WHAT ARE COOKIES?
Cookies are small text files that websites place on your device as you are browsing. They are processed and stored by your web browser. In and of themselves, cookies are harmless and serve crucial functions for websites. Cookies can also generally be easily viewed and deleted.
However, cookies can store a wealth of data, enough to potentially identify you without your consent. Cookies are the primary tool that advertisers use to track your online activity so that they can target you with highly specific advertisements.
Before analysing about cookies, it is essential to have a basic understanding of the different types of cookies.
TYPES OF COOKIES
In general, there are three different ways to classify cookies: what purpose they serve, how long they endure, and their provenance.
SESSION COOKIES - these cookies are temporary and expire once you close your browser (or once your session ends).
PERSISTENT COOKIES - this category encompasses all cookies that remain on your hard drive until you erase them or your browser does, depending on the cookie's expiration date. All persistent cookies have an expiration date written into their code, but their duration can vary. According to the privacy directive, they should not last longer than 12 months, but in practice, they could remain on your device much longer if you do not take action.
FIRST- PARTY COOKIES - as the name implies, first-party cookies are put on your device directly by the website you are visiting.
THIRD-PARTY COOKIES - these are the cookies that are placed on your device, not by the website you are visiting, but by a third party like an advertiser or an analytic system.
STRICTLY NECESSARY COOKIES - these cookies are essential for you to browse the website and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the site. Cookies that allow web shops to hold your items in your cart while you are shopping online are an example of strictly necessary cookies. These cookies will generally be first-party session cookies. While it is not required to obtain consent for these cookies, what they do and why they are necessary should be explained to the user.
PREFERENCES cookies - also known as "functionality cookies," these cookies allow a website to remember choices you have made in the past, like what language you prefer, what region you would like weather reports for, or what your user name and password are so you can automatically log in.
STATISTICS COOKIES - also known as "performance cookies," these cookies collect information about how you use a website, like which pages you visited and which links you clicked on. None of this information can be used to identify you. It is all aggregated and, therefore, anonymized. Their sole purpose is to improve website functions. This includes cookies from third-party analytics services as long as the cookies are for the exclusive use of the owner of the website visited.
MARKETING COOKIES - these cookies track your online activity to help advertisers deliver more relevant advertising or to limit how many times you see an advertisement. These cookies can share that information with other organizations or advertisers. These are persistent cookies and almost always of third-party provenance.
WHAT KIND OF COOKIES DO WE USE?
We use the following type of cookie:
STATISTICS COOKIES - As mentioned above this is also known as "performance cookies," these cookies collect information about how you use our website, like which pages you visited and which links you clicked on. It is all aggregated and, therefore, anonymized. The sole purpose is to improve our website functions. This includes cookies from third-party analytics services and the anonymized data collected is exclusively used by us alone. They do not collect any information that can identify you personally.
HOW CAN YOU MANAGE YOUR COOKIE SETTINGS?
To ensure you get the best possible experience when visiting our websites, we recommend that you accept cookies. However, you can opt-out by clicking on the "cookie settings" button.
If you want to restrict or block the cookies that are set by our website, you can do so through your browser setting. Alternatively, you can visit www.internetcookies.org, which contains comprehensive information on how to do this on a wide variety of browsers and devices. You will find general information about cookies and details on how to delete cookies from your device.