BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION PRIVACY & COOKIES NOTICE

Last updated: January 2024 Update history

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and our affiliates (“we” or “us”) are committed to the lawful, fair, and transparent processing of personal data.

This notice is intended to help you understand what personal data we collect, why, when we share it, and how we store and protect it, as well as how to manage communications from us and exercise other rights you may have to your personal data. We may update this notice to reflect changes in our practices and applicable law. If we make a substantial or material update, we will post a notice on our sites and tools.

Translations of this notice are also available:

To view the Privacy & Cookies Notice in Chinese, click here.
To view the Privacy & Cookies Notice in French, click here.
To view the Privacy & Cookies Notice in German, click here.
To view the Privacy & Cookies Notice in Hindi, click here.

If you have questions about this notice, please contact us.

When this notice applies

Our sites and tools
This notice applies to personal data we collect electronically through this website and any of our other websites, portals, platforms, repositories, electronic forms and surveys, online forums and interactive community sites, interactive exhibits, mobile apps, etc. that link to or reference this notice (collectively, “our sites and tools”). With respect to personal data processed through our sites and tools, we are the controller responsible for your personal data.

Supplemental privacy notices
This notice may be supplemented by a supplemental privacy notice applicable to a particular interaction with us, which may be either embedded in this notice or made available to you separately. We will tell you when a supplemental privacy notice applies.

Links to third-party sites
This notice does not apply to any third-party applications, integrations, or websites that may link to, or be accessible from, our sites and tools. We are not responsible for any of the content, features, functionality, or privacy practices of such linked third-party applications, integrations, or websites. The data collection and use practices of any linked third-party application, integration, or website will be governed by that third party’s applicable privacy notice, statement, or policy, and its terms of use. We encourage you to read them.

What data we collect about you

Data you provide about yourself
We collect your personal data when you voluntarily provide it to us. For example, you may give us: your email address, country of residence, and areas of interest if you choose to receive newsletters, updates, or other information from us; your contact information, and any other personal data you choose to include, if you email, text, or instant message us, or contact us through our sites and tools; and any personal data contained in, or included with, any proposal documents, social media posts, articles, feedback, comments, responses, messages, chats, photos, videos, or other data or content you submit via our sites and tools. Please do not disclose more personal data than is necessary.

It is always your choice whether to provide this personal data. However, some personal data must be provided to enable certain functions of our sites and tools or enable you to participate in certain programs, activities, or events (such as to sign up for a newsletter, apply for a job, or register to participate in one of our events), so the decision not to provide such personal data might limit or eliminate such functions or your ability to participate in those programs, activities, or events.

Personal data you provide about others
Do not provide personal data about others unless you are authorized or required to do so by contract or applicable law. You may provide personal data on behalf of another person if you have provided them with a copy of this notice, and any applicable supplemental privacy notice, and obtained their explicit or express consent. We may ask you to provide evidence of that notice and consent.

Data we receive from third parties and other sources
We may receive personal data about you from other sources, including your company/organization, professional references, publicly available sources, third-party analytics providers, our services providers, and other third parties. For example, we may receive your personal data if: another person designates you as a contact person for your company/organization or includes information about you in proposal documents, social media posts, articles, feedback, comments, responses, messages, chats, photos, videos, or other data or content submitted through our sites and tools; or one of our employees or service providers or a third party acting on apparent authority provides it to us (for example, when registering you to access one of our sites and tools, access our facilities, apply for a job, or participate in one of our activities or events).

Payment processors
We may engage third parties (“Payment Processors”) to process donations or other payments you make to us. In some cases, such donations or payments are made directly through one of our sites and tools. If so, we may ask you to provide payment, credit card, or other credit-related information, which we will share with the Payment Processor for the purpose of processing your payment. In other cases, you may be redirected to the Payment Processor’s site to make your donation or other payment. If so, the data collection and use practices of the Payment Processor’s site will be governed by that site’s privacy notice, statement, or policy, and its terms of use. We encourage you to read them.

Interest-based advertising
We may engage third parties to place our interest-based advertisements across the Internet for the purpose of engaging and informing you about our organization, activities we fund, and the issues we care about. These third parties may use tracking technologies to collect information about your visits to our sites and tools and other websites and your interaction with our advertising and other communications. Some advertisements may be personalized, meaning that they are intended to be relevant to you based on information collected about your visits to our sites and tools and elsewhere over time.

