to you.

### 2.2 Types of Cookies

**Session Cookies:**
These cookies are temporary and are deleted when you close your browser. They help us manage your session while you navigate our website, maintain your login status, and ensure security during your visit.

**Persistent Cookies:**
These cookies remain on your device for a specified period or until you delete them. They help us remember your preferences, recognize you when you return to our website, and provide personalized experiences.

**First-Party Cookies:**
These cookies are set directly by our website and can only be read by our domain. We use first-party cookies for essential website functionality, user authentication, and service delivery.

**Third-Party Cookies:**
These cookies are set by domains other than our own, typically by service providers we work with such as analytics companies, payment processors, and security services.

### 2.3 Similar Technologies

**Web Beacons (Pixel Tags):**
Small graphic images embedded in web pages or emails that allow us to track user behavior, measure the effectiveness of our communications, and gather analytics data.

**Local Storage:**
Browser-based storage that allows us to store larger amounts of data locally on your device, including user preferences, session information, and cached content for improved performance.

**Software Development Kits (SDKs):**
Code libraries integrated into our mobile applications that provide functionality and collect analytics data to improve our services.

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## 3. How We Use Cookies

### 3.1 Essential Cookies

**Website Functionality:**
We use essential cookies to provide core website functionality, including user authentication, session management, security features, and basic navigation. These cookies are necessary for our Service to function properly and cannot be disabled without affecting your ability to use our platform.

**Security and Fraud Prevention:**
Essential cookies help us detect and prevent fraudulent activity, protect against security threats, and ensure the integrity of our R&D tax credit services. These cookies are critical for maintaining the security of your financial and personal information.

**Load Balancing and Performance:**
We use cookies to distribute website traffic across our servers, ensure optimal performance, and provide a stable user experience during peak usage periods.

### 3.2 Functional Cookies

**User Preferences:**
Functional cookies remember your preferences and settings, such as language selection, display options, form data, and communication preferences. These cookies enhance your user experience by personalizing our Service to your needs.

**Account Management:**
We use cookies to manage your account status, remember your login credentials (with your permission), and provide seamless access to your R&D credit dashboard and related services.

**Customer Support:**
Functional cookies help us provide better customer support by remembering your previous interactions, support ticket history, and communication preferences.

### 3.3 Analytics and Performance Cookies

**Website Analytics:**
We use analytics cookies to understand how visitors interact with our website, which pages are most popular, how users navigate through our Service, and where improvements can be made. This information is aggregated and anonymized.

**Performance Monitoring:**
Performance cookies help us monitor website speed, identify technical issues, and optimize our Service for better user experience. These cookies collect technical information about your device and browser performance.

**A/B Testing:**
We may use cookies to conduct A/B testing of different website features, layouts, or content to determine what works best for our users and improve our Service accordingly.

### 3.4 Marketing and Advertising Cookies

**Targeted Advertising:**
With your consent, we may use marketing cookies to deliver relevant advertisements based on your interests and browsing behavior. These cookies help us show you ads that are more likely to be of interest to you.

**Conversion Tracking:**
Marketing cookies help us measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns by tracking which ads lead to website visits, account registrations, or service engagements.

**Social Media Integration:**
We use cookies from social media platforms to enable social sharing features and track the effectiveness of our social media marketing efforts.

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## 4. Third-Party Cookies and Services

### 4.1 Payment Processing (Stripe Inc.)

**Purpose:**
Stripe uses cookies to process payments securely, prevent fraud, and provide payment-related functionality on our website.

**Cookies Used:**
– Session cookies for payment processing
– Security cookies for fraud detection
– Performance cookies for payment optimization

**Data Collected:**
Payment information, transaction details, device information, and security-related data.

**Privacy Policy:**
For more information about Stripe’s cookie practices, please visit: https://stripe.com/privacy

### 4.2 Banking Services (Plaid Technologies Inc.)

**Purpose:**
Plaid uses cookies and similar technologies to provide secure bank account connectivity and financial data aggregation services.

**Cookies Used:**
– Authentication cookies for secure bank connections
– Session cookies for data aggregation
– Security cookies for fraud prevention

**Data Collected:**
Bank account information, transaction data, account balances, and authentication credentials.

**Privacy Policy:**
For more information about Plaid’s privacy practices, please visit: https://plaid.com/legal/

### 4.3 Analytics Services

**Google Analytics:**
We use Google Analytics to understand website usage patterns, user behavior, and performance metrics. Google Analytics uses cookies to collect anonymized data about your interactions with our website.

