Legal & Policies
Cookie Policy
How Owambe Connect uses cookies, what each one does, and how you can change your choices at any time.
This Cookie Policy explains how Owambe Connect Ltd (company number 17079118), whose registered office is at 3rd Floor, 86-90 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NE (Owambe Connect, we, our or us), uses cookies and similar technologies on the Owambe Connect website at https://owambeconnect.com/ and the related platform and features (together, the Platform).
This policy applies to everyone who uses the Platform, including Vendors, Clients, Event Hosts, Guests and other visitors. Please read it together with our Privacy Policy, which explains how we use personal data more generally and your rights.
1. What are cookies and similar technologies?
A cookie is a small text file that a website places on your computer, phone or other device when you visit it. Cookies let a website recognise your device, remember your choices and understand how the website is used.
We also use, or may use, similar technologies that work in a similar way, such as:
- local storage and session storage, which store information in your browser (for example, to remember your settings);
- pixels or tags, which are small pieces of code that tell a provider that a page has been viewed or an email has been opened; and
- tracking links and identifiers, which record that you clicked a link on the Platform (for example, an affiliate link).
In this policy, we use cookies to cover all of these technologies.
First-party cookies are set by us on the Platform. Third-party cookies are set by another organisation, such as an analytics provider, payment provider, social media platform or affiliate network, whose content or tools appear on the Platform.
Session cookies are deleted when you close your browser. Persistent cookies stay on your device for a set period, or until you delete them.
2. When we ask for your consent
Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR), we must ask for your consent before we place cookies on your device, unless they are strictly necessary to provide a service you have asked for (for example, keeping you logged in or remembering your cookie choices).
When you first visit the Platform, our cookie banner will ask you to choose which categories of non-essential cookies you agree to. We will not place non-essential cookies on your device unless you agree. You can accept all, reject all or choose which categories to allow. Rejecting non-essential cookies is as easy as accepting them, and the Platform will still work if you do so, although some features may be limited (see section 3).
We keep a record of your choices so that we do not need to ask you every time you visit. We will ask you again if we make significant changes to the cookies we use, and in any event at least every 12 months.
3. The types of cookies we use
We use, or may use, the following categories of cookies. The specific cookies in each category are listed in the Cookie Schedule in section 10.
Strictly necessary cookies (always active). These are needed for the Platform to work and to keep it secure. They let you log in to your Account, move between pages, create and manage Event Features, complete a purchase, and they remember your cookie choices. They also help prevent fraud and protect the Platform. We do not need your consent for these cookies, and you cannot switch them off through our cookie banner. You can block them in your browser, but parts of the Platform will then not work.
Functional cookies (consent required). These remember choices you make to give you a more personalised experience, such as your location or search filters, recently viewed or saved Vendors (where you are not logged in) and display preferences. If you do not allow them, these features may not remember your choices.
Analytics cookies (consent required). These help us understand how visitors use the Platform, for example which pages are visited most, how people find Vendors and where errors occur. We use this information to improve the Platform. Where possible, the information is aggregated so that it does not identify you.
Advertising and social media cookies (consent required). These may be set by us or by advertising and social media partners to measure the effectiveness of our own advertising campaigns (for example, whether someone who saw our advert on social media later signed up) and to show you relevant Owambe Connect adverts on other websites. If you do not allow them, you will still see adverts, but they will be less relevant.
Affiliate tracking cookies (consent required). These record that you clicked an affiliate link on the Platform, so we can earn a commission. See section 5.
4. Payments and identity verification through Stripe
We use Stripe to process payments (for example, for Vendor subscriptions, advertising and Owambe Memories) and to provide optional identity verification for Vendors through Stripe Identity. When you use these features, Stripe may set cookies or use similar technologies to process your payment or verification securely and to detect and prevent fraud.
We treat Stripe cookies that are needed to process a payment or verification you have asked for, and to prevent fraud in that transaction, as strictly necessary. Stripe uses information collected through its cookies in line with its own Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
5. Affiliate links and travel referrals
Some links on the Platform are affiliate links, including some gift retailer links and honeymoon and travel links to providers such as Expedia and loveholidays. When you click an affiliate link, we, the affiliate network or the partner may use a cookie or a tracking identifier in the link to record that you came from Owambe Connect. If you then make a purchase, the partner can confirm this so that we receive a commission. This does not increase the price you pay.
Where a cookie is placed on your device while you are on the Platform for affiliate tracking, we will only do so if you have agreed to affiliate tracking cookies. Once you leave the Platform, the partner's own website will usually ask for your consent to its cookies and will use any information under its own cookie and privacy policies. We generally receive only limited information from partners, such as the fact that a click led to a sale and the commission due, and not your name or what you bought.
6. Embedded content and social media
The Platform may display content from third parties, such as videos (for example, from YouTube or Vimeo), social media posts or feeds (for example, from Instagram or TikTok, including on Vendor profiles) and share or follow buttons. These third parties may set cookies when their content loads, and may use them to track your activity across websites.