You may opt out of our collection and use of this information at any time and, in some jurisdictions, we will only engage in interest-based advertising if you have opted in. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices concerning interest-based advertisements, please contact us or visit:

United States: http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/
United States: www.aboutads.info/choices
Canada: http://youradchoices.ca/choices/
EU/EEA: http://www.youronlinechoices.eu/

Data we collect automatically, including cookies, pixels, and similar technologies
We may collect some personal data automatically. For example, when you visit our sites and tools, we may collect your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, Internet service provider (“ISP”) information, and browser type and language. We also may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect data about your interaction with our sites and tools, including, for example, referring webpage, pages visited on our sites and tools, and crash data. In addition, we may link the information we collect automatically or the information from any cookie or pixel with the information you provide in other contexts on our sites and tools (newsletters, etc.) to personalize, connect and streamline your experience when visiting our sites and tools. For example, this may include connecting your use of our sites and tools from your desktop, mobile, or other device. Please see Cookies & Similar Technologies for more information, including how to manage cookies, pixels, and similar technologies.

Sensitive personal data
We will not intentionally collect any sensitive personal data (or equivalent concept under applicable law) without your explicit or express consent for one or more specified purposes unless otherwise permitted or required by applicable law.

Minors
Our sites and tools are not intended for minors (individuals under the age of 13, or equivalent minimum age depending on jurisdiction), and we do not knowingly collect personal data from minors through our sites and tools. If you become aware of any personal data we have collected from a minor through our sites and tools, please contact us. If we learn that we have collected personal data from a minor through our sites and tools, we will take steps to delete the data without notice as soon as possible.

How we use your data

Purposes
Generally, we may use your personal data to:

• send you information about our organization, activities we fund, and the issues we care about related to your interactions with us or our sites and tools [for our legitimate interests];
• send you publications, newsletters, and updates that you have explicitly or expressly chosen to receive [with your consent];
• review and respond to any proposal documents, reports, deliverables, comments, responses, messages, chats, or other data or content you submit when applying for funding, performing a project, or providing services [for our legitimate interests and/or to enter/perform a contract with you];
• review, analyze, and respond to any feedback, comments, responses, messages, chats, photos, videos, or other data or content you submit via our sites and tools [for our legitimate interests and/or with your consent];
• administer and inform our program strategies and charitable activities [for our legitimate interests];
• administer, safeguard, and improve our sites and tools, systems, facilities, events, and other business operations [for our legitimate interests];
• protect our rights and the safety of others [for our legitimate interests];
• contribute to our archive of information in the public interest [for our legitimate interests]; and/or
• comply with applicable law, court order, subpoena, or legal process served on us [to comply with legal obligations].

Additional purposes
Additional purposes for using your personal data are, or will be, described in a supplemental privacy notice applicable to our engagement with you.

Legal bases under applicable law
We may collect and use your personal data only if we have one or more legal bases for doing so under applicable law. The legal basis or bases will depend on your relationship to us and/or your interaction with our sites and tools. Examples of legal bases on which we rely include where processing is necessary to:

• enter or perform a contract with you;
• comply with a legal obligation;
• pursue our legitimate interests or those of a third party (provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests);
• maintain an archive in the public interest; or
• protect the vital interests of you or another natural person.

If the legal basis is consent, we will notify you in clear and plain language. We will seek additional consent before using your personal data for a new purpose that is inconsistent with the purpose for which it was collected. Your consent is voluntary and may be withdrawn at any time.

When we share your data

Employees, agents, affiliates, service providers, and partners
We may share your personal data with our: (a) employees, agents, and affiliates who have a business need to know; (b) our services providers (including supplemental staff, project workers, inbound secondees, and outsourced service workers) to process it for us based on our instructions and for no other purpose; and (c) with third-party partners that are collaborating with us to fund or conduct projects or host events. We do not share your personal data with any third party (including our service providers) for marketing purposes unless you have provided consent for us to do so. If you believe personal data you provided to us is being misused by a third party, please contact us right away.

