On this page
The short version
- We collect what we need to run your account, watchlists and price alerts, and nothing more.
- Our visitor statistics use no cookies and never store your IP address.
- We don’t sell your personal information.
- Payments are handled by Stripe; we never see your full card number.
- You can ask us to export or delete your data at any time: [email protected].
Who we are
AshBid is a price tracker for CigarBid auctions, run by Lone Star Data Ranch (“we”, “us”). We are responsible for the personal information described here. AshBid is an independent project and is not affiliated with CigarBid.com.
What we collect
When you create an account
- Your email address, username and display name.
- Your password, stored only as a one-way hash. Nobody at AshBid can read it.
- When your account was created and when you last signed in.
When you use your account
- The cigars on your watchlist and favorites, your alert prices, and the price alerts we’ve sent you.
- Your email preferences (for example, whether you want price alert emails).
When you browse
We run our own visitor statistics instead of a third-party analytics service. For each page view we record:
- the page address, and the website that linked to it (just the domain, such as google.com);
- the type of device (desktop, phone or tablet) and your country, as reported by our network provider;
- a visitor code: a scrambled (salted hash) value made from your IP address and browser that changes every day. It lets us count unique visitors for a day, can’t be turned back into your IP address, and can’t follow you from one day to the next;
- your account, if you’re signed in.
We also record the words typed into the site search and how many results they found, so we can improve search. We don’t store your IP address or browser details with any of this.
For security
If a sign-in fails, we keep the IP address it came from for up to a day to stop password-guessing. Our web host may keep standard server logs (IP address, time and page requested) for a short period to keep the service secure and working.
We send email you ask for or that your account needs: password resets, price alerts and account or billing notices. We may measure whether our emails are opened or their links clicked (using a small image or a link that passes through AshBid) to tell whether they’re being delivered and are useful. Blocking images in your email app stops open tracking.
How we use it
- To run AshBid: your account, watchlists, favorites, price alerts and, if you subscribe, your Pro access.
- To send the emails described above.
- To understand which pages and features are used, and fix what isn’t working.
- To keep AshBid secure and prevent abuse, fraud and scraping.
- To meet legal, tax and accounting obligations.
We don’t use your information to build an advertising profile of you, and we don’t sell it.
Cookies & local storage
- ashbid_session: set only when you sign in or fill in a form. It keeps you signed in and protects forms against forgery. It is strictly necessary and lasts up to 30 days or until you sign out.
- ab_theme (stored in your browser, not a cookie): remembers whether you chose the light or dark theme. It never leaves your device.
Our visitor statistics use no cookies at all. Stripe’s checkout and billing pages, which are run by Stripe, use their own cookies to prevent fraud.
Advertising cookies. AshBid doesn’t currently use advertising cookies. If we start showing ads from an ad network such as Google AdSense, that network may set its own cookies; we’ll update this page before that happens and explain how to opt out.
Ads & sponsored links
AshBid may show ads and sponsored links in the future, labeled “Sponsored” or “Ad”. Ads we place ourselves don’t use cookies: we only count how many times each one is shown and clicked, as daily totals that aren’t tied to you.
Some links to retailers are affiliate links: if you buy something after clicking one, we may earn a commission. The retailer may use cookies to credit the sale to us.
Who we share it with
We share personal information only with service providers who help us run AshBid, under contracts that limit what they can do with it:
- our web hosting and network providers, who store and deliver the site;
- our email delivery provider, to send the emails described above;
We may also disclose information if the law requires it, to protect people’s safety or our rights, or as part of a sale or merger of AshBid (in which case this policy keeps applying to your information). We never sell your personal information.
How long we keep it
- Account, watchlists and alerts: while your account is open. After you delete your account we remove them within 30 days, and from backups as they rotate out.
- Visitor statistics and search logs: automatically deleted after about 13 months (400 days).
- Failed sign-in records: deleted after one day.
- Records of sent emails: deleted after 30 days.
- Ad counts: daily totals with no personal information, kept for reporting.
Your choices & rights
- See and correct your details on your account page.
- Stop price alert emails with the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any alert, or on your account page. Emails your account needs (such as password resets and billing notices) can’t be switched off while you have an account.
- Get a copy of your data, or delete your account and its data: email [email protected] from the address on your account. We’ll confirm it’s you and reply within 30 days.
- Cancel AshBid Pro at any time from your account page; see the Terms for how billing works.
California, EU & UK residents
California. Under the CCPA/CPRA you have the right to know what personal information we collect and how we use it (this page), to get a copy, to correct it, to delete it, and to opt out of its “sale” or “sharing”. We don’t sell personal information or share it for cross-context advertising. We won’t treat you differently for using these rights. You can make a request by email, or through an authorized agent.
EU, EEA and UK. We use your information to provide the service you signed up for (contract), to keep AshBid secure and improve it in ways you’d expect (legitimate interests), to meet legal obligations, and with your consent where the law requires it. You can access, correct, export or delete your data, object to or restrict how we use it, and withdraw consent at any time. AshBid is run from the United States, so your information is stored and processed there. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.
Age limit
AshBid is about tobacco products and is only for adults aged 21 and over. We don’t knowingly collect information from anyone under 21, and never from children under 13. If you believe someone underage has created an account, tell us and we’ll delete it.
Security
The site is served over HTTPS, passwords are stored as one-way hashes, payment details stay with Stripe, and access to our systems is limited to the people who run AshBid. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach ever affects your information, we’ll tell you as the law requires.
Changes to this policy
When we change this policy we update the date at the top. If a change materially affects how we use your information, we’ll tell you by email or with a notice on the site before it takes effect.
Contact us
Questions or requests about your privacy: [email protected]. AshBid is operated by Lone Star Data Ranch.