We and others use a variety of technologies to collect information about your device and use of our websites and mobile applications. These technologies include cookies, web beacons, java scripts, entity tags, and HTML local storage. Most web browsers can be programmed to accept or reject the use of some or all of these technologies, although you must take additional steps to disable or control other technologies.
Cookies – Cookies are small data files that are sent from a website’s server and are stored on your device’s hard drive either for only the duration of your visit ("session cookies") or for a fixed period ("persistent cookies"). Cookies contain information that can later be read by a web server.
Web Beacons – Web beacons are small, transparent images that are embedded in web pages, applications, and emails that are sometimes called “clear gifs," “single pixel gifs", "page tags" or “web bugs." We use web beacons to track the web pages you visit, to test the effectiveness of our marketing, and to find out if an email has been opened and acted on.
Java Scripts – Java scripts are code snippets embedded in various parts of websites and applications that facilitate a variety of operations including accelerating the refresh speed of certain functionality or monitoring usage of various online components.
Entity Tags – Entity Tags are HTTP code mechanisms that allow portions of websites to be stored or “cached" within your browser and validates these caches when the website is opened, accelerating website performance since the web server does not need to send a full response if the content has not changed.
HTML5 Local Storage – HTML5 local storage allows data from websites to be stored or “cached" within your browser to store and retrieve data in HTML5 pages when the website is revisited.
Social Networks. We have added certain features to our website that allow social networks (such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+) to track the activities of their members or collect certain information when they use our website. These features may include technologies called "plug-ins" and "widgets." Plug-ins create a direct link between two websites, and widgets are interactive mini-programs that provide other companies’ services on our website. If you are concerned about the way a social network is tracking your activity, please contact the social network or review its privacy policy. For example, you can review Facebook’s data-use policy at
Facebook's About Privacy page. These and similar technologies are used for the following purposes:
Services and Functionality – Some of these technologies are required to allow you to access and use our website and the various services and functionality we offer. Without these technologies, some of the services and functionality on our website would not work properly.
Performance Monitoring – Some of these technologies help us analyze and estimate traffic and assess the volume of use of services and functionality on our website. They show us how visitors and customers interact with our digital properties, whether there are any errors, the degree to which certain web pages, services or functionality are accessed and used and how they are performing or operating. These technologies help us understand how our website are used and assist us in improving the content and operation of our online properties. When these technologies are used for performance monitoring, no information that identifies you is collected.
User Convenience – Some of these technologies enhance the ease of use of our website and the services and functionality they make available by accelerating load and refresh times and remembering information that you have provided on prior visits to our website or when you last used a website, service or functionality.
Marketing – Some of these technologies are used to tailor your experience on our website or across your applications or devices by controlling the promotions, advertisements and other marketing messages that may appear when you access or use these or other digital properties. These technologies also help us learn which services and functionality you are using and how you are accessing information about us. We may use this information to personalize your visit to a website or to send you relevant promotions and advertisements.
Third parties. Some of the above functionality, analytics, content and advertising on our website may be provided by third parties that collect device and usage information and location information across your different devices through mobile software development kits, cookies, web beacons and other similar technologies.