Other visitors to our sites and tools
Any personal data you include in feedback, comments, responses, messages, chats, photos, videos, or other data or content you submit to interactive portions of our sites and tools (such as comment sections, online forums, and interactive communities) may be viewed by other visitors to those portions of our sites and tools. Other visitors may access, re-post, or use such submission. In some interactive portions of our sites, you may have the ability to adjust various privacy settings to control who may see your submission. Even if you remove or delete your submission, copies may remain in cached or archived areas of our sites and tools or be retained by other participants or visitors.

Law enforcement
We may share your personal data with law enforcement, other government agencies or authorities, or third parties as required by applicable law, court order, subpoena, or legal process served on us.

Transfer of control
We will not transfer control over personal data to any third party unless such transfer is expressly consented to by you or required to comply with applicable law, court order, subpoena, or legal process served on us.

How we store and protect your data

Storage and transfers
Your personal data may be stored in your region or in any other country where we or our service providers have facilities. We may also allow employees and service providers located around the world to access personal data as provided in this notice. We will ensure your legal rights and protections travel with any such “transfer” of your personal data as required by applicable law. We do this by signing agreements containing appropriate data protection terms (including “standard contractual clauses,” “standard contracts,” or other terms as may be required by applicable law) and requiring that our employees and service providers protect personal data in accordance with applicable law.

Storage period
We will store your personal data until it is no longer needed to fulfill the purpose(s) for which it was collected or as otherwise required or permitted by law. After such time, we will either delete or anonymize your personal data or, if this is not possible, we will securely store your personal data and isolate it from any further use until deletion is possible. We may dispose of any data at our discretion without notice, subject to applicable law. Please contact us if you would like more details regarding our retention periods for different categories of personal data.

Protection
As the transmission of data via the internet is not completely secure, we cannot guarantee the security of your information transmitted to our sites and tools and any such transmission is at your own risk. However, we maintain appropriate technical and organizational measures, including performing regular self-assessments, to prevent unauthorized disclosure of, or access to, personal data. We limit access to personal data and require that employees authorized to access personal data maintain the confidentiality of that data. We hold our service providers to at least the same data privacy and security standards to which we hold ourselves. Our standard information security requirements for service providers are available here.

How you can manage communications from us and exercise other rights you may have to your personal data

Manage communications from us
Generally, newsletters, updates, and other bulk or auto-generated emails from us will include a link to unsubscribe or manage your subscription preferences directly. If you do not wish to receive such promotional communications from us, you can opt out at any time by following the instructions contained in the communications themselves. If you opt out of receiving these promotional communications, please note that we reserve the right to send you certain communications relating to our sites and tools, including administrative messages. Unless otherwise required by applicable laws, we do not offer you the opportunity to opt out of receiving those communications.

Exercise your rights
To the extent provided by applicable laws, you may have the right to obtain confirmation that we hold personal data about you; access, correct, or delete your personal data; withdraw any consent you previously provided to us; object to or restrict our processing of your personal data in any other context; deactivate, block, anonymize, or delete personal data as appropriate; or request and receive a copy of the personal data you have provided us and to transmit this data to a third party. To exercise any of these rights that you are not able to do directly, please contact us.

You may also have the right to lodge a complaint with the applicable data protection authority. If you reside in South Africa, you have the right to submit a complaint to the Information Regulator here:

Address: JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001
Email: [email protected]

How to contact us

Please use our Data Privacy Portal for questions, concerns and requests relating to personal data collected by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Agricultural Innovations (“Gates Ag One”), or Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute (“Gates MRI”) through our sites and tools.

If you prefer to contact us by mail:

All Other Countries:
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Attn: Privacy Notice Inquiry
P.O. Box 23350
Seattle, WA 98102
U.S.A.

BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION SUPPLEMENTAL PRIVACY NOTICE FOR EVENT PARTICIPANTS

This notice supplements our Privacy & Cookies Notice and describes how we collect, use, and share additional personal data when you participate in one of our events (whether as an attendee, guest, or speaker), and how to access and control this additional data. Please let us know if you have any questions about this supplemental notice.

