INFORMATION ABOUT OUR USE OF COOKIES

Certain websites that are accessible from certain locations (e.g. parts of the European Union) are required to obtain consent to using or storing cookies (or similar technologies) on your computers or mobile device.

In this Cookie Policy, we describe the types of cookies, web beacons, local shared objects (sometimes called “flash cookies”), and similar technologies (collectively “Cookies”, unless necessary to distinguish among the tracking technologies) that we, and our third party service providers, use on www.houzz.ie and our applications (collectively the “Site”), and the purposes for such Cookies.

If you have questions about this Cookie Policy, or if you would like a detailed list of the Cookies that we currently use on our Site, please contact: privacy@houzz.com. For complete details about our information collection practices on our Site, please review our privacy policy: http://www.houzz.ie/privacyPolicy.

Your Consent

By continuing to use our Site, or taking other action as might be required by applicable law (e.g., clicking on a website banner), you are agreeing to the placement of Cookies on your computer by us and our third party service providers. Please read this Cookie Policy carefully for details about why we use Cookies and the information they collect from and about you.

If you do not wish to accept Cookies in connection with your use of this Site, you must stop using our Site or disable Cookies via your browser settings (see below). Please note that disabling Cookies will affect the functionality of our Site, and may prevent you from being able to access certain features on our Site.

What is a Cookie?

We, and our third party service providers, use various tracking technologies, including cookies, web beacons, and Flash Local Storage Objects. A cookie is a small data files that may have unique identifiers, and reside, among other places, on your computer or mobile device, in emails we send to you, and on our Site. A web beacon is a tiny graphics with a unique identifier, similar in function to a cookie. In contrast to cookies, which are stored on your computer’s hard drive, web beacons are embedded invisibly on web pages. Flash Local Storage Objects (“Flash LSOs”) may be used to store your preferences and to personalize your visit. Flash LSOs are different from browser cookies because of the amount and type of data stored.

Key Concepts

First and third-party cookies: whether a Cookie is ‘first’ or ‘third’ party refers to the domain placing the Cookie. First-party Cookies are those set by a website that is being visited by the user at the time (e.g. cookies placed by www.houzz.ie).

Third-party cookies: are Cookies that are set by a domain other than that of the website being visited by the user. If a user visits a website and another entity sets a cookie through that website this would be a third-party cookie.

Persistent cookies: these Cookies remain on a user’s device for the period of time specified in the cookie. They are activated each time that the user visits the Site that created that particular cookie.

Session cookies: these Cookies allow website operators to link the actions of a user during a browser session. A browser session starts when a user opens the browser window and finishes when they close the browser window. Session Cookies are created temporarily. Once you close the browser, all session Cookies are deleted.

How to delete and block our Cookies

It may be possible to disable Cookies through your device or browser settings. The method for disabling Cookies may vary by device and browser. If you use your browser settings to block all cookies (including essential cookies) you may not be able to access all or parts of our Site. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies as soon you visit our Site. Turning off or deleting cookies will not prevent device identification and related data collection from occurring.

How to turn Cookies off?

Internet browsers allow you to change your cookie settings. These settings are usually found in the 'options' or 'preferences' menu of your internet browser. In order to understand these settings, the following links may be helpful. Otherwise you should use the 'Help' option in your internet browser for more details.

Please note that you may not be able to disable your acceptance of Flash LSOs through your web browser, but you may be able to delete specific Flash LSOs. For more information on Flash LSOs, or to learn how to manage your settings for Flash LSOs, go to the Adobe Flash Player Help Page, choose “Global Storage Settings Panel” and follow the instructions. To see the Flash LSOs currently on your computer, choose “Website Storage Settings Panel” and follow the instructions to review and, if you choose, to delete any specific Flash LSO.

Can I withdraw my consent?

Once you have given us your consent to the use of Cookies, we shall store a Cookie on your computer or device to remember this for next time. This will expire periodically. If you wish to withdraw your consent at any time, you will need to delete your Cookies using your internet browser settings.

For further information about deleting or blocking Cookies, please visit: http://www.aboutcookies.org/Default.aspx?page=2.

What Cookies do we use and why?

To find out about specific Cookies we use on our Site please contact: privacy@houzz.com.

Generally our Site uses Cookies to distinguish you from other users of our Site. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our Site and also allows us to improve our Site.

