Last Updated: September 19, 2020
What is a cookie?
A cookie is a small file placed onto your device that enables a variety of features and functionality. Cookies also enable you to easily share content and help us serve relevant ads to you. Cookies can do this because websites can read and write them, enabling websites to recognize you and remember important information that will make your use of a website more convenient (for example, by remembering preference settings).
When do we place cookies?
We place cookies when you visit our website. Any web browser visiting these sites will receive cookies from us.
What types of cookies do we use?
We use a variety of cookie types:
- Preference Cookies.Preference cookies collect information about your choices and preferences, and allow us to remember language or other local settings and customize the websites accordingly.
- Strictly Necessary Cookies.Strictly necessary cookies are necessary for the website to work and to enable you to move around it and to use its features. Without these absolutely necessary cookies, websites will not perform as smoothly for you as we would like it to and we may not be able to provide the Site or certain services or features you request.
- Social Plug-in Tracking Cookies.Such cookies are used to track members [and non-members] of social media networks for market research analytics, and product development.
- Analytics Cookies.Analytics cookies collect information about your use of the websites, and enable us to improve the way they work. For example, analytics cookies show us which are the most frequently visited pages on a website, help us record any difficulties you have with a website, and show us whether our advertising is effective or not. This allows us to see the overall patterns of usage, rather than the usage of a single person.
- Advertising Cookies.Advertising cookies are used for marketing purposes. This is discussed below in greater detail.
All of the cookies above are either persistent cookies or session cookies. A persistent cookie helps us recognize you as an existing user, so it’s easier to return to the website or interact with our services repeatedly. A persistent cookie stays in your browser and will be read by the website when you return to one of our websites or a partner site that uses our services. Session cookies only last for as long as the session (usually the current visit to a website or a browser session).
What is Do Not Track (“DNT”)?
DNT is a concept that has been promoted by regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), for the Internet industry to develop and implement a mechanism for allowing Internet users to control the tracking of their online activities across websites by using browser settings. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has been working with industry groups, Internet browsers, technology companies, and regulators to develop a DNT technology standard. No standard has been adopted to date. As such, we do not generally respond to “do not track” signals.
How are cookies used for advertising purposes?
Cookies and other ad technology such as beacons, pixels, and tags help us serve relevant ads to you more effectively. They also help us provide aggregated auditing, research, and reporting for advertisers, understand and improve our service, and know when content has been shown to you. We use third party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may employ cookies and clear GIFs to measure advertising effectiveness. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these third party advertising companies if you have any concerns.
Unless you clear these cookies from your browser, we may use this information to:
- provide more relevant, interest-based advertising
- provide aggregate reports of ads activity to advertisers and websites hosting the ads
- help website and app owners understand how visitors engage with their sites or apps
- detect and defend against fraud and other risks to protect users and partners
- improve our products
Most browsers allow you to control and erase cookies through their settings preferences. However, if you limit the ability of websites to set cookies, you may worsen your overall user experience, since it will no longer be personalized to you. Additionally, some features may work improperly or not at all. It may also stop you from saving customized settings. If you want to another way to clean out all cookies left behind by the websites you have visited, here are links where you can download programs that clean out cookies:
We are not affiliated with any of the products provided above.
If you do not want to receive cookies, you can also change your browser settings on your computer or other device you’re using to access our services. If you use our sites without changing your browser settings, we’ll assume that you’re happy to receive all cookies.
Other helpful resources
To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit wikipedia.org, www.allaboutcookies.org, or www.aboutcookies.org.
- European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (EU)
- Internet Advertising Bureau (US)
- Internet Advertising Bureau (EU)
Browser manufacturers provide help pages relating to cookie management in their products. Please see below for more information.
For other browsers, please consult the documentation that your browser manufacturer provides.
We are not affiliated with any of the resources provided above.
You may contact us at:
2301 W Anderson Ln,
Austin, Texas 78757