What additional data we collect about you

Event registration
When you register to participate in one of our events, we will ask you to provide your name, company/organization, professional title, email address, phone number, emergency contact name and phone number, and any dietary or disability-based accommodation needs. In addition, if you participate as a presenter, panelist, or facilitator at the event, we may collect your photograph and presentation materials. We may also collect feedback and evaluations about you as a presenter, panelist, or facilitator. We may also collect other optional information. We will indicate on the event registration materials which data is required. Please contact us if you have any questions about why certain data is required.

Mobile application
For some large events, you may have the option to download a mobile application (each, a “mobile app”) for participant communication and information sharing. When you download a mobile app, the app store may require the device identifier associated with your device, but neither we nor our mobile app provider will collect any personal data through the mobile app.

Travel/hotel bookings, ground transportation, and expense reimbursement
For some events and participants, we may offer to book your travel/hotel, arrange ground transportation, and/or reimburse certain out-of-pocket expenses. If so, we may ask you to provide your full name, gender, date of birth, home airport, airline and seat preference, frequent flyer number, global entry number, special meal needs, hotel preference, and any other travel-related information. If booking international travel, we may ask you to provide your passport number, passport expiration date, and passport country of issuance. If arranging ground transportation, we may ask you to provide your flight arrival/departure information and mobile phone number. If reimbursing expenses, we may ask you to provide your bank account number and other personal data required to transfer funds to you.

Event photography and audio video recordings
We frequently take photos and record audio and/or video in public areas of our events. If so, we may make and store photographs containing your likeness and recordings of your voice and likeness. We may associate your image and the sound of your voice with your name if you are identified during the recording or identify yourself by name.

How we use this additional data

Event registration
In addition to the uses specified under the Privacy & Cookies Notice, we may use this additional data to: register you to attend the event [with your consent]; send communications to you (and your assistant if one is indicated) to confirm your registration and provide you with updates regarding the event [with your consent]; print your physical badge at the event [for our legitimate interests]; track and administer dietary and physical accommodation requests [with your consent]; review and potentially share your photo, materials, and other information you have authorized us to share with other event participants [with your consent and for our legitimate interests]; send you reports, materials, and updates [with your consent]; contact you about future events [with your consent]; review and respond to feedback, comments, photos, videos, or other information you submit via registration forms or post-event surveys [for our legitimate interests]; administer, safeguard, and improve our event operations [for our legitimate interests].

Travel/hotel bookings, ground transportation, and expense reimbursement
We may use this information to assist you with travel/hotel bookings, arrange ground transportation, and reimburse certain out-of-pocket expenses [with your consent].

Event photography and audio or video recordings
We may use, edit, copy, exhibit, publish, or distribute photos and audio or video recording for any charitable purpose relating to the event itself or our events in general [for our legitimate interests].

When we share this additional data

Event service providers and third-party partners
Unless otherwise stated on a registration site, we use Cvent, Inc. to manage our online registration and mobile app, if applicable. We may share your personal data with Cvent, Inc. (or alternative service provider), other event service providers and third-party partners as needed to provide you with information and services associated with the event.

Travel/hotel and ground transportation management service providers
Unless otherwise stated on a registration site, we use Carlson Wagonlit Travel (“CWT”) and Corporate Travel Management Inc. (“CMT”) to manage travel/hotel bookings and arrange ground transportation. If you ask us to book your travel, hotel, and/or ground transportation, we may share your personal data with CWT or CMT (or alternative service providers) for that purpose.

Travel, hotels, and ground transportation companies
If we are booking travel, hotel, and/or ground transportation, we or our service providers may share your personal data with airlines, railroads, hotels, and/or ground transportation companies for that purpose. When we do, neither we nor our service providers will have direct control over that personal data, and the applicable airlines, railroads, hotels, and/or ground transportation companies may use your personal data in accordance with their privacy notices, statements, or policies. We encourage you to read them.

Expense reimbursement service provider
Unless otherwise stated on a registration site, we use SAP Concur to manage expense reimbursement. If you request expense reimbursement, we may share your personal data with SAP Concur (or alternative service provider) to process your request.

How long we keep this additional data

We store personal data of all event participants in accordance with the Privacy & Cookies Notice. If you participate in one of our events, we will retain your registration, travel or other event information for as long as necessary to produce the event, book or travel, reimburse expenses and/or otherwise achieve our charitable goals.