The Cookies used on our Site are categorized as follows:

  • Strictly necessary
  • Performance
  • Functionality
  • Targeting

Strictly Necessary

'Strictly Necessary' Cookies let you move around the Site and use essential features like secure areas and shopping baskets. Without these Cookies, we cannot provide the requested services.

We use these Strictly Necessary Cookies to:

  • Identify you as being logged in to our Site and to authenticate you
  • Make sure you connect to the right service on our Site when we make any changes to the way the Site works
  • To add purchases to your shopping cart and remembering the product you have added within a browsing session when you get the checkout page
  • Identify that added items to the cart when you return to our Site
  • For security purposes
  • Make sure you connect to the right service on our Site when we make any changes to the way the Site works

Accepting these cookies is a condition of using the Site, so if you prevent these cookies we can't guarantee how Site or the security on our Site will perform during your visit.

Performance

'Performance' Cookies collect information about how you use our Site e.g. which pages you visit, and if you experience any errors. These Cookies do not collect any information that could identify you and are only used to help us improve how our Site works, understand what interests our users and measure the effectiveness of our advertising.

We use performance Cookies to:

  • Carry out web analytics: Provide statistics on how our Site is used
  • Perform affiliate tracking: Provide feedback to affiliated entities that one of our visitors also visited their Site
  • Obtain data on the number of users of the Site that have viewed a product and / or added it to their Ideabook
  • Help us improve the Site by measuring any errors that occur
  • Test different designs for the Site

Some of our performance Cookies are managed for us by third parties. We do not allow the third party to use the Cookies for any purpose other than those listed above.

By using our Site, or expressing your consent as otherwise required by applicable law, you accept the use of 'Performance' Cookies. Accepting these Cookies is a condition of using the Site, so if you prevent them we cannot guarantee how our Site will perform for you.

Functionality

'Functionality' Cookies are used to provide services or to remember settings to improve your visit.

We use 'Functionality' Cookies for such purposes as:

  • Remember settings you've applied such as layout, text size, preferences and colors
  • Remember if we've already asked you if you want to fill in a survey
  • Remember if you have engaged with a particular component or product list on the Site so that don’t show it again
  • Remember when you have added a product to your Ideabook
  • Show you when you're logged in to the Site
  • To provide and show embedded video content

Some of these Cookies are managed for us by third parties. We do not allow the third party to use the Cookies for any purpose other than those listed above.

Targeting

'Targeting' Cookies are used to record your visit to our Site, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed.

We use 'Targeting' Cookies to:

  • Link to social networks like Facebook, which may subsequently use information about your visit to target advertising to you on other websites
  • Provide ad networks with information about your visit so that they can present you with advertisements and/or assist us in identifying which advertisements might be of interest to you

Some of these Cookies are managed by third parties, and you may refer to the third parties' own website privacy notifications for further information.

More information about cookies:

Analytics

This Site uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google uses cookies to help the website analyze how users use the Site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the Site (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. In case of activation of the IP anonymization, Google will truncate/anonymize the last octet of the IP address for Member States of the European Union as well as for other parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area. Only in exceptional cases, the full IP address is sent to and shortened by Google servers in the USA. On behalf of the Site provider Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the Site, compiling reports on Site activity for Site operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage to the website provider. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of these cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser as discussed in this notice. However, please note that if you do this, you may not be able to use the full functionality of this Site. Furthermore you can prevent Google’s collection and use of data (cookies and IP address) by downloading and installing the browser plug-in available under https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en-IE.

You can refuse the use of Google Analytics by clicking on the following link. An opt-out cookie will be set on the computer, which prevents the future collection of your data when visiting this website:
Disable Google Analytics

Further information concerning the terms and conditions of use and data privacy can be found at http://www.google.ie/analytics/terms/gb.html or at https://www.google.ie/intl/en_ie/policies/.

Please note that on this website, Google Analytics code is supplemented by “gat._anonymizeIp();” to ensure an anonymized collection of IP addresses (so called IP-masking). For more information about Google analytic cookies, please see Google's help pages and privacy policy:

Information about cookies

Useful information about cookies can be found at:
http://www.allaboutcookies.org

Internet Advertising Bureau

A guide to behavioral advertising and online privacy has been produced by the internet advertising industry which can be found at:
http://www.youronlinechoices.eu

International Chamber of Commerce United Kingdom

Information on the ICC (UK) UK cookie guide can be found on the ICC website section:
http://www.international-chamber.co.uk/our-expertise/digitaleconomy

Last updated v.20160215