Skimlinks Privacy Policy

Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains what personal and other information is collected by Skimbit Ltd (a company registered in England and Wales with number 06347796 and its registered office at 52 Bevenden Street, London N1 6BL, United Kingdom) (“Skimlinks” or “we”) as part of its activities, and how Skimlinks uses that information.

Skimlinks recognises that your privacy is very important to you and that it is your right to control your personal information, whether you are a Publisher, a Merchant or a User. We recommend that you read this Privacy Policy in full to ensure that you are fully informed. To make it easier for you to review those parts of the Privacy Policy which apply to you, we have divided up this Privacy Policy into the following sections – please take the time to read Section 1 (General) and, if you are a Publisher, Merchant or User, the Section which applies to you.

Section 1 – General (applicable to everyone)
Section 2 – Publishers
Section 3 – Merchants
Section 4 – Users

In this Privacy Policy, the following expressions have the following meanings:

“Advertiser”	an entity purchasing advertising or marketing services from Skimlinks directly or through an agent.
“Agreement”	an agreement between (i) a Publisher or a Merchant and (ii) Skimlinks.
“Computer”	a device used for accessing digital information including but not limited to desktops, laptops, tablets, mobile phones and other connected devices.
“Merchant”	a supplier of goods and/or services to Users, or individuals representing such a supplier, which may also be authorised by Skimlinks to access and use the Service under the terms of an Agreement.
“Merchant Core Tools”	means Skimlinks Code as used by a Merchant to enable tracking, analytics and marketing functionality.
“Merchant Hub”	the login-protected web portal that may be accessed by Merchants to provide them with, among other things, access to the Merchant Core Tools.
“Optional Tools”	means (i) SkimWords (ii) Network Overwrite (iii) URL Shortener (iv) Link Generator (v) Skim RSS BETA (vi) Skimlinks APIs (URL Shortener API, Merchant API and Reporting API BETA), and (vii) such additional or alternative proprietary or third party software tools that Skimlinks may launch from time to time.
“Personal Information”	information relating to an identified or identifiable individual.
“Publisher”	a person or other entity who is entitled to access and use the Service under the terms of an Agreement, or individuals representing such a person or entity.
“Publisher Core Tools”	means (i) Skimlinks Code and (ii) Link API, either of which Publishers can use to affiliate Merchant links with the purpose of earning Publisher Commissions and obtaining insights via the Publisher Hub.
“Publisher Hub”	Skimlinks’ proprietary, login-protected web portal that may be accessed by Publishers at www.skimlinks.comto access and configure Tools, view performance and billing reports, and search for participating Merchants.
“Service”	access to and use of (i) the Publisher Hub or the Merchant Hub (as applicable) and (ii) the Tools.
“Skimlinks Code”	is computer code which, when added to a web page or a global footer, enables the Service on a Skimlinks Enabled Site.
“Skimlinks Enabled Site”	a Publisher’s or a Merchant’s website running one or more Tools.
“Tools”	means Publisher Core Tools, Optional Tools and Merchant Core Tools or, as the context requires, some of them.
“Usage Data”	data collected or created by the use of the Service, including but not limited to device type, browser-type, operating system, internet provider,your ip address, domain name, the web pages that you visit or have visited, the actions that you take on those websites, the date and time of your visits, broad geographic location (e.g. country or city-level location) and other technical information.
“User”	an end-user experiencing one or more of the Tools on a Skimlinks Enabled Site.
“You”	anyone who interacts with our website, including Publishers and Users.

Section 1: General

This section applies to everyone who visits, or otherwise interacts, with our website or Skimlinks Enabled Sites.

How we keep your Personal Information secure
We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect the Personal Information that we collect and process about you. The measures we use are designed to provide a level of security appropriate to the risk of processing your Personal Information. Specific measures we use include storing your Personal Information on secure, firewall-protected servers that are located in secure facilities. These technology and security features, as well as strict internal guidelines, are designed to safeguard the privacy of your Personal Information from unauthorised access or improper use. We will continue to enhance security as new technology becomes available.Access to your Personal Information is only granted to Skimlinks staff who require such access. Backups are run to reduce the risk of loss of information, and our Internet servers are housed in secure facilities. We have security measures in place to protect our customer database and access to this database is restricted internally. While we take the steps described above to ensure that your information is secure on our system, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk.