How you can access and control this additional data

You may update your event registration information anytime by going directly to your registration account. If you wish to access or correct other personal data, or object to our data processing, please contact us. Please note that neither changes to, nor deletion of, such personal data will alter personal data already relied upon or no longer in our control.

How to contact us

BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION SUPPLEMENTAL PRIVACY NOTICE FOR JOB APPLICANTS 

This notice supplements our Privacy & Cookies Notice and describes how we collect, use, share, and retain additional personal data when you participate in our job application process, and how you can access and control this additional data. Please let us know if you have any questions about this supplemental notice.

What additional data we collect about you

Data you provide about yourself
When you participate in our job application process, we will ask you to provide personal data such as: your name, email address, mailing address, and telephone number; your resume/CV, work experience, educational history, and skills; links to any relevant websites or your LinkedIn profile; whether you are legally authorized to work in the country in which the position you have applied for is located; whether you will require sponsorship to obtain legal authorization to work in a particular country; whether you are 18 years or older; and whether you are currently working for a grantee of ours. In addition, we will ask you to voluntarily provide information regarding your gender, veteran status, ethnicity, and disability status. This information, or your decision not to provide this information, will not impact your application in any way.

Before uploading a resume, please remove any sensitive personal data such as government-issued ID numbers, financial information, photos, dates of birth, etc. We do not require or wish to receive sensitive personal data in a resume.

Data we receive from other sources
We may receive personal data about you from other sources, your references, prior employers, a person or company/organization authorized by you to submit an application on your behalf, and/or publicly-available sources.

Data we collect from consumer reports or consumer investigative reports
If we think you might be a good fit for a position, we may ask you to authorize us to obtain a consumer report or investigative consumer report. A consumer report is a report on credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living which is used as a factor in establishing an applicant’s eligibility for employment. An investigative consumer report is similar, but the information is obtained through personal interviews with neighbors, friends, associates, or acquaintances. Both kinds of reports may include information from court, administrative, or criminal records if and to the extent permitted by applicable law. If you choose not to provide this authorization upon request, we will not be able to offer you employment.

How we use this additional data

General
In addition to the uses specified under the Privacy & Cookies Notice, we may use this additional data to: identify and contact applicants [for our legitimate interests]; evaluate applicants and make hiring decisions [for our legitimate interests]; match applicants to other career opportunities with us [for our legitimate interests]; prepare applicants for employment if a job has been offered and accepted [for our legitimate interests and/or to perform a contract with you]; keep records related to our hiring practices [for our legitimate interests and/or to comply with legal obligations]; comply with applicable employment-related laws such as checking names against anti-terrorism lists, complying with immigration restrictions, or assisting the government in an investigation [to comply with legal obligations]. If you are hired by us as an employee, this information may be used for additional employment and business purposes subject to any internal privacy policies and notices. [for our legitimate interests and/or to perform a contract with you].

Sensitive personal data and criminal offense data
We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve, and we support this diversity through all our employment practices. Accordingly, we ask applicants to provide information regarding their gender, veteran status, and ethnicity. To the extent required by applicable law, we will seek your explicit or express consent prior to collecting and using such information. If you choose to provide such information, we will keep it separate from your application and use it solely for the purpose of monitoring, informing, and reporting on our diversity efforts [for our legitimate interests, and for the purposes of complying with our obligations under employment law to monitor the equality of our employment practices]. We process criminal offence data in the context of a consumer report, or consumer investigative report [for our legitimate interests, and for the purposes of complying with our obligations to provide a safe workplace for our employees and guests].

When we share this additional data

We may share your personal data with service providers (including Workday, Inc., recruiters, and other third parties) that assist us with recruiting, application, and employment processes and our affiliates and other third parties with whom you might work if you are offered and accept the job. We will not share your sensitive personal data with third parties without your explicit or express consent.

How long we keep this additional data

We store personal data of all applicants in accordance with the Privacy & Cookies Notice. If you accept a job with us, we may retain your application and any other information we relied on during the application process as part of your employee file. Please note that we have the right to delete accounts and application information at any time, so you may want to retain copies of any information, including resumes/CVs, you provide to us during the application process.

