Cookie policy.

This Cookie Policy was last updated on August 18, 2026 and applies to visitors to heatawards.eu, including citizens and residents of the European Economic Area, the UK, and Switzerland.

1. Who we are

This website, heatawards.eu (the “Site”), is operated by:

2. What are cookies?

A cookie is a small file placed on your device by your browser when you visit a website. Cookies let a site recognise your device on return visits, remember choices you’ve made, and — depending on the type — help site owners understand how the site is used.

We also use similar technologies such as local storage; this policy refers to all of these collectively as “cookies.”

3. Categories of cookies we use

3.1 Strictly necessary / functional cookies

These are required for core site functionality and can’t be switched off:

• Session/authentication cookies for the magic-link login system, used by entrants, judges, and admins to stay logged in.
• Local storage used during judging to hold scores before bulk submission, so a dropped connection doesn’t lose a judge’s work.
• A cookie preference cookie, once you make a choice in the banner below, so we don’t ask again on every visit.

3.2 Analytics / statistics cookies

With your consent, we use Google Analytics (GA4) to understand how visitors use the Site — pages viewed, general location (country-level), and interactions like sponsor link clicks. Google may process this data on servers outside the EEA. You can learn more at Google’s Privacy Policy or opt out using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. These cookies are only set if you accept them in the cookie banner — see Section 5.

3.3 Payment processing

If you submit a competition entry or pay a sponsorship/judge participation fee through the Site, our payment processor Stripe sets cookies to process your payment securely and prevent fraud. Their privacy policy: stripe.com/privacy.

3.4 Social media

The Site links out to our Instagram profile. Clicking that link takes you to instagram.com, which may set its own cookies under Meta’s policies — we don’t control that, and no Instagram content is embedded directly on this Site.

3.5 Email / newsletter

Newsletter sign-ups and transactional emails (entry confirmations, judging updates) are sent directly by us and do not include third-party tracking pixels.

4. Cookies we do NOT use

We do not use third-party advertising or retargeting cookies. We do not use PayPal, Mailchimp, WordPress/WooCommerce, Jetpack, or Wistia.

5. Managing your cookie preferences

When you first visit the Site, you’ll be shown a cookie banner where you can accept or decline analytics cookies. You can change your choice at any time using the Cookie preferences link in the footer of any page.

You can also control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Note that blocking essential cookies may prevent parts of the Site — such as logging in to submit an entry or judge application — from working correctly.

6. Your rights

If you are located in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, you have rights under GDPR (or equivalent) regarding your personal data, including the right to access, correct, or delete data we hold about you, and the right to withdraw consent for non-essential cookies at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.

For general questions about this policy, contact heataward@gmail.com. To exercise your data protection rights specifically, contact contact@republicofheat.com.

If you believe we are processing your data unlawfully, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. For Germany, this is the Berliner Beauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit (or the relevant authority for your state), or the EU’s directory of supervisory authorities: ec.europa.eu.

7. Changes to this policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time, for example if we change the tools or third-party services the Site uses. The “last updated” date at the top will reflect the most recent revision. We encourage you to check back periodically.

8. Contact us