International data transfers
Your Personal Information may be transferred using Skimlinks’ content distribution network to, and processed in, countries other than the country in which it has been collected or in which you are resident. These countries may have data protection laws that are different to the laws of your country (and, in some cases, may not be as protective).

Specifically, our website servers, our Service servers and third party service providers and partners operate in the EU, Asia and the USA. This means that when we collect your Personal Information we may process it in any part of these regions or countries.

However, we have taken appropriate safeguards to require that your Personal Information will remain protected in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
All our data transfers are safeguarded by the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses and Data Processing Agreements where this is required by European Data Protection Law.

Your data protection rights
You have the following data protection rights:

• If you wish to access, correct, update or request deletion of your Personal Information, you can do so at any time by contacting us using the contact details provided under the “Contacting Skimlinks” heading below.
• In addition, you can object to processing of your Personal Information, ask us to restrict processing of your Personal Information or request portability of your Personal Information. Again, you can exercise these rights by contacting us using the contact details provided under the “Contacting Skimlinks” heading below.
• You have the right to opt-out of marketing communications we send you at any time. You can exercise this right by clicking on the “unsubscribe” or “opt-out” link in the marketing e-mails we send you. To opt-out of other forms of marketing (such as postal marketing or telemarketing), then please contact us using the contact details provided under the “How to contact us” heading below.
• Similarly, if we have collected and process your Personal Information with your consent, then you can withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to your withdrawal, nor will it affect processing of your Personal Information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.
• You have the right to authority complain to a data protection about our collection and use of your Personal Information. For more information, please contact the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.

We respond to all requests we receive from individuals wishing to exercise their data protection rights in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

How we use cookies on our website
A cookie is a small text file that is stored on a user’s Computer for tracking and record-keeping purposes. We use both session ID cookies and persistent cookies, further details of which can be obtained here. We use session cookies to make it easier for you to navigate our website. A session ID cookie expires when you close your browser. A persistent cookie remains on your hard drive for an extended period of time. You can remove persistent cookies via your browser’s ‘clear cookie’ function. Please see allaboutcookies.org for more information about blocking cookies on your particular web browser.

Before dropping cookies onto your Computer for which consent is needed we will display a banner and give you the option to proceed or not and let you know what constitutes consent. This consent request will vary by the country you access the website from.

Persistent cookies enable us to track and target your interests to enhance your experience on our website and, if applicable, the Publisher Hub or Merchant Hub. For example, we use this data to understand how you interact with our website so we can make improvements to the information and design of our website.

What Personal Information does Skimlinks collect and why?
The Personal Information that we may collect about Publishers broadly falls into the following categories:

• Information that you provide voluntarily
  Certain parts of the Service may ask you to provide Personal Information voluntarily: for example, we may ask you to provide your contact details in order to register an account with us, to subscribe to marketing communications from us, and/or to submit enquiries to us. The Personal Information that you are asked to provide, and the reasons why you are asked to provide it, will be made clear to you at the point we ask you to provide your Personal Information.

• Information that we collect automatically
  When you use the Service and/ or our website, we may collect certain information automatically from your Computer. In some countries, including countries in the European Economic Area, this information may be considered Personal Information under applicable data protection laws.

Specifically, the information we collect automatically may include information like your IP address, unique device identification numbers and Usage Data. We may also collect information about how your device has interacted with the Service and/ or our website. Collecting this information enables us to better understand how the Services are used. We use this information for our internal analytics purposes and to improve the quality and relevance of the Service and/ or our website to Publishers, Merchants and Users.

Some of this information may be collected using cookies and similar tracking technology, as explained further under the heading “How we use cookies on our website” above.

In general, we will use the Personal Information we collect from you only for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or for purposes that we explain to you at the time we collect your Personal Information. However, we may also use your Personal Information for other purposes that are not incompatible with the purposes we have disclosed to you (such as archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes, or statistical purposes) if and where this is permitted by applicable data protection laws.