How you can access and control this additional data

You may update your contact information anytime by going directly to your account. If you wish to access or correct other personal data, or object to our data processing, please contact us. Please note that neither changes to, or deletion of, such personal data will alter personal data already relied upon or no longer in our control.

How to contact us

BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION SUPPLEMENTAL PRIVACY NOTICE FOR REPORTERS OF IMPROPER CONDUCT 

This notice supplements our Privacy & Cookies Notice and describes how we collect, use, share, and retain additional personal data when you report possible illegal, unethical, or improper conduct using EthicsPoint™.

Note regarding limitations on using EthicsPoint™ to submit a report

In some countries, regulations limit how a service may be used to report concerns. For example, local laws may:

• Limit the topic of concern to certain areas of compliance such as anti-bribery, auditing and accounting, banking, and financial matters;
• Prohibit anonymous reports; or
• Disallow reports concerning our personnel except employees in key or management functions.

Accordingly, we may be limited in our ability to respond to a report submitted through EthicsPoint™ depending on the country of your location or where the reported conduct took place.

What additional data we collect about you

Data you provide about yourself
When reporting improper conduct, unless you choose to report anonymously, we may ask you to provide personal data about yourself, such as your name and contact information (e.g., phone number and/or email address). We will ask you to provide a description of the conduct reported.

The information you submit will be treated as confidential, except where required otherwise by applicable law, but in all cases, will be handled with sensitivity. We encourage you to identify yourself (in lieu of reporting anonymously) so that we can follow up with you about any questions we may have and so we may best address the issues raised.

Data you provide about others
When reporting improper conduct, we may ask you to provide the name and contact information of the persons in your report. We will ask you to provide a description of the conduct reported, which also may include other personal data about the persons in your report.

As the information you report may result in decisions adverse to others, we ask that you carefully consider the information that you provide in advance and report only what you believe to be true. We do not retaliate for the good-faith reporting of ethical or compliance issues even if such report may later be determined to be factually incorrect. Knowingly providing false or misleading information, however, will not be tolerated.

How we use this additional data

In addition to the uses specified under the Privacy & Cookies Notice, we may use this additional data to: contact you (unless you have asked to remain anonymous) [for our legitimate interests]; conduct an investigation [for our legitimate interests and/or to comply with legal obligations]; ensure our grantees and service providers meet their contractual and legal obligations [for our legitimate interests and/or to comply with legal obligations]; keep records related to our business practices [for our legitimate interests and/or to comply with legal obligations]; and comply with applicable laws [to comply with legal obligations].

When we share this additional data

General
We may share your personal data with our employees, representatives, agents, external legal counsel, and service providers who have a need to know the information to conduct an investigation or respond to claims relating to the reported conduct. We also may share your personal data with law enforcement if required by applicable law.

Subject of the report
We will promptly notify any person who is the subject of a report, except where notice needs to be delayed to help ensure the integrity of the investigation or the preservation of relevant information. With some exceptions, the subject of the report may access information concerning the report, but not the identity of the reporter, and may in certain cases request correction of personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete in accordance with applicable law.

How long we keep this additional data

The information you provide will be kept as long as necessary to conduct an investigation, maintain records of that investigation and any actions taken, or, if applicable, as long as necessary to fulfill our legal requirements.

How you can access and control this additional data

EthicsPoint™ users are given a report key to access and follow up their report on a self-service basis at any time. As noted above, subject to certain exceptions, others may request and obtain access to personal data about them contained in the report.

If you wish to correct, amend or delete your personal data please contact us. Please note that neither changes to, or deletion of, such personal data will alter personal data already relied upon or no longer in our control.

How to contact us

BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION COOKIES & SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES

This notice describes the different types of cookies and similar technologies we may use in connection with our sites and tools. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, cookies may be issued when you visit our sites and tools.

We use strictly necessary cookies to make our sites and tools work. We and our partners also use additional cookies and similar technologies to collect information when you interact with our sites and tools to improve your experience including, to provide you with tailored content, personalized experience, and analyze site usage.

