Cookie Policy

This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are and how we use them on the website you are currently visiting.

In this document you will learn:

• What are cookies?
• What types of cookies we use and what information we collect through them?
• How is this information used?
• And how can you control cookie settings?

What are cookies?

Cookies are small pieces of text sent to your browser by the website or web application you visit. They help record information about your visit, which can make it easier for you to revisit the site and enhance its functionality. Cookies are an integral part of how modern websites function.

It's worth emphasizing that these files are not computer programs and don't function as applications on their own. They are merely a type of data package exchanged between the user's browser and the website server. Cookies cannot contain malware or viruses, cannot access your hard drive, and cannot take control of your device. The information obligation regarding cookie policy stems from privacy concerns.

Cookies support useful and sometimes essential functions when browsing the internet. They allow, for example, storing state information (such as items added to a shopping cart in an online store, login status in electronic banking) on the user's device or monitoring browsing activity (most personalization and social media integration is based on cookies).

Where are cookies stored?

Cookies are placed on the device you use to connect to the website (nowadays this could be a computer, smartphone, tablet, TV, etc.). In practice, this process works like this: when visiting a website, it sends cookies to your device, and the device saves them in browser files.

Why is the issue of privacy and security so important?

Since cookies are just harmless text files, why all this commotion, why according to law provisions (go to laws) has an information obligation regarding cookies been created? The issue is not so much about security, but rather privacy. Although when it comes to security, you should also be careful with some cookie-related matters, for example, not using the option to remember passwords and forms (which uses cookies) on someone else's computer.

In the context of privacy and cookies, the problem originally concerned statistics monitoring systems and advertising systems. By having an extensive advertising network, some companies whose cookies are handled by numerous websites can more precisely target user preferences, which may infringe on their privacy.

In everyday experience, it looks like this: we search for something on the internet, browse different websites, and then for some time, we see advertisements related to what we were looking for. This entire mechanism works thanks to data stored in cookies. When visiting a page containing advertisements, the script reads from cookies previous sessions, based on which appropriate algorithms match the content. This is where the privacy issue appears – the question is: To what extent do we want to allow our internet searches to be data used in marketing activities?

How are cookies used? – three categories of files

We already know that websites use HTTP cookies to improve internet usage. The operation of cookies on websites can be divided into 3 categories, representing three types of these data:

• User session management - User sessions enable secure interaction between the user and a service or application. When a user continues to interact with a web application, they send requests that help track their status during the session. In practice, such cookies are used for logging in, automatic form field completion, shopping lists, etc. Session cookies, also known as temporary cookies, exist only in temporary memory (when the user is on the website). Browsers typically delete session cookies when the user closes the browser window.
• User personalization - User personalization saves user preferences and settings for reuse when the user logs in or launches an application. Settings are saved and synchronized with a central database to help users return to preferred settings used during the first interaction with the application. Examples of such use are user settings, themes, site language.
• Tracking - Tracking records and analyzes the user's web browsing habits and finds the number and types of pages they visit. Details include time spent on the page and the sequence of pages in user sessions. Due to confidential information related to tracking, users should be aware of security vulnerabilities when visiting unsecured websites. Such cookies are used for statistics, as well as for marketing activities.

Our website uses cookies

You use our website according to the settings of your browser or device for browsing web pages. If your settings allow the saving of cookies, they are saved.

Detailed uses of cookies on our website:

• Improved navigation on the site - thanks to cookies in some cases we can analyze previous user preferences, which allows scripts to propose more tailored content. This way we increase the efficiency of the website.
• Thanks to cookies, we can recognize whether you are a new or returning user, which allows us to customize the page so as not to present you with the same information multiple times, as well as display special information exclusively for returning users, e.g., a banner with an invitation to the Newsletter.
• Cookies allow us to conduct statistics and analyses that inform us about user preferences and origins. This enables proper development of our portal in the right direction, increasing its efficiency, because we know what is most popular in our service.
• If there is a shopping cart on the site (you can make purchases), payments, etc., these mechanisms use cookies.
• If there is a possibility to log in on the site - access only for subscribers, logged-in users, it uses cookies.
• Cookies can be used to ensure security; they are used to detect abuse within the service.
• If there is a possibility of voting/rating on the site, it may use cookies.
• If there is a possibility of using referral tracking on the site - an affiliate program, partner program, it uses cookies. Thanks to this function, we have the ability to track referrals - we have the ability to check who referred our site to another user, thereby increasing the functionality of our service.
• If there are advertisements displayed on the site, thanks to cookies we can track their basic indicators and effectiveness.
• On our website, testing of its different versions may be applied.
• Thanks to cookies, we can better monitor errors on our site and fix them faster.

Cookies from related sites:

We use external services that may use cookies. These cookies allow third parties to recognize that you have visited our website. We and our external service providers may also combine information obtained from these cookies with personal data available from other sources, including data collected about you when using other websites.

On subpages, there may be elements that use cookies such as:

• Links (hyperlinks) to other websites, each of these sites has its own cookie policy, if you use (click on a link) you should read the cookie policy of the site you are on.
• Google tools: Google Analytics statistics, Google ads, Google map, Google plus tool, videos from YouTube and others - a detailed description of the cookie policy for Google-related services can be found here: http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.
• Facebook tools and other social networks - you can find on our site a fan frame tool, like button, and other tools provided by social networks.
• The site may also have other 'embedded' buttons and advertising materials, applications that allow website users to like, link, and take other actions through social networks and related services. We do not control these services; each has its own cookie settings, each of these services has its own cookie policy. By setting your browser appropriately, you have the option to decide whether you want to give these companies such capability.

How to deactivate cookies?

When browsing this site, you are using a device or browser (software on your computer) that allows saving cookies. Browsers allow changing settings for cookies. These settings are usually found in the "Options", "Settings", or "Preferences" menu of the browser.

In many cases, the option to save cookies is enabled by default - by default it allows saving cookies. Information about cookie settings and similar technologies - blocking, deleting can be found in the help materials of the browser, the device you are currently using, or on the How do cookies work? - cookies.edu.pl site. Using these solutions may affect the ability to use our website, our applications, and related websites and applications. Unfortunately, despite our best intentions, we are unable to ensure the efficient functioning of the site for devices with disabled cookies.

How to change your consent?

If you have not changed your browser settings (your browser has accept cookies checked by default), you consent to the use of cookies when accessing our website. If you want to withdraw consent at any time, you must change your browser settings.