What we share with third parties
We use third parties’ analytics technologies which involve cookies being dropped via our website and the collection of Usage Data, so we can understand how you use our website. We do not have access to or control over these cookies, but please see here for more information on these cookies.

Who do we share your Personal Information with?
We may disclose your Personal Information to the following categories of recipients:

• to our third party services providers and partners who provide data processing services to us (for example, to support the delivery of, provide functionality on, or help to enhance the security of our Website), or process Personal Information for content customization, personalization, ad selection and ad delivery and reporting, measurement purposes or who otherwise process Personal Information for purposes that are described in this Privacy Policy or notified to you when we collect your Personal Information;
• to any competent law enforcement body, regulatory, government agency, court or other third party where we believe disclosure is necessary (i) as a matter of applicable law or regulation, (ii) to exercise, establish or defend our legal rights, or (iii) to protect your interests or those of any other person;
• to an actual or potential buyer (and its agents and advisers) in connection with any actual or proposed purchase, merger or acquisition of any part of our business, provided that we inform the buyer it must use your Personal Information only for the purposes disclosed in this Privacy Notice;
• in order to enforce or apply Skimlinks’ Terms of Service, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Skimlinks, our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purpose of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.
• to any other person with your consent to the disclosure.

Legal basis for processing Personal Information
Our legal basis for collecting and using the Personal Information described in this Privacy Policy will depend on the Personal Information concerned and the specific context in which we collect it.

However, we will normally collect Personal Information from you only where (i) we have your consent to do so, (ii) where we need the Personal Information to perform a contract with you, or (iii) where the processing is in our legitimate interests and not overridden by your data protection interests or fundamental rights and freedoms. In some cases, we may also have a legal obligation to collect Personal Information from you. If we ask you to provide Personal Information to comply with a legal requirement or to perform a contact with you, we will make this clear at the relevant time and advise you whether the provision of your Personal Information is mandatory or not (as well as of the possible consequences if you do not provide your Personal Information).

Similarly, if we collect and use your Personal Information in reliance on our legitimate interests (or those of any third party), this interest will normally be to provide our Services and for our commercial interests, for instance, when responding to your queries, improving our platform, undertaking marketing, or for the purposes of detecting or preventing illegal activities. We may have other legitimate interests and if appropriate we will make clear to you at the relevant time what those legitimate interests are.

If you have questions about or need further information concerning the legal basis on which we collect and use your Personal Information, please let us know.

Skimlinks & Online Behavioural Advertiser (OBA)
We adhere to and follow the guidelines provided by the IAB’s OBA Framework. More information about the OBA Framework is available here.

We also make use of ‘cross-device’ graphs to find connections between non-Personally Identifiable cookie identifiers. This means the patterns of behavior we see on one device, may be used in Online Behavioural Advertising on another device. If you would prefer that Skimlinks does not use your information in this way please follow opt-out process detailed below or (in the European Economic Area) decline consent when required or, if consent has previously been given, withdraw it (see below).

Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time in response to changing legal, technical or business developments, so please review it frequently. When we update our Privacy Policy, we will take appropriate measures to inform you, consistent with the significance of the changes we make. If we make material changes to this policy, we will notify Publishers and Merchants by means of a notice on the Publisher Hub and the Merchant Hub.

Contacting Skimlinks
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, our practices, or your dealings with Skimlinks, you can contact us here or on [email protected]
Skimbit Ltd t/a Skimlinks
2nd Floor
52 Bevenden Street
London N1 6BL
skimlinks.com/contact
or contact our data protection officer on [email protected]

Data Protection Service
You can obtain further information about data protection and privacy laws by visiting the Information Commissioner’s web site at: https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/.

Section 2: Publishers

This section describes what information is collected by Skimlinks from Publishers, and how that information is used by Skimlinks.

