Cookies, Web Beacons, and Similar Technologies

Last Update: November 19, 2015

When you visit or interact with our sites, services, applications, tools or messaging, we or our authorised 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.

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 recognise 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.

Web beacons – Small graphic images (also known as “pixel tags” or “clear GIFs”) that may be included on our sites, services, applications, messaging, and tools, that typically work in conjunction with cookies to identify our users and user behaviour.

Similar technologies – Technologies that store information in your browser or device utilising local shared objects or local storage, such as flash cookies, HTML 5 cookies, and other web application software methods. These technologies can operate across all of your browsers, and in some instances may not be fully managed by your browser and may require management directly through your installed applications or device. We do not use these technologies for storing information to target advertising to you on or off our sites.

We may use the terms “cookies” or “similar technologies” interchangeably in our policies to refer to all technologies that we may use to store data in your browser or device or that collect information or help us identify you in the manner described above.

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 authorised 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:

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 behaviour, 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;

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;

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;

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 authorised 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 http://www.aboutcookies.org.

Use of these technologies by authorised third-party service providers

We may work with third-party companies, commonly known as service providers, who are authorised to place third-party cookies, web beacons, or similar technologies for storing information on our sites or in our services, applications, and tools with our permission. These service providers help us to provide you with a better, faster, and safer experience.

These service providers may use these technologies to help us deliver our own content and advertising, and compile anonymous site metrics and analytics. We do not permit any of these service providers to collect any of your personal information on our sites or in our services, applications, or tools for their own purposes. These service providers are subject to confidentiality agreements with us and other legal restrictions on their use or collection of any personal information. Third party cookies are covered by the third-parties’ privacy policy.

With the exception of the use of such technologies by our service providers or other authorised third-parties, we do not permit any third-party content on sites (such as item listings, member-to-member communications, classified listings, comments, reviews, etc.) to include or utilise any cookies, web beacons, local storage, or similar technologies for tracking purposes or to collect your personal information.

Ad networks and exchanges operated by authorised third parties for interest-based advertising

We may use third parties, such as advertising networks and exchanges, to allow us to serve you advertisements. These third-party ad networks and exchange providers may use third-party cookies, web beacons, or similar technologies to collect information about your visit to our site and elsewhere on the Internet. They may also collect your device identifier, IP address, or identifier for advertising (IDFA). The information that these third parties collect may be used to provide you with more relevant advertising on our sites or elsewhere on the web. Third party cookies are covered by the third-parties’ privacy policies.

For more information on third-party advertising-related cookies, interest-based advertising, and how to opt-out of that practice by companies participating in industry self-regulation, please visit the relevant website below based on your country of origin:

Your Online Choices

About Ads

“Do Not Track”