Where possible, we will not load embedded content that sets non-essential cookies until you have agreed to the relevant category, or until you click to view that content. These third parties use cookies under their own policies, which we do not control. Links to the main providers' policies are included in the Cookie Schedule.
7. Emails
Our marketing emails, and some service emails, may contain pixels or tracked links that tell us whether an email was opened and which links were clicked. We use this to understand how effective our emails are and to improve them. You can stop this by setting your email program to block images, and you can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time using the link in each email.
8. How long cookies last
Session cookies are deleted when you close your browser. Persistent cookies stay on your device for the period shown in the Cookie Schedule, unless you delete them sooner. We set the duration of our own cookies to no longer than we reasonably need for their purpose. Third-party providers set the duration of their own cookies.
9. How to manage or withdraw your consent
You can change your cookie choices or withdraw your consent at any time by clicking Cookie Settings in the footer of every page and updating your preferences. Withdrawing your consent does not affect any use of cookies before you withdrew it. When you withdraw consent, we will stop placing the relevant cookies, but cookies already on your device may remain until they expire or you delete them.
You can also control cookies through your browser settings, which let you see, delete and block cookies. Each browser is different, so check the help section of your browser (for example, Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Edge). If you block all cookies, including strictly necessary cookies, parts of the Platform (such as logging in and checkout) will not work.
You can also opt out of some third-party tracking, for example by using the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, or by changing your advertising preferences in your social media account settings.
For more information about cookies and how to manage them, visit the Information Commissioner's Office website at ico.org.uk or www.allaboutcookies.org.
10. Cookie Schedule
The table below lists the cookies and similar technologies used on the Platform. The provider, name, purpose and duration of each cookie are shown.
| Provider | Cookie name | Category | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owambe Connect (first party) | wordpress_logged_in_*, wordpress_sec_*, wp-settings-* | Strictly necessary | Keeps you logged in to your Account and keeps your session secure. | Session, or up to 14 days if you choose to stay signed in |
| Owambe Connect (first party) | oc_goauth_state, g_csrf_token | Strictly necessary | Protects the Google sign-in and our forms against fraud and attacks. | Session |
| Owambe Connect (first party) | oc_terms_accepted | Strictly necessary | Records that you accepted the Terms when you signed up. | Session (sign-up only) |
| Owambe Connect (first party) | An event access cookie (one per event) | Strictly necessary | Remembers that you entered an event's PIN, so the event address can be shown. | Until the event PIN changes |
| Owambe Connect (first party) | oc_cookie_consent | Strictly necessary | Remembers your cookie choices so we do not ask you on every visit. | 12 months |
| Hostinger (LiteSpeed page cache) | _lscache_vary | Strictly necessary | Makes sure you are shown the correct version of a page. | Session |
| Stripe | __stripe_mid, __stripe_sid | Strictly necessary (on payment and verification pages) | Processes payments and identity verification securely and helps prevent fraud. | 1 year and 30 minutes |
| Owambe Connect (first party) | Browser storage on the Owambe Memories pages | Functional | Remembers your display preferences in the photo gallery. | Until you clear your browser storage |
| Google Analytics | _ga, _ga_<ID> | Analytics | Shows us how visitors use the Platform, so we can improve it. | Up to 2 years |
| Advertising partners (for example Google Ads or Meta), through Google Tag Manager | Set by each partner, for example _gcl_au or _fbp | Advertising and social media | Measures the effectiveness of our adverts and helps show relevant Owambe Connect adverts. Only loaded if you allow advertising cookies. | Up to 3 months (set by each partner) |
| Awin and travel partners | Tracking identifiers in affiliate links | Affiliate tracking | Records that you clicked an affiliate link on the Platform so we can earn a commission. | Set by each partner |
| YouTube (privacy-enhanced mode) | Set by YouTube when a video is played | Advertising and social media (embedded content) | Plays videos and music on event pages, and may track viewing. | Set by YouTube |
| Mailgun (our email provider) | Pixel or tracked links in emails | Analytics (email) | Tells us whether emails are opened and which links are clicked. | Not stored on your device |
Google Tag Manager itself sets no cookie; it loads the analytics and advertising tags above, and only after you have allowed the matching category. Google Maps is not loaded in your browser, so it sets no cookies on your device.
Third-party providers' policies: Stripe (cookies, privacy); Google, including Google Analytics, Tag Manager and YouTube (cookies, privacy); Meta (cookies, privacy); Awin (privacy).
11. Changes to this policy and contact us
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time, for example when we change the cookies we use. We will publish the updated policy on the Platform with the date it was last updated and, where the changes are significant, we will ask for your consent again where required.
If you have any questions about this policy or our use of cookies, please contact us at info@owambeconnect.com or by post to Owambe Connect Ltd, 3rd Floor, 86-90 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NE. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk), as explained in our Privacy Policy.