In compliance with the European Union legislation regarding the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR (EU) 2016/679), we inform you that when you visit our website, information may be collected through the use of cookies and similar technologies in order to learn more about how people use our website. You can find out more about these technologies and how to control them in the information below. The following Cookie Policy explains what type of data is collected, why and how.
What are cookies, how are they used and what for?
Cookies are small pieces of data that are stored by your web browser while you’re browsing any website, including this one. Often, cookies are created not just by the website the user is browsing, but also by other websites that run ads, widgets, or other elements on the page being loaded. There are several type of cookies depending on their functionality:
First-party cookies (session and persistent cookies) are cookies set by a website visited by the user. Session cookies may also be referred to as functional/strictly necessary cookies as they are essential to make any website work correctly – they remember your preferences and customize content based on your previous actions. Session cookies are temporary and expire when you close your browser. Persistent cookies are stored on your equipment between browsing sessions until expiry or deletion. They enable the website to recognize you on your return, remembering your preferences from the previous browsing session. The fixed period of time is typically 30-90 days. First-party cookies cannot be used to identify you personally.
Third-party cookies are cookies that are set by a domain other than the one being visited by the user. If a user visits a website and a separate company sets a cookie through that website this would be a third-party cookie. To enrich our website content, sometimes we may embed video content from other websites such as YouTube. As a result, when you visit a page with content embedded, you may be presented with cookies from these websites. Social Media Cookies are a good example for third-party cookies on our website. They are used only when you share information using a Facebook, Twitter or Google+ sharing button or “like” button on our website. The social network will record that you have done this. We recommend that you read the privacy policies of any third parties before using their websites, products or services. Our website does not control the use of these third party cookies and cannot access them due to the way that cookies work, as cookies can only be accessed by the party who originally set them.
Google cookies are third-party ones. On our website they are stored via two Google services. The first one is Google Analytics, which uses its own cookies for analytical performance and measurement. They are used to collect information about how you use our site. We use the information for analytic purposes and it helps us improve our services to you and our site content. It counts the number of visitors and tells us things about their behavior overall. Information collected via this service is aggregated anonymously and contains no personal data. It cannot identify you personally and is only used for statistical purposes. You can find out more information about Google Analytics cookies here: Google Analytics Cookie Usage on Websites. You can find out more about how Google protects your data here: Safeguarding your data.
We may also publish Google Adsense interest-based advertisement links on our website. This means that Google will store targeting a.k.a. behavioural advertising cookies on your device. When you click on a Google Adsense link Google will track your behaviour across the web using cookies and may use this information to tailor future advertising to reflect your interests. More information about how Google Analytics collects and processes data can be found at the following page: How Google uses data when you use our partners’ sites or apps. We and our trusted partners may use targeting cookies to manage eCommerce activities via affiliate links and associated revenue share arrangements. If you would like more information about online behavioural advertising, please visit: youronlinechoices.com.
How to disable/opt-out of cookies?
Most browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings preferences. If you do not wish to allow your browser to store cookies from our website, you should change your browser’s settings so that it does not allow cookies. Cookies, which have already been set, can be deleted from your device. Some internet browsers have a “Do Not Track (DNT)” setting that sends a signal to websites asking them not to track your browsing. However, if you do so, you might be unable to use some important features and access certain parts of our website. We are not responsible for the effectiveness of any such opt-out options. Please note that rejecting cookies does not mean that you will no longer see ads when you visit our site. In case you want to accept cookies from the primary site, but block them from third parties you can either block them from specific advertisers or block all. This may reduce the functionality of the site. To learn more about how to do this go to allaboutcookies.org or go to the help menu of your internet browser. If you experience any problems having deleted cookies, you should contact the supplier of your web browser.
You can prevent the use of Google Analytics relating to your use of our website by downloading and installing the browser plugin available via this link: Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. Regarding the Google AdSense service, you can view, delete or add interest categories associated with your browser using Google’s Ads Preference Manager, available here at www.google.com/ads/preferences/. You can also opt-out of the Adsense partner network cookie at www.google.com/privacy_ads.html. Please note this opt-out mechanism itself uses a cookie so, if you clear the cookies from your browser, your opt-out will not be preserved and you will have to reset your Google opt-out cookie. To ensure your opt-out is preserved you can use the Google browser plug-in available at www.google.com/ads/preferences/plugin.
If you would like more information about online behavioural advertising, including how to opt-out of these cookies in general, please visit: youronlinechoices.com. If you choose to remove targeted or advertising cookies, you will still see adverts but they may not be relevant to you. You may also receive cookies and tailored adverts from companies that are not listed in the above-mentioned site. We cannot control nor do we have access to any cookies placed on your device by these third-party advertisers and sponsors. We do not accept any liability for the instructions given on these sites.
What we don’t collect
Our website does not require the creation of personal accounts in order to use all services. Hence, we do not collect personal data related to the creation of accounts and user profiles. We do not record personal information regarding submissions, feedback and personal messaging from our website visitors. None of the cookies set on your device is capable of identifying you personally. Cookies are used to improve your experience, promote safety and security, by monitoring suspicious activity or violations of our terms and policies. Such processing is based on our legitimate interest in helping ensure the safety of our services.
Consent
If you do not opt out, you expressly consent to the use of cookies and similar technologies as described above. You can revoke your consent at any time by following the opt-out procedures described above.