What are cookies?
Cookies are short strings of text that the site the user visits sends to their computer (usually to the browser), where they are stored and later retransmitted to the site the next time the same user visits it again. While a user is browsing the web, other cookies may be received in their computer that are sent by different websites or services (so-called “Third party” cookies), that may contain certain elements (e.g. images, maps, sounds, specific links to other domain pages) that are found in the site the user is visiting.
There are usually a large number of cookies in a user’s browser, which often remain there for a long time and are used for different purposes: IT authentication, session monitoring, storing data about specific configurations of the users that access the server.
Cookies differ according to the purposes for which they are used, and are divided into two macro categories: technical cookies and profile cookies.
Technical cookies
Technical cookies are only used to ”transmit a communication in a digital communications network, or to the extent strictly necessary for the provision of a service by the company of information expressly requested by the subscriber or user to receive the service” (ed. Art. 122(1) Privacy Law).
Profile cookies
The profile cookies create user profiles and are used to send advertising messages pinpointed to the user’s preferences which are shown while browsing the web. Given the intrusive nature of these cookies into the user’s private life, European and Italian law requires that the user be adequately informed about their use and consequently express their consent or otherwise.
Third party cookies
To correctly define the question the further element of subjectivity has to be considered. i.e. consider the other subjects who install cookies in the user’s computer, whether it is the manager of the site the user is visiting (that can be briefly referred to as the “editor”) or a different site that installs cookies through the former site (so-called “third parties”).
Types of cookies used in this website
Technical cookies
The website keystothespiritworld.com uses technical cookies in order to recognize users who come back to visit the site and their data, so that the same information is not sent to the same user repeatedly. The following cookies are used:
- Browsing cookies: that enable saving the user’s browsing preferences and improving their browsing experience.
- Cookie analytics: that enable obtaining statistical data about the users’ browsing methods. These data are processed jointly and anonymously.
- Function cookies, including third parties, to activate specific functions in the online space that are necessary to provide or improve the service.
These cookies do not require the user’s prior consent for installation and use.
How to change the cookie settings
Barring the above about cookies that are strictly required for browsing purposes, the user can delete the other cookies through their browser.
Each browser has different procedures for settings management. The user can obtain precise instructions as follows:
Mozilla Firefox:
- Select the “Tools” menu then “Options”
- Click on “Privacy”
Microsoft Internet Explorer:
- Select “Tools” then “Internet options”
- Click on “Privacy” (or “Confidentiality”)
- Use the pointer to select the required privacy level.
Chrome:
- Select “Tools” then “Settings”
- Click on “Show advanced settings”
- Click on “Contents settings” in the “Privacy” section.
Third party cookies can also be deactivated in the manner directly provided by the third party controller, as indicated in the links given in the “third party cookies” paragraph.