Cookie Policy

Last Updated: November 2025

At Gold Center, we believe in transparency and your right to privacy. This Cookie Policy is designed to help you understand what cookies are, how we use them, and the choices you have regarding their use. We are committed to protecting your personal information and ensuring you have control over your data.

What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently and provide information to website owners. Cookies help us understand how you use our website and improve your experience.

Understanding Cookie Technology

Cookies are fundamental to modern web browsing. When you visit our website, small text files are stored on your device. These files contain information that can be read by our web server on subsequent visits. Cookies typically include a unique identifier, the domain name from which the cookie came, the cookie's lifespan, and a value (usually a randomly generated unique number). This technology has been in use since the mid-1990s and has become an essential part of how websites function and provide personalized experiences.

Session vs. Persistent Cookies

Cookies can be classified into two main categories based on their lifespan. Session cookies are temporary and are deleted when you close your browser. They help us maintain your session as you navigate through different pages of our website. Persistent cookies, on the other hand, remain on your device for a set period or until you manually delete them. These cookies remember your preferences and settings across multiple visits, providing a more seamless and personalized experience.

First-Party vs. Third-Party Cookies

First-party cookies are set directly by our website (goldcenter.am) and can only be read by our servers. These cookies are essential for the core functionality of our website. Third-party cookies are set by external services that we use on our website, such as Google Analytics. These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our site and improve our services. We carefully select all third-party services to ensure they meet our privacy and security standards.

Why We Use Cookies

We use cookies for several important purposes:

• Essential Functionality: To enable core features like user authentication, secure sessions, and basic site operations
• User Preferences: To remember your language, currency, and theme preferences for a personalized experience
• Analytics: To understand how visitors use our site and improve our services (only with your consent)
• Security: To protect your account and prevent fraudulent activity

How We Use Cookies in Practice

When you first visit Gold Center, our strictly necessary cookies immediately begin working to ensure the website functions properly. If you log into your account, authentication cookies securely maintain your session. As you browse, functional cookies remember your language preference (English, Russian, or Armenian), your chosen currency (USD, AMD, or RUB), and your location preference (Yerevan or Moscow). If you switch to dark mode, this preference is saved so your next visit maintains your chosen theme. Only when you explicitly consent to analytics cookies do we begin collecting usage data to improve our services.

Cookie Data Retention

Different cookies have different retention periods based on their purpose. Session cookies are automatically deleted when you close your browser. Our functional cookies (language, currency, theme preferences) are retained indefinitely until you manually clear them, as they enhance your ongoing experience. Analytics cookies from Google are retained for 2 years to provide meaningful long-term insights into website usage patterns. Your cookie consent preference is stored for 1 year, after which you will be prompted again to make your choice.

Cookie Categories Explained

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are essential for the website to function properly and cannot be disabled. They are usually set in response to actions you take, such as logging in, filling in forms, or setting privacy preferences. You can set your browser to block these cookies, but some parts of the site may not work properly.

Examples: Authentication tokens, session management, CSRF protection

Functional Cookies

These cookies enable enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we use on our pages. If you do not allow these cookies, some or all of these features may not work properly. However, the core functionality of the site will remain available.

Examples: Language selection, currency preference, theme (dark/light mode), location settings

Analytics/Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us understand which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies, we will not know when you visited our site and cannot monitor its performance.

Strictly Necessary: Analytics cookies are now classified as strictly necessary for site operation. These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website, which pages are most popular, and how we can improve our services. This data is essential for maintaining and optimizing the platform.

Third-party provider: Google Analytics

Third-Party Cookies

We use Google Analytics to help us understand how visitors use our website. Google Analytics sets cookies to collect information in an anonymous form, including:

• Number of visitors to the site
• Where visitors have come from
• Pages visited on our website
• Time spent on each page

For more information about how Google uses this data, please visit How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.

How to Manage Your Cookie Preferences

You have several options to manage cookies:

Using Our Cookie Settings

You can manage your cookie preferences at any time by clicking the "Cookie Settings" link in the footer of our website. This will allow you to review and change your consent for analytics cookies.

Manage Cookie Settings

Using Your Browser Settings

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings:

• Google Chrome: Settings → Privacy and Security → Cookies and other site data
• Mozilla Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
• Safari: Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data
• Microsoft Edge: Settings → Privacy, search, and services → Cookies and site permissions

Please note that blocking all cookies may impact your experience on our website and prevent you from using certain features.

Impact of Disabling Cookies

If you choose to disable cookies or reject analytics cookies, you can still use most of our website. However, you may experience:

• Loss of saved preferences (language, currency, theme)
• Need to log in each visit
• Reduced personalization
• We won't be able to improve our services based on usage data

Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed to children under the age of 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children through cookies or any other means. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately, and we will take steps to remove such information from our systems.

International Data Transfers

Some of the cookies we use, particularly those from Google Analytics, may result in the transfer of your data to countries outside of Armenia. These transfers are conducted in accordance with applicable data protection laws and international agreements. Google has implemented appropriate safeguards to protect your data, including standard contractual clauses approved by relevant data protection authorities. We ensure that any international transfers of your data maintain adequate levels of protection.

Google Consent Mode v2

We implement Google Consent Mode v2, which allows us to respect your cookie choices while still providing aggregated, anonymous analytics data to improve our services. When you reject analytics cookies, Google Analytics operates in a privacy-enhanced mode that:

• Does not use cookies for tracking
• Does not store or access identifiable information
• Provides only aggregated, non-personal data
• Respects your privacy preferences automatically

Compliance and Industry Standards

Our cookie practices comply with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), ePrivacy Directive, and other applicable data protection laws. We follow industry best practices for cookie management and data protection. Our implementation of Google Consent Mode v2 ensures that we respect your choices while still being able to measure and improve our website's performance in a privacy-preserving manner. We regularly review and update our cookie practices to ensure ongoing compliance with evolving regulations and standards.

Automated Decision-Making

We do not use cookies or the data collected through cookies for automated decision-making that would have legal or significant effects on you. Any use of cookies is limited to improving website functionality, remembering your preferences, and analyzing general usage patterns to enhance our services for all users.

Security Measures

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect the data collected through cookies. Our cookies are served over secure HTTPS connections. We use industry-standard encryption for sensitive data stored in cookies. Regular security audits ensure that our cookie implementation remains secure. We also limit access to cookie data to authorized personnel only and maintain strict data handling procedures.

Updates to This Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the cookies we use or for legal or regulatory reasons. When we make significant changes, we will notify you by posting a notice on our website or by other means as appropriate.

We encourage you to review this Cookie Policy periodically to stay informed about how we use cookies.

Regular Policy Reviews

We review this Cookie Policy at least annually and whenever there are significant changes to our cookie practices, the cookies we use, or applicable laws and regulations. When we make material changes to this policy, we will notify users through a prominent notice on our website or by other appropriate means. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about our cookie practices.

Your Rights

Under data protection laws, you have the right to:

• Know what cookies we use and why
• Accept or reject non-essential cookies
• Withdraw your consent at any time
• Access information about how we process your data

Related Policies

For more information about how we handle your personal data, please see our Privacy Policy.

For our general terms of service, please see our Terms and Conditions.

Detailed Cookie Reference Table

Below you will find a comprehensive technical reference of all cookies used on our platform. This table provides detailed information about each cookie's name, classification, specific purpose, retention period, and the provider responsible for setting it.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about our use of cookies, please contact us:

• Email: info@goldcenter.am
• Address: VIP 9, Khorenatsi 24, Yerevan, Armenia
• Phone: +374(44) 999-585