What information we collect from Publishers
When a Publisher signs up to use the Service, we collect and store various pieces of Personal Information, including:

• Full name of the Publisher and, if different, the name of the Publisher contact
• Email address
• Telephone number
• Website information
• Bank/PayPal details
• Payment & VAT Information
• Address

We also collect and store information about when and how a Publisher uses the Publisher Hub, including reports and other tools and interfaces provided by us.

How we use Publisher information
We use this Publisher information to perform our obligations under the Agreement, including:

• To assess the suitability of Skimlinks Enabled Sites for the Service
• To contact Publishers to help them with registration, use and optimisation of the Service
• To pay Publishers their share of the commissions earned through the Service
• To communicate with Publishers on Skimlinks-related matters
• To provide Publishers with performance and billing information
• To improve the service we provide to Publishers based on how Publishers use our service and the tools which we provide to them.
• To introduce Merchants and Advertisers who may wish to purchase services from or partner with the Publisher.

Updating Publisher information
Publishers can edit any of their Personal Information within the Publisher Hub. It is the Publisher’s responsibility:

• To protect against unauthorised access to their details and the Publisher Hub
• To log-off from the Publisher Hub when not using it
• To keep its password secret.

What does Skimlinks do on Skimlinks Enabled Sites?
Once a Publisher’s application to use the Service is accepted, and the Publisher has added the Skimlinks Code to its Skimlinks Enabled Site template, a JavaScript file will be downloaded to Users’ Computers when they view Skimlinks Enabled Sites. Depending on which of the Tools has been enabled via the Publisher Hub, this JavaScript file will do the following:

• Collect and store information about Users behaviours on a site (including impressions and links clicked), so we can monetise such behaviours from participating Merchants, and report on them for Publisher and Merchant reports.
• Collect and store information about Skimlinks Enabled Sites, to provide the Service.
• Drop a Skimlinks cookie when a User visits a web page or clicks an outbound link, so we can record non-identifiable information about the pages, links and Merchants visited by Users across our Publisher network. This will be used to optimize the service we provide, to deliver reporting and analytics to Publishers and Merchants, and so that the links we create/monetize are to products and Merchants that Users prefer.
• Synchronize non-identifiable cookies with third parties to enable us to share and license segments with third parties to support services including, but not limited to, customisation of websites, targeting of content, and advertising optimization. Publishers may disable synchronization by contacting Skimlinks customer service, and must notify Users that they can opt-out of synchronization or (for EU users) that they will be required to consent – see below.

What information relating to Users does Skimlinks collect?
Skimlinks will not knowingly collect or store any information which enables us to determine the actual identity of Users visiting a Skimlinks Enabled Site.

Skimlinks uses cookies and web beacons to collect Usage Data relating to Users. This Usage Data is used by Skimlinks to optimize the performance and yield of the Service, to provide comprehensive reporting to Publishers, and to provide reporting and targeting services to Merchants, Advertisers and other third parties. Usage Data cannot generally be used to identify a specific person. For more information regarding cookies, please see Section 1 of this Privacy Policy.

Skimlinks provides an opt-out service for Users who do not wish for their Usage Data to be used for advertising targeting purposes.

This opt-out is accessible here, and it is the Publisher’s responsibility to provide their Users with this option.

Do Publishers need to update their own privacy policies if they use Skimlinks?
It is the responsibility of the Publisher to ensure that its privacy policy, ‘About Us’ or other relevant website section includes the following information, and that the Publisher gives notice to each User (whether in a privacy policy or otherwise) containing these provisions:

• A statement regarding use of the Service on the Skimlinks Enabled Site(s). For example: “Our website contains some affiliate marketing links, which means we get paid commission on sales of those products or services we write about. Our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers or affiliate partnerships. We use Skimlinks and more information about their data collection is set out in their privacy policy at https://skimlinks.com/privacy-policy”
• Full details about cookies which are dropped by Skimlinks onto Users’ Computers when Users view a web page or click on an affiliate link on Skimlinks Enabled Sites. Publishers must at a minimum include the information that can be found in Section 4 below under the heading of ‘What information does Skimlinks collect about Users through its technology and how does it use this information?’. Publishers should also provide a link for Users with information regarding how they can disable the use of Skimlinks optimisation cookies, as set out in Section 4 below under the heading of ‘How can I disable Skimlinks cookies?’.

