When you use our website, you give us consent to use cookies that will help us get certain information about you. None of these will identify you as a person, but it will help us improve our site and in effect, your user experience.
Our website use “cookies” for various reasons. In accordance with the law, this page will be explaining our cookie policy so you will understand the following:
- What are cookies and why are they important
- How we use cookies to improve our site
- Different types of cookies
- Managing cookies
What are cookies and why are they important
All websites, or most of them, use cookies. These are small text files that are comprised of random letters and numbers. When you go to our website, we will have these cookies stored in your browser. There are various types of cookies that indicate their specific function and purpose. Some of them are only temporary – being erased after you close your browser. The others are more permanent – helping returning visitors access their accounts without having to re-enter their username and password.
Basically, these cookies exist to collect data – but it will never include data that will identify you. That means you still maintain full control over your privacy. Most of the data collected by our cookies called anonymous identifiers of your browser or device. It tracks links, referring sites, settings, preferences, and user behavior – specifically time and usage habits.
There are three specific reasons why we use cookies on our website.
- Makes the site work efficiently. Cookies have functions to perform in a site, like helping with navigation, assisting with new registrations and logins, etc.
- Maintains relevance. Since cookies track the behavior and activities of the user, it collects information that will help make the user experience both personal and relevant. The site can show a message like “Hi, (name of the user)” or provide ads that are appealing to the user.
- Heightens user experience. Thanks to the cookies, our website works efficiently and with relevance. This increases the user experience – since the site is able to work based on the personal preferences of the use.
How we use cookies to improve our site
The cookies used by our website are used in different ways. Every cookie is necessary to ensure that the website is fully functional and that it will increase the user experience of every visitor. This is done specifically by using cookies that will do the following:
- Provide an efficient sign-up process
- Keep navigation features efficient and functional
- Track and understand user activities while in the site
- Allow users to set up preferences
- Trigger specific features of the site
- Protect and detect any fraudulent activities within the site
- Determine user traffic for referral and marketing initiatives
- Profile and deliver advertising materials according to user preferences
It has to be clear that all the data and information gathered by the cookies on this website will never be sold to third party businesses or organizations.
Different types of cookies
The cookies used on this website can be classified in various ways.
According to expiration
The first type of classification is defined by the expiration of the cookies.
- Session cookies. These are the cookies that remain active while you are navigating our site. Once you close your browser, all the cookies will cease to function and the data collected will expire. These cookies are used for suggestions and recommendations specifically for adverts and pages.
- Permanent cookies. These are the cookies that will not expire even if you close your browser.
These cookies are responsible for remembering login details. It also remembers the activity of the user during their previous sessions. That way, future visits to the site will cater to the personal preferences of the user. While these cookies may seem permanent, the law dictates that permanent cookies are to be deleted after 6 months. You are also given the freedom to delete the cookies through your browser setting.
These two are installed by our website to improve functionality and user experience. But beyond these cookies, there are also those that are installed by third parties. These are the cookies that collect information used for research – like behavior, demographics, etc.
According to purpose
The cookies we use on our website is also classified according to purpose.
- Necessary cookies. These are necessary to make the site function accordingly.
- Functional cookies. These are the ones that improve the functionality of our site. It is not necessary, but it can lead to a more positive user experience.
- Performance cookies. These cookies focus on the various activities on the website. It tracks user activity and collects all data connected to it.
- Targeting cookies. These are the cookies used to track the links that every user follows, in hopes of understanding their personal preferences. It helps to categorize the user and identify their profile for better marketing and advertising campaigns.
Managing cookies
While cookies will improve your user experience as you use our site, you remain in full control over it. That means you can opt to disable it or even opt out of accepting them.
To disable cookies, you simply have to opt out of it. That way, when you navigate the site, cookies will not be applied to track and record your every activity. This will be applicable to all cookies that have yet to be activated. For the existing cookies, you can remove them through your browser settings. Resetting the cookies should be a simple process that will remove existing cookies. Not only that, it is also possible to set up your browser so is automatically refuses any cookie activation to happen. At the very least, you will be notified before cookies are implemented. There are browsers that will also allow you to exclusively refuse third-party cookies.
Before you deactivate cookies, make sure that you fully understand how that will affect your user experience in our website. The performance will be affected and some features of the site might be compromised. It will also affect the site’s ability to provide you with a more personalized experience.
For questions or queries about the various cookies used on this site, we would be happy to answer them for you. Get in touch with us so we can help you understand how our website cookies are used and managed.