What are cookies

Cookies are small files which are stored on a user's computer. They are designed to hold a modest amount of data specific to a particular client and website, and can be accessed either by the web server or the client computer. This allows the server to deliver a page tailored to a particular user, or the page itself can contain some script which is aware of the data in the cookie and so is able to carry information from one visit to the website (or related site) to the next.
Each cookie is effectively a small lookup table containing pairs of (key, data) values - for example (firstname, John) (lastname, Smith). Once the cookie has been read by the code on the server or client computer, the data can be retrieved and used to customise the web page appropriately.
Writing data to a cookie is usually done when a new webpage is loaded - for example after a 'submit' button is pressed the data handling page would be responsible for storing the values in a cookie. If the user has elected to disable cookies then the write operation will fail, and subsequent sites which rely on the cookie will either have to take a default action, or prompt the user to re-enter the information that would have been stored in the cookie.
Cookies are a convenient way to carry information from one session on a website to another, or between sessions on related websites, without having to burden a server machine with massive amounts of data storage. Storing the data on the server without using cookies would also be problematic because it would be difficult to retrieve a particular user's information without requiring a login on each visit to the website.
If there is a large amount of information to store, then a cookie can simply be used as a means to identify a given user so that further related information can be looked up on a server-side database. For example the first time a user visits a site they may choose a username which is stored in the cookie, and then provide data such as password, name, address, preferred font size, page layout, etc. - this information would all be stored on the database using the username as a key.
Subsequently when the site is revisited the server will read the cookie to find the username, and then retrieve all the user's information from the database without it having to be re-entered.

Technical cookies can be catalogued in the following subsets:

• Browsing or session technical cookies strictly necessary for the operation of the Website or to enable users to use the content and services they require;
• ShinyStat technical cookies, which provide information on how the website is used by users. These cookies do not collect information on the user's identity or any personal details. The information is processed in aggregate and anonymous form;
• Functionality technical cookies, i.e. used to activate specific functionalities of the site and a set of selected criteria (for example, videos of favourite candidates) in order to improve the service.
  WARNING: disabling the Website's technical and / or functionality cookies may render certain of its functions unavailable or inoperable and the user may be forced to modify or manually enter certain information or preferences every time he/she visits the website.
• Third-party cookies, i.e. cookies from websites or web servers other than the Owner's, used for the purposes of said third parties, including cookie profiling.
  Note that these third parties, listed below with the corresponding links to their privacy policies, are independent holders of the processing of the data collected by the cookies they provide; therefore, the user should refer to their personal details processing policies, information and consent forms (selection and de-selection of their cookies) listed below (as defined in the General Provision Identification of simplified ways of informing about and acquiring consent for use of cookies - 8 May 2014).

Specifically, the technical cookies used by this site are:

NAME OF COOKIE	PERIOD	PURPOSE
cookie-agreed	120 days	Is sent to the visitor's terminal once the brief disclosure has been accepted. Prevents the banner reappearing for connections to the website made during the cookie lifetime
username	90 days	Used to automatically recognize the user, avoiding the latter having to re-enter his/her access credentials on each visit
optikon_site	Up to the end of browsing session	Used to store session data (PHP)

Third party cookies

While browsing this Website, the user may receive "third-party" cookies on his/her terminal. These come from or are managed by different websites from this one and are sent using their services.

These services, using cookies, may use the personal details to profile users and/or to contextualize and personalize advertising on their network ( Behavioural advertising).

THIRD PARTY COOKIES	PURPOSE	COLLECTED DATA
ShinyStat™ (Shiny Srl - Milan, Italy) Privacy Policy IP anonymisation and aggregation of statistical data Opt Out	Service statistics, aggregate of visits to the site.	Cookies/browsing data
Youtube – Widget (Google Inc. – USA) Privacy Policy	Embedded service that allows this website to display video content on its pages.	Cookies/browsing data
Vimeo – Widget (Vimeo LLC - USA) Privacy Policy	Embedded service that allows this website to display video content on its pages.	Cookies/browsing data

Installation of cookies (or any other tracking systems) of third parties cannot technically be controlled by Optikon 2000 SpA

For more specific information, see the Privacy Policies of the third-party services listed in this document.

How to control or block cookies

Most browsers are set to automatically accept cookies. You can change your preferences at any time and set your browser to reject or remove them.

Google Chrome,

Mozilla Firefox,

Microsoft Internet Explorer,

Apple Safari,

Safari su iPhone, iPad, o iPod touch,

Android Chrome.

We inform you that, if you choose to block all cookies, you may not be able to access or use important functionalities provided by the websites. Furthermore, if you cancel all cookies, you might lose the preferences you have set previously on the websites you visit.

For further information on behavioural advertising, third party cookies, and to selectively set your opt-outs for the major companies that apply it, you can go to the website:

http://www.youronlinechoices.com/it/