Astro Smart Tech LLC, doing business as FindBids
Effective Date: July 2, 2026
Last Updated: July 2, 2026
1. Introduction
The present Cookie Policy explains how Astro Smart Tech LLC, trading as FindBids ("FindBids," "we," "us," or "our"), uses cookies and comparable technologies when you visit our website at https://findbids.us or use the member application at https://app.findbids.us (collectively, the "Services"). Read together with our Privacy Policy, of which it forms an integral part, the document that follows describes what these technologies are, why we deploy them, the specific cookies involved, and the choices available to you regarding their use.
FindBids serves businesses and government contracting consultants, yet the individuals who browse our pages and operate our platform are natural persons, and the placement of cookies on their devices engages obligations under applicable law. Our practices are calibrated accordingly.
2. What Cookies and Similar Technologies Are
A cookie is a small text file that a website places on your browser or device when you visit, enabling the site to recognize your device, to remember certain information, and to function correctly across pages and sessions. Related technologies, including pixels, web beacons, software development kits, and local storage, perform analogous functions, and references to "cookies" throughout this Policy encompass those comparable mechanisms.
Cookies are commonly distinguished along two axes. By reference to their origin, a first-party cookie is set by the domain you are visiting, whereas a third-party cookie is set by a different domain, typically a service provider whose tools are embedded in our Services. By reference to their persistence, a session cookie expires when you close your browser, whereas a persistent cookie remains for a defined interval or until deleted.
3. Legal Basis for the Use of Cookies
The lawful deployment of cookies rests upon a combination of instruments, and the requirement applicable to a given cookie depends upon its function. Under Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive 2002/58/EC, as amended by Directive 2009/136/EC, prior informed consent must be obtained before any cookie that is not strictly necessary is stored on or read from your device. The standard for valid consent, namely that it be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous, is drawn from the General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
Strictly necessary cookies are exempt from the consent requirement and are placed on the basis of our legitimate interest in delivering a secure and functional service. For all other categories, we obtain consent through our cookie-consent interface before the relevant cookies are set, and you may withdraw that consent at any time. For visitors subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act, our approach to any activity that could constitute "sharing" for cross-context behavioral advertising, together with the recognition of opt-out preference signals, is addressed in Section 7 and in our Privacy Policy.
4. Categories of Cookies We Use
The cookies deployed across the Services fall within the following categories, each serving a distinct function:
- Strictly Necessary Cookies: These cookies are essential to operate the Services, to authenticate your session, to process payments securely, and to protect against fraudulent or malicious activity. Because the Services cannot function properly without them, they are placed without the need for consent, and they cannot be disabled through our consent interface.
- Functional and Preference Cookies: These cookies allow the Services to remember choices you make, such as language or display preferences, in order to provide enhanced and personalized features. Their placement is subject to your consent where required.
- Analytics and Performance Cookies: These cookies collect information about how visitors interact with the Services, including pages viewed, session duration, and navigation paths, so that we may measure and improve performance. They are placed only after consent has been obtained.
- Marketing and Customer-Relationship Cookies: These cookies support our customer-relationship and communication activities, help us understand engagement with our content, and assist in deduplicating contact records. Consent is obtained before they are set.
5. Cookies Currently Deployed
The inventory below identifies the principal cookies used across the Services, together with their provider, purpose, category, and duration. Because the platform and its providers evolve, the specific cookies may change, and our consent interface reflects the current inventory at any given time.
| Provider / Cookie | Category | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
fb_cookie_consent (first-party local storage) | Strictly Necessary | Remembers whether you accepted or opted out of analytics and marketing cookies. | Persistent, until cleared |
Cloudflare (__cf*) | Strictly Necessary | Supports hosting, security, and protection against malicious traffic. | Session to 1 year |
| Supabase (authentication tokens) | Strictly Necessary | Maintains your authenticated session within the member application. | Session |
Stripe (__stripe_*) | Strictly Necessary | Processes payments securely and helps prevent fraudulent transactions. | Session to 1 year |
Google Analytics (_ga, _ga_*) | Analytics and Performance | Measures site traffic and usage patterns. Measurement ID G-C66PVJ2B0P. | Up to 2 years |
| Google advertising / consent signals | Marketing and Customer-Relationship | Supports ad measurement and personalization (ad storage, ad user data, ad personalization). | Session to persistent |
HubSpot (__hs*, hubspotutk) | Marketing and Customer-Relationship | Identifies returning visitors and supports our CRM, forms, and marketing. | Up to 13 months |
6. Third-Party Cookies and Service Providers
Several of the cookies listed above are set by third-party providers whose tools are integrated into the Services, namely Cloudflare for hosting and security, Supabase for authentication, Stripe for payment processing, Google in respect of Google Analytics, and HubSpot for customer-relationship management. Each such provider processes the information collected through its cookies in accordance with its own privacy and cookie notices, over which we exercise no control. We encourage you to consult those notices for a full account of the provider's practices, and the international transfer of any personal data collected through these cookies is addressed within our Privacy Policy.
7. How to Manage Your Cookie Preferences
You retain meaningful control over non-essential cookies, and several mechanisms are available to exercise it.
- Consent Interface: When you first access the Services, and thereafter through the cookie-settings control, you may accept or refuse each category of non-essential cookie, and you may revisit and modify your selections at any time. Withdrawal of consent takes effect prospectively and does not affect processing already carried out.
- Browser Controls: Most browsers permit you to block or delete cookies through their settings, to receive notification when a cookie is set, and to reject third-party cookies specifically. The precise steps vary by browser, and the relevant help resources of your browser provider explain the available options.
- Opt-Out of Analytics: To prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics, you may install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
- Global Privacy Control and Do Not Track: We recognize the Global Privacy Control signal where technically feasible and where required by applicable law, treating it as a valid request to opt out of any qualifying "sharing" of personal information. Because no uniform industry standard governs the interpretation of browser-based "Do Not Track" signals, we respond to them to the extent that a recognized standard emerges.
8. Consequences of Disabling Cookies
Refusing or deleting certain cookies affects the operation of the Services. Should strictly necessary cookies be blocked at the browser level, core functions, including authentication and secure payment, may cease to work, and access to the member application may become impossible. Disabling analytics or marketing cookies does not impair core functionality, though it limits our ability to measure performance and to tailor communications, and it may reduce the quality of certain conveniences that depend upon remembered preferences.
9. Changes to This Cookie Policy
We may revise the present Cookie Policy to reflect changes in the cookies we deploy, in the providers we engage, or in the legal requirements that apply. When a material revision is made, the "Last Updated" date will be amended, and, where the change concerns non-essential cookies, your renewed consent will be sought through the consent interface. Periodic review of this Policy is encouraged so that you remain informed of our current practices.
10. Contact Information
Questions concerning this Cookie Policy, or requests relating to the use of cookies across the Services, may be directed to Astro Smart Tech LLC, doing business as FindBids, at info@findbids.us. Correspondence regarding the broader handling of personal data should be addressed as described in our Privacy Policy.