**Cookies Used:**
– _ga (persistent, 2 years): Distinguishes unique users
– _gid (persistent, 24 hours): Distinguishes unique users
– _gat (persistent, 1 minute): Throttles request rate

**Data Collected:**
Page views, session duration, bounce rate, traffic sources, device information, and geographic location (anonymized).

**Opt-Out:**
You can opt-out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

### 4.4 Customer Support Services

**Live Chat and Help Desk:**
We use third-party customer support platforms that may set cookies to provide chat functionality, track support interactions, and improve customer service.

**Cookies Used:**
– Session cookies for chat functionality
– Persistent cookies for user identification
– Performance cookies for service optimization

**Data Collected:**
Chat transcripts, support ticket information, user preferences, and interaction history.

### 4.5 Security Services

**Content Delivery Network (CDN):**
We use CDN services to improve website performance and security, which may set cookies for load balancing, caching, and security purposes.

**DDoS Protection:**
Security services may use cookies to distinguish legitimate users from potential threats and provide protection against distributed denial-of-service attacks.

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## 5. Cookie Management and Your Choices

### 5.1 Browser Settings

**Cookie Controls:**
Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can typically:
– View which cookies are stored on your device
– Delete existing cookies
– Block cookies from specific websites
– Block all cookies (not recommended as it may affect website functionality)
– Set preferences for different types of cookies

**Browser-Specific Instructions:**

**Google Chrome:**
1. Click the three-dot menu → Settings → Privacy and security → Cookies and other site data
2. Choose your preferred cookie settings
3. Manage exceptions for specific websites

**Mozilla Firefox:**
1. Click the menu button → Options → Privacy & Security
2. Under Cookies and Site Data, choose your preferences
3. Use “Manage Data” to view and delete specific cookies

**Safari:**
1. Safari menu → Preferences → Privacy
2. Choose your cookie and tracking preferences
3. Use “Manage Website Data” for specific controls

**Microsoft Edge:**
1. Click the three-dot menu → Settings → Cookies and site permissions
2. Choose your cookie preferences
3. Manage exceptions for specific sites

### 5.2 Our Cookie Preference Center

**Granular Controls:**
We provide a cookie preference center that allows you to make granular choices about the types of cookies you accept. You can access this center through the cookie banner that appears when you first visit our website or through the link in our website footer.

**Cookie Categories:**
Our preference center allows you to control:
– Essential cookies (cannot be disabled)
– Functional cookies
– Analytics and performance cookies
– Marketing and advertising cookies

**Preference Updates:**
You can update your cookie preferences at any time by revisiting our cookie preference center. Changes will take effect immediately and will be remembered for future visits.

### 5.3 Mobile Device Settings

**iOS Devices:**
Settings → Privacy → Tracking → Allow Apps to Request to Track (toggle off to prevent tracking)

**Android Devices:**
Settings → Google → Ads → Opt out of Ads Personalization

**App-Specific Controls:**
Our mobile applications may provide additional cookie and tracking controls within the app settings menu.

### 5.4 Third-Party Opt-Outs

**Industry Opt-Out Tools:**
– Digital Advertising Alliance: http://optout.aboutads.info/
– Network Advertising Initiative: http://optout.networkadvertising.org/
– European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance: http://youronlinechoices.eu/

**Social Media Opt-Outs:**
Most social media platforms provide privacy settings that allow you to control how your data is used for advertising purposes. Please refer to their respective privacy policies for specific instructions.

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## 6. Cookie Retention and Deletion

### 6.1 Retention Periods

**Session Cookies:**
Automatically deleted when you close your browser or end your session on our website.

**Persistent Cookies:**
Retained for specific periods based on their purpose:
– Authentication cookies: 30 days
– Preference cookies: 1 year
– Analytics cookies: 2 years
– Marketing cookies: 1 year (with consent)

**Automatic Deletion:**
Cookies are automatically deleted when they reach their expiration date, even if you continue to use our website.

### 6.2 Manual Deletion

**Browser Deletion:**
You can manually delete cookies at any time using your browser’s settings. This will remove all cookies from our website and may require you to re-enter preferences and login information.

**Selective Deletion:**
Most browsers allow you to delete cookies from specific websites while preserving cookies from other sites you visit.

**Regular Cleanup:**
We recommend periodically reviewing and cleaning up your browser’s cookies to maintain privacy and optimal performance.

### 6.3 Impact of Cookie Deletion

**Website Functionality:**
Deleting essential cookies may affect your ability to use certain features of our website, including login functionality and personalized settings.

