Cookie Policy
1. Policy Background
At DC, we acknowledge the significance of your privacy and provide clarity regarding the technologies we employ. This Cookie Policy (“this Policy”) elucidates the purposes and mechanisms behind storing and accessing cookies and related technologies (collectively referred to as "Cookies and Other Technologies") on your device when you use or visit our website which features a link to this Policy. It's important to review this Policy in conjunction with our Privacy Notice and Terms and Conditions ("Terms") for a comprehensive understanding of our practices.
The primary objective of this Policy is to provide DC’s website visitors with a comprehensive understanding of the distinct types of cookies utilized on this website and the specific purposes they serve. In doing so, we aim to clarify the differentiation between first-party cookies and third-party cookies. This knowledge empowers our users to make informed decisions about their privacy and online experience while interacting with our site.
2. Cookies & Other Technologies
A "cookie" is a small text file that a website downloads onto your web browser or internet-connected device, like a mobile phone or tablet, when you pay a visit to the website. The purpose of these cookies is to help the website identify and remember your device for your future visits.
Cookies serve a wide range of functions, including remembering your preferences, monitoring your online activities, and enhancing your overall user experience. They empower the website's owner to distinguish between the actions taken by your device and those of other users on the same website.
It's important to note that most cookies do not gather information that directly identifies you as an individual. Instead, their focus is on collecting more generalized data, such as your approximate location or how you find and utilize websites.
While cookies are the most well-known tracking technology, there are others, which function in a similar fashion. These alternative methods could encompass technologies like web beacons, pixel tags, and local storage (“other technologies”). Their collective aim is to gather data about your online behavior, offering websites insights into how you interact with their content.
The objective of employing these Cookies and Other Technologies is to gather information about your website usage patterns. This encompasses the pages you visit, the duration of your visits, and how you engage with the content. This data is invaluable for our website to optimize its services and cater to your user preferences.
The use of Cookies and Other Technologies is contingent on your consent. This consent ensures that you are aware of and agree to the tracking methods employed.
When your browser settings permit it, each website has the capability to send its own unique cookie to your browser or device. However, as a privacy safeguard, your browser only grants access to cookies that the website has previously sent to you, not cookies from other websites.
3. First-Party Cookies & Third-Party Cookies
“First-party cookies" are cookies that are directly associated with and placed on your device by DC, the entity responsible for this website. Conversely, "third-party cookies" are cookies that are placed on your device through our website by a different party.
The utilization of first-party and third-party cookies serves specific functions. First-party cookies are employed for our own website's needs, whereas third-party cookies, placed by external entities, come into play when we partner with these service providers for tasks like analytics and performance evaluation.
We employ different types of cookies on our website, depending on its specific requirements:
Permanent Cookies:
o These cookies are used for the long term to enhance your experience on our website. For instance, they record your agreement with our Cookie Policy, allowing us to remove the initial cookie message that appears when you first visit our site. Permanent Cookie will be retained by your web browser and remains valid until a predetermined expiration date unless you manually delete it before that date.
Session Cookies:
o Session cookies are temporary in nature and are automatically deleted from your device as soon as you close your web browser. We utilize these cookies to track your internet usage, as described earlier.
o Session Cookie has a shorter lifespan and expires at the conclusion of your web session, specifically when you close your web browser.
Our Cookies are used for the following purposes:
Strictly Necessary/Technical Cookies:
These cookies are essential for the basic functioning of our websites, allowing you to access the content you've requested. They are responsible for recognizing when you've created an account and logged in. These cookies also remember your previous actions during your browsing session, enhancing security and the seamless operation of our websites.
Analytical/Performance Cookies:
We use these cookies to analyze how our websites are used and assess their performance. For instance, these cookies track which pages are most frequently visited and the geographical locations of our visitors. If you subscribe to a newsletter or register with our websites, these cookies might be associated with your profile. These cookies gather information in a way that maintains anonymity. This information includes the website visitor count, the sources from which visitors originate, and the specific pages they have viewed.
Functionality Cookies:
Functionality cookies adapt our websites to your preferences and choices. They help us "remember" you between visits. For instance, these cookies recognize your username and recall how you've customized our websites and services, such as adjusting text size, fonts, language settings, and other alterable aspects of web pages. These customizations are then seamlessly applied during your future visits.
Advertising Cookies:
These cookies are employed to gather information about your activities on our website and other sites. Their purpose is to provide you with targeted advertising. Additionally, we may permit third-party service providers to use cookies for similar purposes. They collect data about your online activities over time and across various websites. These third-party providers have their own privacy policies and may employ their cookies to target advertising on other websites based on your interactions with our website.
4. How to decline or Revoke your Cookie Consent
If you prefer not to have cookies stored on your device, you can modify your internet browser settings to either reject all cookies or permit only certain types. Additionally, you can configure your browser to notify you when a cookie is being placed on your device. However, it's important to note that if you choose to block all cookies, even those that are strictly necessary for the site's operation, it may limit your ability to access and use all or certain features and functions on our websites.
If you wish to delete cookies that were previously stored on your device, you can manually remove them at any time. Keep in mind that doing so will not prevent our websites from placing additional cookies on your device unless you adjust your internet browser settings as described above.
In essence, you have the option to control and manage cookies by adjusting your browser settings, but this may impact your experience on our sites, especially if you block all cookies, including those necessary for the site's basic functionality.
5. Utilizing Other Tracking Technologies in our Communications
At DC, we employ additional tracking technologies to enhance our understanding of your interaction with the knowledge, research, or event communications we send you. These technologies enable us to gather information about whether you've opened our messages or clicked on any embedded links. One of these technologies, known as a web beacon, plays a pivotal role in this process.
A web beacon is a small graphic image that can be placed within a website or an email. It functions alone or in conjunction with cookies to collect data about how you use or engage with a DC website or email.
The analysis generated from these tracking technologies aids us in refining the effectiveness of our websites and email communications. By understanding how you engage with our content and the format of our messages, we can tailor our communications to better suit your preferences and needs.
You can prevent web beacons from being activated by configuring your email reader program to disable the feature that loads remote images. Additionally, you can avoid interacting with any links included in email messages to ensure that web beacons are not triggered. This way, you have control over the information gathered through these tracking technologies when you access and read your emails.
6. Changes to the Cookie Policy
We reserve the right to make modifications or amendments to this Policy as deemed necessary. When alterations are made, we will update the revision date at the top of this page, signifying the date from which the modified or amended Policy becomes effective with respect to you and your information.
We encourage you to periodically revisit this policy to stay informed about how we utilize cookies and any changes or updates to our cookie-related practices.
If you have any other questions about our Cookie Policy, please contact us at: [email protected]