If the Publisher is based in the European Union, or offers goods and services to customers in the European Union, the Publisher must also seek the consent of Users before Skimlinks cookies are dropped via their Skimlinks Enabled Site and to certain uses of their personal data (including audience tracking and some affiliate marketing activities). We will from time to time notify Publishers of the use which will require consent. Publishers can decide how to obtain consent but Skimlinks suggests that:

• In relation to cookies, users are requested to consent to the terms of the Publisher’s Privacy Policy, either the first time a user’s device arrives on a Skimlinks Enabled Site. After initial provision of consent by a User, it need not be provided again, unless the purpose of cookies dropped via Skimlinks Enabled Sites is changed, or the consent expires as per the period that was declared. If Skimlinks makes relevant changes to its cookies, we will notify you accordingly.
• In relation to processing for those uses notified to Publishers as requiring consent, Publishers should consider using a consent management platform.

For U.S. properties, the Publisher must insert a link to the DAA opt-out program (currently available at https://www.aboutads.info/choices) and the NAI opt-out program (currently available at https://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/).

For EU/EEA properties, the Publisher must insert a link to the EDAA opt-out program (currently available at https://www.youronlinechoices.eu/).

For properties in other regions, if the above rules are not sufficient for compliance with local legislation or regulation, please provide a link to this Privacy Policy.

What we share with third parties
We may share with certain key partners and advertisers some anonymous Publisher information in order to optimise our Advertiser and Merchant relationships and increase revenue yields for Publishers.

We may disclose your personal data to third parties:

• In the event that Skimlinks identifies a Merchant with which a Publisher could have a commercial relationship, to make introductions.

Data retention
We retain Personal Information we collect from the Publisher indefinitely for fraud prevention and regulatory compliance.

Section 3: Merchants

This section describes what information is collected by Skimlinks from Merchants, and how that information is used by Skimlinks.

What information we collect from Merchants
When a Merchant signs up to use the Service, we collect and store various pieces of Personal Information, including:

• Full name of the Merchant and, if different, the name of the Merchant contact
• Email address
• Telephone number
• Website information
• VAT Information
• Address

We also collect and store information about when and how a Merchant uses the Merchant Hub, including reports and other tools and interfaces provided by us.

How we use Merchant information
We use this Merchant information to perform our obligations under the Agreement, including:

• To assess the suitability of the Merchant for the Service
• To contact Merchant to help them with registration, use and optimisation of the Service
• To communicate with Merchants on Skimlinks-related matters
• To provide Merchants with order and billing history information
• To improve the service we provide to Merchants based on how Merchants use our service and the tools which we provide to them.
• To introduce Publishers who may wish to enter into agreements with the Merchant.

Updating Merchant information
Merchants can edit any of their Personal Information within the Merchant Hub. It is the Merchant’s responsibility:

• To protect against unauthorised access to their details and the Merchant Hub
• To log-off from the Merchant Hub when not using it
• To keep its password secret.

What does Skimlinks do on Skimlinks Enabled Sites?
Once a Merchant’s application to use the Merchant Core Tools is accepted, and the Merchant has added the Skimlinks Code to its site, a JavaScript file will be downloaded to Users’ Computers when they view the Merchant’s Skimlinks Enabled Site. Depending on which of the Tools has been enabled via the Merchant Hub, this JavaScript file will do the following:

• Collect and store information about content available in the browser on the Merchant’s Skimlinks Enabled Site; including but not limited to URLs, product names, SKUs, prices, order value, order identifier and customer identifier tokens.
• Drop a Skimlinks cookie when a User visits a Merchant’s Skimlinks Enabled Site, so we can record non-identifiable information about the pages and products viewed by Users.

What Information relating to Users does Skimlinks collect?
Skimlinks will not knowingly collect or store any information which enables us to determine the actual identity of Users visiting a Merchant’s Skimlinks Enabled Site.

