This website (AlisonAimes.com) may use some cookies essential to the efficient and consistent operation of the site and to offer a personalized experience for users.
What’s a cookie?
Cookies are text files containing small amounts of information which are downloaded to the internet browser on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. Cookies do lots of different things on the internet, such as facilitating efficient navigation of a website, remembering user preferences, and generally improving the experience of a website. They also play a role in online shopping carts and stores and in internet advertising and marketing.
Some cookies contain personal information – for example, if you click to “remember me” when logging into a website, a cookie will store your username – but not all collect information that identifies you. Some collect general information such as how users arrive at and use a website, which a website owner can evaluate and find ways to improve site features and content.
How This Site Uses Cookies
This website strives to limit the use of cookies to those essential for optimal operation of the site and to offer a personalized experience for users, as well as to:
- enable user interactions with blog comments
- improve speed and security
- analyze site traffic with the goal of improving site content
We also use some third-party services to provide content and some common website features which may place cookies on your computer including:
- A way for users to share pages and posts to social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter
- Video and other media content from services such as YouTube videos and SoundCloud
Types of Cookies
There are mainly four kinds of cookies:
- Session cookies. These cookies last only for the session and are erased when the user closes the web browser.
- Persistent cookies. These cookies remain even after the internet browser session is closed. These cookies are stored on a user’s computer or mobile device until they expire or until the user deletes the cookie. Persistent cookies are used to collect identifying information about the user, such as web surfing behavior or user preferences for a specific website. They have expiration dates which may vary from cookie to cookie.
- First-party cookies. These cookies are placed by the website a user is visiting. For example, if you visit Amazon.com, then Amazon.com generates cookies for direct interaction with their website.
- Third-party cookies. These cookies are placed by a site other than the one a visitor is using. For example, these are most often related to online advertising and marketing, social media networks like Twitter and Facebook, and some embedded media services such as Vimeo, YouTube, and SoundCloud.
The majority of modern web browsers support cookies and most have settings that can be customized to decline some cookies and the ability for a user to delete the cookies at will.
For more information about cookies, see http://www.allaboutcookies.org
Cookie Categories
There are four main categories of cookies:
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are essential to a user’s ability to navigate a website and use its features. Example: Without these cookies, a user would not be able to log into their account at the website or complete a purchase at an online store. Another “strictly necessary” example is a cookie that retains a user’s preference on whether or not to accept cookies from a website they visit.
Performance Cookies
These cookies collect information about how a visitor uses a website. These cookies do not collect personally identifying information but allow website owners to evaluate the site’s performance in order to improve user experience and content. Example: Cookies related to Google Analytics.
Functionality
These cookies remember user preferences in order to provide a more personalized experience of a website. They may store things such as your user name, language or the region preference, or even text size. These cookies may also be used to provide services a user has asked for, such as watching a video or commenting on a blog, or logging into a website. Example: When you visit a weather reporting website, you might enter your postal code so you see weather specific to your region.
Targeting or Advertising
These cookies are used to deliver advertisements that are more relevant and suited to a user and their interests. They are also used to limit the number of times a user might see an advertisement, as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They are usually placed by advertising networks with the website owner’s permission. They remember what websites a user has visited and the information is shared with other organizations such as advertisers. Sometimes these cookies are linked to site functionality.
First-Party Cookies (cookies on this website)
First-party cookies are cookies that relate to the functions and features of this website specifically, and are set by this website, not a third party.
Third-Party Cookies
These 3rd-party cookies are not placed by this website, therefore, we strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of these websites and services. We have no control over, and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services.
Future Cookies
This website may cease usage of some cookies and introduce others from time to time to improve user’s experience. Any changes will be reflected on this Cookie Policy page.
Managing Cookies
Most browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, etc.) are configured to accept cookies but allow users to manage those cookie settings and provide ways to delete cookies. These are official instructions for major browsers:
Safari
Google Chrome
Firefox (Mozilla)
Opera
Internet Explorer
For more information about cookies, see http://www.allaboutcookies.org