If the site has a “Manage Cookies” button, you can view, change and manage your cookie settings at any time. By clicking “Accept All,” you consent to the placement of these additional cookies and similar technologies.

If the site does not have a "Manage Cookies" button, your continued use of the site represents your consent to the relevant cookies and similar technologies being placed on your computer or device.

For more information, please see “Managing cookies and similar technologies” section below.

Cookies and similar technologies we use

Cookies
Our sites and tools may use cookies, which are small text files stored on your computer or device when you access a website. More information about cookies is available at www.aboutcookies.org. We may use cookies to: (1) allow you to use the sites without having to re-enter your user name and password; (2) understand how you engage with the sites and to enhance or personalize your experience, including across devices; (3) monitor the site usage; (4) manage the sites; and (5) improve the sites and our services, including providing you with interest-based ads. For more information on our advertising, see above: “Interest-based advertising."

We may also use web beacons on our sites and tools, in our emails, and in our advertisements on other websites. Web beacons are tiny graphic images that are used to collect information about your visit to our sites and tools, such as the pages you view and the features you use, as well as information about whether you open and/or act upon one of our emails or advertisements. We may also collect the URL of the website you visited immediately before coming to our sites and tools. Web beacons help us analyze visitors' behavior and measure the effectiveness of our sites and tools and our advertising. We may work with service providers that help us track, collect and analyze this information.

Click-through URLs
If you “opt in” to receive newsletters, updates, or other information from us, our emails may use a “click-through URL” linked to content on our sites and tools. When you click one of these URLs, they pass through a separate web server before arriving at the destination page on our sites and tools. We use this click-through data to help us understand how recipients respond to, or interact with, our emails.

Third-party cookies and similar technologies

Third-party analytics services
We use third-party analytics services, including Google Analytics and others, to collect information about your use of our sites and tools and enable us to improve our sites and tools. You can learn about Google’s practices by going to www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners. Google Analytics and other third-party analytics services use cookies and similar technologies to collect information about use of our sites and tools and to report trends to us, without identifying individuals to us. We use this information to see the overall patterns of usage on our sites and tools, help us record any difficulties you have with our sites and tools, and tell us whether our communication efforts are effective. We may also link the information provided by third party analytics services with the information we collect, or you provide in other contexts on our site and tools (newsletters, etc.), to personalize, connect and streamline your experience when visiting our sites and tools.

Social media and video sites
If you choose to share our digital content with friends through social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, or to watch a video posted to a third-party media site (such as YouTube), you may be sent cookies from these third-party websites. We do not control the setting of these cookies, so please check the third-party websites for more information about their cookies and how to manage them.

Managing cookies and similar technologies

Cookies
You do not need to have cookies enabled to browse our sites and tools unless you want us to remember you and your preferences when you return. If you prefer not to allow cookies, most cookies can be managed or blocked through your browser. However, if your browser is set to reject cookies or you manually delete cookies, you may have some trouble accessing and using some of the pages and features that are currently on our sites and tools, or that we may put on our sites and tools in the future. Note that browser-management tools for cookies are outside of our control and we cannot guarantee their effectiveness. More information about managing cookies is available at the following links:

• Adobe Flash
• Android Browser
• Google Chrome
• Internet Explorer
• Mozilla Firefox
• Safari (Desktop)
• Safari (Mobile)

Click-through URLs
If you prefer not to be tracked in this way, please do not click text or graphic links in emails you receive from us.

Third-party analytics services
You can opt out of data collection or use by Google and other third-party analytics services we may use at the following links:

• Adjust: www.adjust.com/opt-out
• AppsFlyer: www.appsflyer.com/optout
• Clicktale: www.clicktale.net/disable.html
• Google Analytics: tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout (requires you to install a browser add-on)
• Kissmetrics: kissmetrics.io/privacy
• Mixpanel: mixpanel.com/optout
• WebTrends: ondemand.webtrends.com/support/optout.asp

Do-not-track requests
There is no standard for how online service should respond to “Do Not Track” signals or other mechanisms that may allow you to opt out of the collection of information across networks of websites and online services. Therefore, we do not honor “Do Not Track” signals. As standards develop, we will revisit this issue and update this notice if our practices change. More information about Do Not Track is available at www.allaboutdnt.org.