Skimlinks uses cookies and web beacons to collect Usage Data relating to Users. This Usage Data is used by Skimlinks to optimize the performance and yield of the Service, to provide comprehensive reporting to Merchants, and to provide aggregate reporting to Publishers for the purpose of helping them optimize their content and marketing for Merchants. Usage Data cannot generally be used to identify a specific person. For more information regarding cookies, please see Section 1 of this Privacy Policy.

Skimlinks provides an opt-out service for Users who do not wish for their Usage Data to be used for reporting and targeting purposes. This opt-out is accessible here, and it is the Merchant’s responsibility to provide their Users with this option.

Do Merchants need to update their own privacy policies if they use Skimlinks?
It is the responsibility of the Merchant to ensure that its privacy policy, ‘About Us’ or other relevant website section includes information about the use of cookies, and that the Merchant obtains each User’s consent to cookies. The Merchant should share full details about cookies which are dropped by Skimlinks onto Users’ Computers. Merchants should at a minimum include the information that can be found in Section 4 below under the heading of ‘What information does Skimlinks collect about Users through its technology and how does it use this information?’. Merchants should also provide a link for Users with information regarding how they can disable the use of Skimlinks cookies, as set out in Section 4 below under the heading of _‘How can I disable Skimlinks cookies?’

If the Merchant is based in the European Union, or offers goods and services to customers based in the European Union, the Merchant must also seek the consent of Users before Skimlinks cookies are dropped via their site. Merchants can decide how to obtain consent but Skimlinks suggests that Users are requested to consent to the terms of the Merchant’s privacy policy the first time they arrive on the Merchant’s site. After initial provision of consent by a User, it need not be provided again, unless the purpose of cookies dropped via the Merchant’s sites is changed. If Skimlinks makes relevant changes to its cookies, we will notify you accordingly.

For U.S. properties, the Publisher must insert a link to the DAA opt-out program (currently available at https://www.aboutads.info/choices) and the NAI opt-out program (currently available at https://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/).

For EU/EEA properties, the Publisher must insert a link to the EDAA opt-out program (currently available at https://www.youronlinechoices.eu/).

For properties in other regions, if the above rules are not sufficient for compliance with local legislation or regulation, please provide a link to the Skimlinks Privacy Policy.

What we share with third parties
We may disclose your personal data to third parties:

• In the event that Skimlinks identifies a Publisher with which a Merchant could have a commercial relationship, to make introductions.

Data retention
We retain Personal Information we collect from the Merchant indefinitely for fraud prevention and regulatory compliance.

Section 4: Users

This section explains how Skimlinks operates through Skimlinks Enabled Sites, and how information about Users is obtained and used by Skimlinks.

What is Skimlinks?
Skimlinks offers a service to Publishers to help them earn an income and gain insights from their commerce-related content. The service works by creating/tagging links within content that a User is reading which, if clicked, takes the User to a Merchant website where the products and/or services can be purchased. If the User then buys something as a result of clicking on these links, the Publisher is paid a referral fee by the Merchant through Skimlinks. This referral fee does not come out of Users’ pockets, nor does it affect the price Users pay or the experience Users have on the Merchant’s site.

Skimlinks also offers Merchants and Advertisers a service that helps them to better understand and target Users’ behaviours, and to identify and work more effectively with Publishers and third parties on marketing campaigns.

What information does Skimlinks collect about Users through its technology and how does it use this information?

• We store Users’ IP addresses, from which we can determine a User’s approximate geographical location (e.g. country or region). We need this information to optimize the links that are created/monetized to suit the geography of the User, and to provide aggregate reporting to Publishers, Merchants and Advertisers on the location of users visiting Skimlinks Enabled Sites. We also use IP addresses as part of our efforts to reduce fraud and identify non-human browsing patterns.
• We store information about the device that a User uses to access sites within our Publisher network, such as the browser type, browser version, and type of device. This helps us ensure we can diagnose and fix browser compatibility issues more swiftly, optimize our service to suit the preferred browsing environments, and provide aggregate reporting to Publishers, Merchants and Advertisers.
• We store non-identifiable information, using cookies and device identifiers, about the websites within our Publisher network that Users visit, which of our links Users click on, and whether Users make a purchase. This enables us to provide Users with relevant and useful links and advertising to products and/or services in which they are likely to be interested, and to Merchants and Advertisers from whom they are likely to want to buy. Further information regarding the cookies we utilise to collect this information can be found here
• As part of the information available in standard web serving logs, we also store information about the referrer, i.e. the website page from which the User linked to the Skimlinks Enabled Site.
• To provide Publishers and Merchants with the Service, we collect information on visits and sales on Skimlinks Enabled Sites, including but not limited to order value, products bought, and order identifiers. These are used to help Publishers, Merchants and Advertisers make better marketing and content creation decisions.
• At no time do we know who a User is, nor do we make any attempt to try and identify a User.