**User Experience:**
Deleting functional cookies will reset your preferences and may require you to reconfigure settings on your next visit.

**Analytics and Marketing:**
Deleting analytics and marketing cookies will prevent us from tracking your interactions for improvement and advertising purposes, but will not affect core website functionality.

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## 7. Legal Basis and Consent

### 7.1 Legal Basis for Cookie Use

**Essential Cookies:**
We use essential cookies based on our legitimate interest in providing secure, functional website services. These cookies are necessary for contract performance and service delivery.

**Functional Cookies:**
We use functional cookies based on your consent or our legitimate interest in improving user experience and service quality.

**Analytics Cookies:**
We use analytics cookies based on your consent or our legitimate interest in understanding website usage and improving our services.

**Marketing Cookies:**
We use marketing cookies only with your explicit consent, which you can withdraw at any time through our cookie preference center.

### 7.2 Consent Management

**Informed Consent:**
We obtain informed consent for non-essential cookies by providing clear information about their purpose, the data collected, and your rights regarding cookie use.

**Granular Consent:**
Our consent mechanism allows you to provide or withdraw consent for specific categories of cookies, giving you control over your privacy preferences.

**Consent Records:**
We maintain records of your consent choices to demonstrate compliance with applicable privacy laws and to honor your preferences across sessions.

### 7.3 Withdrawal of Consent

**Easy Withdrawal:**
You can withdraw your consent for non-essential cookies at any time through our cookie preference center, browser settings, or by contacting us directly.

**Effect of Withdrawal:**
Withdrawing consent will stop the use of non-essential cookies going forward but will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

**Continued Service:**
Withdrawing consent for non-essential cookies will not affect your ability to use our core R&D tax credit services, though some features may be limited.

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## 8. International Transfers and Cross-Border Data Processing

### 8.1 Data Transfers

**Third-Party Services:**
Some of our third-party service providers may be located outside your country of residence, which may involve transferring cookie data across international borders.

**Adequate Protection:**
We ensure that all international transfers of cookie data are protected by appropriate safeguards, including adequacy decisions, Standard Contractual Clauses, or other approved transfer mechanisms.

**Service Provider Agreements:**
All third-party service providers are contractually required to provide adequate protection for cookie data and to comply with applicable privacy laws.

### 8.2 Cross-Border Compliance

**Multi-Jurisdictional Requirements:**
We comply with cookie laws in all jurisdictions where we operate, including the EU’s ePrivacy Directive, GDPR, CCPA, and other applicable regulations.

**Harmonized Practices:**
Our cookie practices are designed to meet the highest standards of privacy protection across all jurisdictions, ensuring consistent protection regardless of your location.

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## 9. Updates to This Cookie Policy

### 9.1 Policy Changes

**Regular Reviews:**
We regularly review and update this Cookie Policy to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, and industry standards.

**Material Changes:**
We will notify you of material changes to this Cookie Policy through email, website notices, or other appropriate communication methods at least 30 days before the changes take effect.

**Continued Use:**
Your continued use of our website after the effective date of any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Cookie Policy.

### 9.2 Version Control

**Document Versioning:**
We maintain version control for this Cookie Policy and will clearly indicate the effective date and version number of each update.

**Historical Versions:**
Previous versions of this Cookie Policy are available upon request for reference and compliance purposes.

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## 10. Contact Information

### 10.1 Cookie-Related Inquiries

**Privacy Officer**
**Visualize One Inc**
**Email:** privacy@bbbpayouts.com
**Phone:** 1-800-BBB-PAYOUT (1-800-222-7296)
**Website:** https://www.bbbpayouts.com/privacy

### 10.2 Data Protection Authorities

If you have concerns about our cookie practices that we cannot resolve, you may contact the relevant data protection authority in your jurisdiction:

**European Union:**
Your local Data Protection Authority (list available at: https://edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/board/members_en)

**United States:**
Federal Trade Commission (https://www.ftc.gov/)

**California:**
California Attorney General (https://oag.ca.gov/privacy)

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## 11. Effective Date and Acknowledgment

This Cookie Policy is effective as of January 1, 2025. By continuing to use our website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Cookie Policy and agree to our use of cookies in accordance with the terms set forth herein.

**Document Version:** 1.0
**Last Updated:** January 1, 2025
**Next Review Date:** January 1, 2026

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*This Cookie Policy has been prepared to comply with applicable privacy and cookie laws, including the EU’s ePrivacy Directive, GDPR, CCPA, and other relevant regulations. For questions about this policy or our cookie practices, please contact us using the information provided above.*