When you visit or interact with our sites we or our authorized service providers may use cookies, web beacons, and other similar technologies for storing information to help provide you with a better, faster, and safer experience and for advertising purposes.

This page is designed to help you understand more about these technologies and our use of them on our sites and in our services, applications, and tools. Below is a summary of a few key things you should know about our use of such technologies. You can review the contents of our full User Cookie Notice below.

Our cookies and similar technologies have different functions. They are either necessary for the functioning of our services, help us improve our performance, give you extra functionalities, or help us to serve you relevant and targeted ads. We use cookies and similar technologies that only remain on your device for as long as you keep your browser active (session) and cookies and similar technologies that remain on your device for a longer period (persistent).You are free to block, delete, or disable these cookies if your device permits so. You can manage your cookies and your cookie preferences in your browser or device settings.

Where possible, security measures are set in place to prevent unauthorized access to our cookies and similar technologies. A unique identifier ensures that only we and/or our authorized service providers have access to cookie data.

Service providers are companies that help us with various aspects of our business, such as site operations, services, applications, advertisements and tools. We use some authorized service providers to help us to serve you relevant ads on our services and other places on the internet. These service providers may also place cookies on your device via our services (third party cookies). They may also collect information that helps them identify your device, such as IP-address or other unique or device identifiers.

 

WHAT ARE COOKIES, WEB BEACONS, AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES?

Like most sites, we use technologies that are essentially small data files placed on your computer, tablet, mobile phone, or other devices (referred to collectively as a “device”) that allow us to record certain pieces of information whenever you visit or interact with our sites, services, applications, messaging, and tools.

The specific names and types of the cookies, web beacons, and other similar technologies we use may change from time to time. In order to help you better understand this Policy and our use of such technologies we have provided the following limited terminology and definitions:

Cookies – Small text files (typically made up of letters and numbers) placed in the memory of your browser or device when you visit a website or view a message. Cookies allow a website to recognize a particular device or browser. There are several types of cookies:

  • Session cookies expire at the end of your browser session and allow us to link your actions during that particular browser session.
  • Persistent cookies are stored on your device in between browser sessions, allowing us to remember your preferences or actions across multiple sites.
  • First-party cookies are set by the site you are visiting.
  • Third-party cookies are set by a third party site separate from the site you are visiting.

Cookies can be disabled or removed by tools that are available in most commercial browsers. The preferences for each browser you use will need to be set separately and different browsers offer different functionality and options.

 

YOUR CHOICE AND OUR USE OF COOKIES, WEB BEACONS, AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES?

We offer certain site features, services, applications, and tools that are available only through the use of these technologies. You are always free to block, delete, or disable these technologies if your browser, installed application, or device so permits. However, if you decline cookies or other similar technologies, you may not be able to take advantage of certain site features, services, applications, or tools. You may also be required to re-enter your password more frequently during your browsing session. For more information on how you can block, delete, or disable these technologies, please review your browser or device settings.

Generally, these technologies allow our sites, services, applications, and tools to store relevant information in your browser or device and later read that information in order to identify you to our servers or internal systems. Where applicable, we protect our cookies and other similar technologies to help ensure that only we and/or our authorized service providers can interpret them by assigning them a unique identifier that is designed for interpretation only by us. We do not store any of your personal information on any of our cookies or other similar technologies.

Any personal information that we collect and store through use of these technologies is first obtained through notice and consent: We obtain your consent by providing you with transparent notice of use of the technologies and providing you with the opportunity to make a choice to disable these technologies as set forth above.

Our uses of such technologies fall into the following general categories:

  1. Operationally Necessary. We may use cookies, web beacons, or other similar technologies that are necessary to the operation of our sites, services, applications, and tools. This includes technologies that allow you access to our sites, services, applications, and tools; that are required to identify irregular site behavior, prevent fraudulent activity and improve security; or that allow you to make use of our functions such as shopping-carts, saved search, or similar functions;
  2. Performance Related. We may use cookies, web beacons, or other similar technologies to assess the performance of our websites, applications, services, and tools, including as part of our analytic practices to help us understand how our visitors use our websites, determine if you have interacted with our messaging, determine whether you have viewed an item or link, or to improve our website content, applications, services, or tools;
  3. Functionality Related. We may use cookies, web beacons, or other similar technologies that allow us to offer you enhanced functionality when accessing or using our sites, services, applications, or tools. This may include identifying you when you sign into our sites or keeping track of your specified preferences, interests, or past items viewed so that we may enhance the presentation of content on our sites;
  4. Advertising or Targeting Related.  We may use first-party or third-party cookies and web beacons to deliver content, including ads relevant to your interests, on our sites or on third party sites.  This includes using technologies to understand the usefulness to you of the advertisements and content that have been delivered to you, such as whether you have clicked on an advertisement.

To opt-out of the use of third-party advertising-related cookies and web beacons, see the section ‘Ad Networks and Exchanges operated by authorized third parties’ below. Opting out of third-party advertising-related cookies and web beacons as described below does not necessarily mean that you will not see our advertising on third party websites – only that this advertising will not be targeted to you through the use of third-party cookies, web beacons or related technologies.

If you would like to opt-out of all other types of technologies we employ on our sites, services, applications, or tools, you may do so by blocking, deleting, or disabling them as your browser or device permits.

For further information on deleting, disabling or blocking cookies, please visit AboutCookies.org.

 

For browser-specific information on how to adjust cookie configurations on the following browsers, please click on the relevant link below:

– Internet Explorer:

– Internet Explorer 5

– Internet Explorer 6

– Internet Explorer 7

– Internet Explorer 8

– Internet Explorer 9

– Firefox

– Chrome

– Safari

– OSX/Mac OS

– iOS