We use cookies to collect the information we need to optimise the product/Merchant links we monetize/create, and improve the service we provide to Publishers, Merchants, Advertisers and Users. Cookies also enable us to carry out audience segmentation, ie we divide Users into groups based upon defined criteria such as product usage, demographics, communication behaviour and media use. We synchronise cookie identifiers with third parties in order to enrich the Service and offer personalized experiences across the web. As you browse Skimlinks Enabled Sites, cookies will be placed on your Computer so that we can understand what you are interested in. These anonymous profiles allow for the customization of websites and targeting of content, including but not limited to advertising.

How can I disable Skimlinks cookies?
If you no longer want Skimlinks to store data about the websites you visit, the links you click and the Merchants you buy from, you can simply opt-out here This will mean Skimlinks will not drop Skimlinks cookies when you browse websites in our Publisher or Merchant network.

Please note: This opt-out facility relies on a cookie being set on your browser. By visiting the link above, you acknowledge that we will be setting and maintaining the cookie on your browser in order to recognise you as an opted-out visitor. You must opt-out again if you clear that cookie from your browser (see allaboutcookies.org for more information), use a different internet browser, or use a different computer to access the internet.

U.S. visitors can understand more about cookies and their choices at these websites:

• https://www.aboutads.info/choices
• https://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/

EU/EEA visitors can understand more about cookies and their choices at https://www.youronlinechoices.eu/

If you opt-out of Skimlinks cookies, Skimlinks will still operate on pages that you visit, and still create monetizable links in content if the Publisher has chosen to install Skimlinks on its website. We just won’t optimise these links based on your preferences and behaviours, nor will we associate the websites you visit and shop from to a specific cookie.

In order for referral fees and commissions to be paid by Merchants to Publishers, Skimlinks works with affiliate networks and other ad networks that manage the relationships between Skimlinks and the Merchants. As set out above, Users who receive Skimlinks cookies are also assigned a unique identifier number.

When a User clicks on a link created by a Tool, Skimlinks attaches the User’s unique identifier number so it passes to the appropriate affiliate network for the purpose of tracking whether that User makes a purchase on the Merchant website they visit. Note that at no time do we pass any Personal Information, nor make any attempt to determine the actual identity of an individual User; all information is completely anonymous and used only for the purposes of optimizing the service provided to the User. The affiliate and ad networks that work with Skimlinks also use their own cookies in order to track if a sale has occurred, as most of these parties will only pay Publishers when a referral has been successful, i.e. a sale was completed. We do not have control over or access to these cookies and they are dropped by the affiliate and ad networks via our Skimlinks Enabled Sites.

Data retention
We retain Personal Information we collect from you for up to three years. After that we will either delete or anonymise it or, if this is not possible (for example, because your Personal Information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your Personal Information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.

What is my opt-out status in respect of Skimlinks technology?
You can find out your current opt-out status or consent status, and can also opt-out or opt-in again, by clicking here.

Residents of California - Sale of Personal Information
We share information about you with our merchant partners, third parties or affiliates for providing rewards and benefits to you and for marketing purposes. As a result of certain instances of sharing the Company may receive a benefit, which California law considers a “sale” of personal information. To the extent that you do not want us to share your personal information with the third party in this way, you have the right to opt-out of such sharing by clicking here.

This Privacy Policy was last updated on 17.04.2020

If you have a question or any concerns about our Privacy Policy, please let us know.