Cookie Policy
Last Updated: Date of posting, 2024
What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files sent from a website you are browsing to your computer. Your computer stores the cookies inside your web browser. Cookies have many different jobs. For example, they allow us and our service providers to identify returning visitors and tell us things such as how many people visited our websites, the pages that were accessed, and whether there were any technical problems in loading pages. We also use cookie information for security purposes and to display information more effectively. By collecting this information, we learn what parts of our websites are the most interesting or valuable to our visitors, and can monitor overall interest in, and functioning of, our websites. Cookies also help to ensure that advertisements you see online are more relevant to you and your interests, and we may use cookies to track responses and views of our advertisements.
There are other technologies that are similar to cookies, such as web beacons, which are also known as internet tags, pixels and clear GIFs. These technologies function like cookies, and we refer to cookies and these similar technologies collectively as cookies for purposes of this Notice.
You can find more information about cookies at: www.allaboutcookies.org/verify. Some cookies can collect personal information, including information you disclose like your username, or other identifiers that are collected together with your browsing history and activity, to deliver more relevant advertising content. The cookies we use may differ amongst our websites. For further details about the cookies we use and allow, and to manage your cookie choices on a particular website, please visit the Your Privacy Choices link in the footer of that website.
Cookie choices you make on a specific website will apply only to that website domain, and only on the browser and device which you are using. They do not apply to other website domains, including our affiliates and partners, or the same website domain if viewed through a different browser or device.
Do we use cookies on our websites?
Yes. Like virtually all websites, our websites use cookies. Some of the cookies we use are temporary, and are discarded as soon as you end your session or close your web browser. Other cookies, called persistent cookies, remain on your computer’s hard drive for longer periods of time, after which they expire, or until you delete them.
Further, some of the cookies on our websites are first-party cookies, meaning that we create and place them on your computer when you visit our websites. Other cookies, known as third-party cookies, are placed on your computer when you visit our websites, but are stored by other service providers or third party domains. We do not control the placing or use of information collected by such third-party cookies, and we are not responsible for third parties’ use of cookies. These companies have their own privacy policies and data collection practices. Please refer to each company’s privacy policy to better understand the controls available to you. The purpose of the third-party cookies of which we are aware is to provide audience-measurement, limit repeat advertisements showed to you, social-sharing functions and to customize content or advertising.
What are the types of cookies that websites use?
There are four general categories of cookies that are used on websites:
Strictly Necessary (also known as required or essential) Cookies: These cookies are always active and enable essential website operations and ensure certain features function properly, such as setting your privacy choices, logging-in to your account or filling-out forms. We call these “strictly necessary cookies.” You may be able to block these cookies through your browser settings, but some parts of the website may not function properly and without them, services that you have asked for cannot be provided to you.
Performance Cookies: These cookies allow us and our service providers to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our website. These cookies help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and help us understand how visitors move around our website. We call these “performance cookies.” If you do not allow these cookies, we will not know when you have visited our website, and we will not be able to monitor its performance.
Tools that perform website analytics use performance cookies to generate reports about a website’s traffic and the sources of that traffic. They can also be used to recognize you across platforms and devices. These tools tell website owners how many visitors came to their website, and whether those visitors came to the website after clicking on a link in a search engine or via another referral source. In this way, the website is able to evaluate website traffic as well as the ways to increase website traffic. Like virtually all websites, we use performance cookies.
Functional Cookies: These cookies enable our websites to provide enhanced functionality and personalization by remembering your preferences and settings. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeted Advertising Cookies: These cookies may be set through our websites by our advertising partners to build a profile of your interests and to provide personalized offers on other websites. We also set first-party targeting cookies to help us promote our products and services to you on other websites and platforms. They do not directly store your name or email address, but store unique identifiers that identify to us and our partners a particular visitor’s browser and/or device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising but may still see our advertisements on other platforms at random.
The cookies we use may differ amongst our websites. For further details about the cookies we use and allow, and to manage your cookie choices on a particular website, please visit the Your Privacy Choices link in the footer of that website.
Cookie choices you make on a specific website will apply only to that website domain, and only on the browser and device which you are using. They do not apply to other website domains, including our affiliates and partners, or the same website domain if viewed through a different browser or device.
Am I required to accept cookies to use this website?
No. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but most browsers also allow you to disable or manage the use of cookies to adjust the types of cookies you want to accept. Please note that if you choose to disable all cookies, some portion of our websites, as well as most other websites, may not work properly.
How do I block or manage cookies?
There are several ways you may be able to block or manage cookies. Certain of our websites offer cookie tools that provide information and allow you to manage your preferences. For some websites, you may have a pop-up that will ask you about your preferences and allow you to opt out of certain uses of cookies. You also can visit the Your Privacy Choices link to manage your cookie preferences on our websites where available. Methods for managing cookie preferences when visiting third party websites (including some that look like our website but are operated by third parties on our behalf) may vary, and you should review their policies and terms of use.
In addition to managing your cookie preferences for our websites by visiting the Your Privacy Choices link, you may be able to manage them through your browser. Please note that if you manage cookie preferences through your browser, you must do so for each browser or device you use, and if you change browsers or devices you must manage preferences again on the new browser or device.
If you disable cookies through your browser, you can still browse our websites but may not be able to use many of their features. Several popular browsers offer guidance on how to manage cookies:
To find information relating to other browsers, visit the browser developer’s website. You can also visit http://www.aboutcookies.org. Please note that our websites are set up to respond to Do not Track (DNT) signals and Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals and also respond to browser cookie settings. You may opt-out from receiving personalized advertising from some third parties by visiting the US based www.AboutAds.info/choices or the EU based Your Online Choices. Please note that these choices will not opt you out of receiving advertisements. You will continue to receive generic advertisements. Like many websites, we use analytics.