Cookies and other tracking technologies

7.1 What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit. They are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the website.

7.2 How and why do we use cookies?

We use cookies to improve the use and functionality of Nestlé Sites and to gain a better understanding of how visitors use Nestlé Sites and the tools and services offered on them. Cookies help us tailor Nestlé Sites to your personal needs, to improve their user-friendliness, gain customer satisfaction feedback and to communicate to you elsewhere on the internet.

7.3 What types of cookies may be used on Nestlé Sites?

We may use the following types of cookies on Nestlé Sites:

Session cookies - These are temporary cookie files which are erased when you close your browser. When you restart your browser and go back to the site that created that cookie, the website will treat you as a new visitor.

Persistent cookies – These cookies stay on your browser until you delete them manually or until your browser deletes them based on the duration period set within the cookie. These cookies will recognize you as a return visitor.

Necessary cookies - Necessary cookies are strictly necessary for the operation of a Nestlé Site. They enable you to navigate around the site and use our features.

Cookies that send information to us - These are the cookies that we set on a Nestlé Site and they can only be read by that site. This is known as a “First Party” cookie.

We also place cookies on Nestlé advertisements which are placed on other websites owned by third parties (e.g. Facebook). We obtain information via those cookies when you click on or interact with the advertisement. In this situation Nestlé is placing a “Third Party” cookie. Nestlé may use the information obtained by these cookies to serve you with advertising that is relevant and of interest to you based on your past online behaviour.

Cookies that send information to other companies - These are cookies that are set on a Nestlé Site by our partner companies (e.g. Facebook or advertisers). They may use the data collected from these cookies to anonymously target advertising to you on other websites, based on your visit to the Nestlé Site. For example, if you use a social widget (e.g. the Facebook icon) on a Nestlé Site, it will record your “share” or “like”. Facebook (as the company setting the cookie) will collect the data.

7.4 Examples of cookies used on this Website

7.5 Other similar technologies

Nestlé Sites also make use of other tracking technologies including IP addresses, log files and web beacons, which also help us tailor Nestlé Sites to your personal needs.

IP addresses                                                                                                  

An IP address is a number that is used by computers on the network to identify your computer every time you log on to the Internet. We may record IP Addresses for the following purposes: (i) troubleshoot technical concerns, (ii) maintain website safety and security (iii) better understand how our websites are utilized, and (iv) to better tailor content to your needs depending on the country you are in.

Log Files

We (or a third party on our behalf) may collect information in the form of logs files that record website activity and gather statistics about a user’s browsing habits. These entries are generated anonymously, and help us gather (among other things) (i) a user’s browser type and operating system, (ii) information about a user’s session (such as the URL they came from, the date and time they visited our website, and which pages they've viewed on our website and for how long), and, (iii) other similar navigational or click-stream data (e.g. site traffic reporting and unique visitor counts).

Web Beacons

We may use web beacons (or clear GIFs) on the Nestlé Sites. Web beacons (also known as “web bugs”) are small strings of code that provide a method of delivering a graphic image on a web page for the purpose of transferring data back to us. We use web beacon information for a variety of purposes, including information as to how a user responds to email campaigns (e.g. the time the email is opened, where the user links to from the email), site traffic reporting, unique visitor counts, advertising and email auditing and reporting, and personalization.

7.6 Manage your cookies/preferences

You should ensure that your computer setting reflects whether you are happy to accept cookies or not. You can set your browser to warn you before accepting cookies, or you can simply set it to refuse them. You do not need to have cookies on to use or navigate through many parts of Nestlé Sites although you may not have access to all the features on Nestlé Sites if you do so. See the 'help' button on your browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Firefox) for how you can do this. Remember that if you use different computers in different locations, you will need to ensure that each browser is adjusted to suit your cookie preferences.

As a web beacon forms part of a webpage, it is not possible to ‘opt-out’ but you can render them ineffective by opting out of the cookies they set.