COOKIE AND TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES POLICY

1. PREAMBLE

This Cookie and Tracking Technologies Policy (this "Policy") is an integral component of the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy governing the relationship between Dealer Essential ("Company," "we," "us," or "our") and the individual or entity ("User" or "you") accessing or utilizing the Marketplace QuickPost browser extension, website, and associated digital infrastructure (collectively, the "Services").

By accessing, installing, or continuing to use the Services, you unequivocally consent to the deployment, storage, and manipulation of cookies, pixels, beacons, local storage objects, and analogous tracking technologies (collectively, "Cookies") on your device, browser, or hard drive, in accordance with the terms delineated herein.

2. DEFINITIONS AND TECHNICAL SCOPE

For the purposes of this Policy, the term "Cookies" is utilized as an umbrella designation encompassing a broad spectrum of digital markers and state-management mechanisms, including but not limited to:

• HTTP Cookies: Small text files containing alphanumeric identifiers deposited by a web server onto the User's hard drive to facilitate stateful connections.
• HTML5 Local Storage: A client-side web storage mechanism allowing for the persistence of data within the User's browser across sessions, utilized extensively by our browser extension architecture.
• Session Tokens: Temporary data structures used to authenticate User identity during a single active period.
• Web Beacons/Pixels: Electronic graphic images (transparent 1x1 GIFs) used to compile aggregated metrics regarding User engagement and system performance.

3. CATEGORIZATION OF COOKIES DEPLOYED

The Company employs a stratified architecture of Cookies to ensure the operational integrity, security, and optimization of the Services. These are categorized as follows:

3.1. Strictly Necessary & Essential Cookies

These Cookies are indispensable for the fundamental operation of the Services. Without these technologies, essential functions—including secure authentication, the processing of payment transactions via Stripe, and the execution of inventory synchronization protocols—cannot be performed.

YOU CANNOT OPT-OUT OF THESE COOKIES WITHOUT RENDERING THE SERVICES INOPERABLE.

3.2. Functional & Preference Cookies

These technologies enable the Services to "remember" choices you have made (e.g., your dealership's default pricing markup, preferred sync intervals, or interface customization settings) to provide a personalized and enhanced User experience. These are stored locally on your device via HTML5 Local Storage.

3.3. Analytical & Performance Cookies

We utilize these Cookies to collect aggregated, pseudonymized, and technical telemetry data regarding how Users interact with the Services (e.g., error rates, latency metrics, and feature utilization frequency). This data is utilized exclusively for the purposes of debugging, refactoring code, and optimizing algorithmic efficiency.

4. THIRD-PARTY TECHNOLOGIES AND EXTENSION ARCHITECTURE

4.1. Browser Extension Environment

Unlike traditional websites, the Marketplace QuickPost browser extension relies heavily on Local Storage rather than server-side Cookies to maintain your configuration. This ensures that sensitive data remains resident on your local machine.

4.2. Third-Party Platforms (Meta/Facebook)

The Services interact with your active session on Meta Platforms, Inc. ("Facebook"). WE DO NOT DEPLOY FACEBOOK COOKIES. However, the Services rely on the presence of valid authentication Cookies placed by Facebook in your browser to facilitate automation. Your management of Facebook's cookies is governed solely by Meta's policies, over which the Company exercises no control.

4.3. Payment Processing (Stripe)

Our third-party payment processor, Stripe, Inc., may deploy its own Cookies and fraud-detection technologies (e.g., m and __stripe_mid) to prevent fraudulent transactions and ensure compliance with Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards.

5. MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF COOKIES

Most modern web browsers (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge) are initially configured to accept Cookies by default. However, you possess the autonomy to modify your browser settings to block, delete, or alert you to the placement of Cookies.

Managing Extension Storage

You may clear the data stored by the Marketplace QuickPost extension by removing the extension from your browser or utilizing the "Clear Browsing Data" function within Chrome settings (specifically selecting "Hosted app data").

Consequences of Refusal

Please be advised that if you elect to disable, block, or delete Cookies (particularly Strictly Necessary Cookies or Local Storage), significant portions of the Services will fail to function, and you may be unable to authenticate your account or synchronize inventory.

6. MODIFICATIONS TO THIS POLICY

The Company reserves the absolute right, at its sole discretion, to amend, modify, update, or replace this Policy at any time to reflect changes in technology, legal requirements, or our operational practices. The "Last Revised" date at the apex of this document indicates the effective date of the current version. Your continued use of the Services following any such modification constitutes your binding acceptance of the revised Policy.

7. CONTACT INFORMATION

Inquiries regarding the technical implementation of specific Cookies or this Policy should be directed to: