Cookies Policy

Cookies are small data files sent from a server to your web browser. They are stored in your browser’s cache and allow a website or a third party to recognise your browser, effectively your computer.

There are three main types of cookies:

Session cookies are unique to a particular visit and carry information as you view different pages so you don’t have to re-enter information every time you change pages or attempt to checkout. Session cookies expire and delete themselves automatically in a short period of time when you leave our site or close your web browser.
Persistent cookies remember certain information about your preferences for viewing the site, and allow us to recognise you each time you return. Persistent cookies are stored on your browser cache or mobile device until you choose to delete them, and otherwise typically delete themselves at expiration.
Third-party cookies are placed by someone other than us, and may gather browsing activity across multiple websites and across multiple sessions. They are usually a type of persistent cookie and are stored until you delete them or they expire based on the time period set in each third-party cookie.

Cookies store data about your web browsing and internet use, they are helpful because they allow us to help our site function and customise your visit experience. You can configure your desktop or mobile browser’s settings to reflect your preference to accept or reject cookies, including how to handle third-party cookies.

Other Technologies

In addition to cookies, there are other similar technologies used by us and elsewhere on the web or in mobile systems.

Web beacons: These are tiny graphics (sometimes called “clear GIFs” or “web pixels”) with a unique identifier that are used to understand browsing activity. In contrast to cookies, which are stored on a user’s computer hard drive, web beacons are rendered invisibly on web pages when you open a page.
Social widgets: These are buttons or icons provided by third-party social media providers that allow you to interact with those social media services when you view a web page or a mobile app screen. These social widgets may collect browsing data, which may be received by the third party that provided the widget, and are controlled by the third parties.
UTM codes: These are strings that can appear in a URL (the “Uniform Resource Locator”, which is typically the http or https address entered to go to a web page) when a user moves from one web page or website to another, where the string can represent information about browsing, such as which advertisement, page, or publisher sent the user to the receiving website.
Application SDKs: These are mobile application third-party software development kits that are embedded in the Apps (and are used in many mobile applications). These app SDKs permit the collection of information about the app itself, activity in the app, and the device the application is running on.
Local Storage Objects: These (sometimes called flash cookies) are sets of data that can be stored on your browser by a site or app. They can be used to maintain preferences, maintain a history of usage, or even maintain the state or settings of an app.

Purposes

Merchant and Found uses Cookie Technologies to recognise your logged-in state on our site, to understand what purchases shoppers and visitors are interested in, to make our site function better for you, and to help your browsing experience and use of the Site, Services, and Apps be more tailored or customised. In addition, cookies are used as follows:

Security and Authentication (Strictly Necessary)

Some cookie and similar technology functions are necessary and vital to ensuring that our site works properly for shoppers and visitors, maintaining the security, safety, and integrity of the Site, authentication and login. (including remembering permissions and consents you have granted), and ensuring the ability to securely complete transactions.

Account and User Preferences

Some technologies are used to remember your account and preferences over time, such as remembering your account or keeping yourself logged in when returning to Merchant and Found,

Social Networks

Some technologies help you to interact with social networks you are signed into while using the Services, such as sharing content with the social network, logging in with the social network, and other features you employ with the social network, or that are allowed in the social network’s privacy policy. These may be set and controlled by the social networks, and your preferences with those social networks.

Social networks may also work with us or with you for analytics or for marketing purposes, as discussed below. You may be able to manage your privacy preferences for these social networks and their tools and widgets via your account with the social network.

Performance and Analytics

Some technologies help provide performance data on how the Services are functioning in order to improve our site and its Services, including, for example, data on site ease of shopping, speed of shopping.

We also employ Google Analytics to help understand how Merchant and Found is used by its shoppers. For some of the advertising features listed below, like retargeting, data from Google Analytics may be combined with first-party data and third-party cookies (like Google’s advertising cookies).

Marketing Services

Merchant and Found partners with third-party service providers that may use various Cookie Technologies to permit us and them to learn about what ads you see and click when you visit us, and any affiliated sites. These may include things such as:

Frequency capping, which limits the number of times a user’s browser or mobile device displays the same ad;
Attribution tracking, which estimates what advertising or marketing source brought someone to us, or determines what marketing source led to actions like a visit or a purchase;
Remarketing, which shows relevant ads to an audience based on prior shopping and browsing patterns.
Audience targeting, which refers to targeting advertisements to a large audience based on the audience’s known or inferred demographics; and
Cross-device recognition, which recognises actions across multiple devices or browsers.

Some third-party service providers may provide information like demographics, cross-device information, or interest categories from a combination of sources that, while not identifying you personally, permit us to provide you with more relevant and useful advertising. In some cases, this information may have non-marketing performance analytics uses as well.

These technologies allow a partner to recognise your computer or mobile device each time you visit us or other websites and mobile applications based on data like a cookie, your IP address, or device ID, but do not allow access to other personal information from us. However, these technologies may allow us or a third party to recognise you, either from a single device or across devices, over time. These third parties are required to follow applicable laws, self-regulatory programmes, and data protection rules where applicable.

Consent, Contract, and Legitimate Interests in Processing

Certain Cookie Technologies are employed to make the Site function for its intended purpose, and are provided based on contractual necessity based on your agreement with us to perform the services you have requested. These include the functions strictly necessary to the service noted above.

By choosing to use our Services after having been notified of our use of Cookie Technologies in the ways described in this Policy, and, in applicable jurisdictions, through notice and unambiguous acknowledgement of your consent, you agree to such use.

Opt-in and Opt-out on Browsers

In addition, when you use visit us via a browser, you can change your web browser’s settings to reflect your cookie preferences for cookies directly from the site you are on or for third-party cookies. Each browser is a little different, but usually these settings are under the ‘options’ or ‘preferences’ menu.

Opt-out of Third-Party Networks

If you do not wish to have this information used for the purpose of serving you interest-based advertisements, you may decline to receive interest based ads through TrustE/TrustArc’s preferences manager (or if you are located in the European Union click here). Please note this does not stop you from being served advertisements. You will continue to receive generic advertisements. Please note that if you reject or block all cookies in your browser settings, you will not be able to take advantage of all of our services as some cookies are necessary for the Site to function properly.

You can learn more about managing your preferences for ads online, particularly for many third-party advertising networks, through resources made available by the Digital Advertising Alliance at https://youradchoices.com/ or the Network Advertising Initiative at https://optout.networkadvertising.org/?c=1.

Google Analytics Opt-out

For Google Analytics Advertising Features, you can opt-out through Google Ads Settings, Ad Settings for mobile apps, or any other available means (for example, the NAI’s consumer opt-out listed above). Google also provides a Google Analytics opt-out plug-in for the web.

Third-Party Tools

Various third parties provide browser plug-ins and apps that can help provide you information on, and limit or block, third-party cookies, web beacons, and some Javascript-based technologies. Merchant and Found cannot vouch for the efficacy of a particular third-party product, but popular products that provide these privacy enhancements include Ghostery and AdBlock Plus.

Mobile Opt-out

If you access the Site through the Apps, you may also control interest-based advertising on an iOS or Android device by selecting the “Limit Ad Tracking” option in the privacy section of the Settings App on iOS or via advertising preferences on Android-based devices (usually in the Google Settings app). This will not prevent you from seeing advertisements, but will limit the use of device advertising identifiers to personalise ads based on your interests.

Contact Us

If you have questions about the use of Cookie Technologies at Merchant and Found, please see the “Contact” section of our website.

October 2018