Cookie Policy – ABVENTS

1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device (computer, tablet, or mobile) when you visit a website. They help websites remember your preferences, keep you logged in, and understand how you use the site.

Cookies cannot harm your device and do not contain any personally identifiable information unless you have provided that information to us.

2. How We Use Cookies

ABVENTS uses cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

2.1 Essential Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary for the platform to function. Without them, services such as logging in, accessing your dashboard, or managing bookings would not be possible.

Authentication tokens — stored in HttpOnly cookies to keep you logged in securely between sessions
Session state — remembers which dashboard tab you last visited (abvents_client_tab, abvents_vendor_tab)
CSRF protection — prevents cross-site request forgery attacks

2.2 Preference Cookies

These cookies remember your choices to give you a better, personalised experience:

Language and region preferences
Filter settings on the vendor search page
Chat interface state (open conversations)

2.3 Analytics Cookies

We may use analytics tools to understand how visitors use the platform. This helps us improve our services. Analytics data is aggregated and anonymised — it cannot be used to identify you personally.

2.4 Communication Cookies

When you use real-time features (live chat, check-in updates), Socket.IO may set session identifiers to maintain the connection. These are temporary and expire when you close your browser.

3. Third-Party Cookies

We may embed content or use services from third parties that set their own cookies. These include:

Google Fonts — for typography loading (no tracking)
Bootstrap CDN — for UI components (no tracking)
Payment gateways — when processing M-Pesa or bank transfers, the payment provider may set cookies subject to their own privacy policy

We do not have control over third-party cookies. Please review the respective privacy policies of these providers.

4. How Long Cookies Last

Cookie / Storage Key	Type	Duration	Purpose
`abvents_at`	Cookie (HttpOnly)	15 minutes	Authentication JWT
`abvents_refresh`	Cookie (HttpOnly)	30 days	Keeps you signed in without entering your password again
`abvents_user`	localStorage	30 days	Cached user profile
`abvents_client_tab`	localStorage	Persistent	Last active dashboard tab
`abvents_vendor_tab`	localStorage	Persistent	Last active vendor tab
Socket.IO session	Session cookie	Browser session	Real-time connection ID

5. Managing Cookies

You have control over cookies. Here is how to manage them:

5.1 Browser Settings

Most browsers allow you to refuse cookies or delete them. To do this, follow your browser's help documentation:

Please note that disabling essential cookies will prevent you from logging in to ABVENTS.

5.2 Clearing ABVENTS Data

To clear your ABVENTS session, sign out of your account first (the sign-in cookies are HttpOnly, so page JavaScript can neither read nor delete them). Then, to clear the preferences stored in your browser, open the developer console and run:

localStorage.removeItem('abvents_user');
localStorage.removeItem('abvents_client_tab');
localStorage.removeItem('abvents_vendor_tab');

This clears the preferences stored in this browser.

6. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, legislation, or our services. We will notify registered users of material changes via email or an in-app notification. The "Effective Date" at the top of this page shows when the policy was last updated.

7. Contact Us

If you have any questions about how we use cookies or this policy, please contact us:

Email: privacy@abvents.com
Address: Dodoma, Tanzania
Phone: +255 765 031 258