Optimize User Guide

Introduction¶

This article gives information and links to resources about our cookie policy and privacy policy.

Cookies Introduction¶

A cookie is a small data file that is saved on your device. Cookies are processed and stored through a web browser. Cookies are not files that can contain harmful programs or viruses, and they are generally easily viewed and deleted.

Cookies can collect IP address information and then be used to track online activity. They can potentially identify you, and therefore they can be considered as personal data in some circumstances.

Cookies can be used for several purposes. Most commonly, cookies are used to record the way a website is seen and experienced. While some cookies ensure that the homepage works the way it should, others can provide an overview of visitors and their browsing behavior. This allows website owners to continually optimize and adjust the homepage to better suit viewer requirements and interests. For example, cookies can store information about what was added to an online shopping cart, remember if you have previously visited the page, keep your account logged in, and store language and currency preferences. Cookies are often used to target ads to you on other homepages. Generally, cookies are intended to choose content that is as relevant as possible to viewer interests.

Cookie Policies¶

European law (GDPR) and Californian law (CCPA) require cookie policies. A cookie policy can be a section of the company privacy policy or a separate document.

• What cookies are active
• What data is tracked
• Why the data is tracked
• Where the tracked data is stored/sent
• How to decline cookies and/or change the cookie settings.

View the Acquia privacy policy:

Privacy Policy.

GDPR¶

Applicable in any circumstance where cookies work as online identifiers (for example, a user authentication cookie involves the processing of personal data because it enables the user to log in to their account at an online service).

Requirements:

• Information on the use of cookies (which cookies, for what purposes, and duration).
• Consent for all types of cookies (but not for strictly necessary cookies*)
  • Consent can be asked only once, but it is recommended to refresh after a certain period of time
  • Consent can be withdrawn at any time and in an easy way
  • Consent needs to be a positive action (e.g. pre-ticked boxes or ‘on’ slides cannot be used). This also includes consent banners that might be difficult to read on mobile devices.
• Duration of cookies needs to be determined (period of time and/or number of visits to the website.) It can also be determined by national legislation.
• The above requirements also apply for Statistics Cookies (“performance cookies”, which collect information about website usage. Statistics cookies track which pages the user visited and which links they clicked on. 

Strictly Necessary cookies are required. These enable the website to communicate online. They include:

• User-input cookies (session-id) such as first-party cookies which keep track of user input when completing online forms, shopping carts, and so on.
• Authentication cookies are used to identify the user when they log in.
• User-centric security cookies are used to detect authentication abuses.
• Multimedia content player cookies are used to store technical data that is needed in order to play video or audio content.
• Load-balancing cookies: Load balancers use a specific load balancing cookie to track the instance of each request to each listener.
• User-interface customization cookies such as language or font preferences (includes both first and third-party cookies).

For more information, see the user guide article:

GDPR and CCPA.

CCPA¶

Data collected by cookies is considered to be personal information. CCPA requires companies to disclose what data is being collected by cookies and what is done with the data. Additionally, businesses need to take steps to comply with the right to opt out of the sale of personal information collected by cookies.

For more information, see the user guide article:

GDPR and CCPA.

Privacy Policies¶

Organizations are required to provide consumers with notification of intent to collect personal information. This notification is provided via a privacy policy. The user must be informed on, or before, the collection of the information takes place.

A Privacy Policy includes:

• What information is collected and why it is collected.
• Informs the consumer of the four core consumer rights, along with any exceptions.
• The right to know
• The right to delete
• The right to opt-out
• The right to non-discrimination
• What information is sold or disclosed to third parties, and contact details for the third parties.
• How consumers can exercise their rights.

View the Acquia privacy policy:

Privacy Policy.

Additional Resources¶

View the Acquia privacy policy:

Privacy Policy.