Cookie Policy

1. WHAT ARE COOKIES AND SIMILAR TECHNIQUES?

Cookies are small data or text files that are stored on your computer, tablet or smartphone when you visit a website or use a mobile app. The cookie files contain unique codes that enable your browser to recognize you. For example, you may be identified as a visitor to our websites during your next visit.

Cookies can be used to optimize the operation and ease of use of websites and mobile apps. Examples include remembering what is in a shopping basket, helping users log into a website or analysing website traffic to improve usability. Cookies can also be used to track how the user navigates to and through a website so that the content of the website can better respond to the user’s preferences and needs.

In addition to classic cookies, we also use similar techniques, such as flash cookies, tags, pixels, device fingerprinting, cross-device tracking, HTML5 local storage, JavaScripts, web beacons, software development kits (SDKs) etc. These techniques are referred to collectively hereafter as ‘cookies’ and are processed in the same way.

Cookies are divided into different categories according to their origin, function and lifespan. Section 3 of this cookie policy explains which types of cookies are used by Telenet and for what purposes.

2. WHERE DO COOKIES COME FROM?

We distinguish between cookies based on their origin: those we place and manage ourselves (first-party cookies) and those that are placed on our websites and mobile apps by third parties (third-party cookies).

Third-party cookies are cookies placed by a website other than the one you are visiting. These cookies allow certain data to be forwarded to third parties, based on your visit to our websites or use of our mobile apps. The cookies placed by the social networking services such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are a good example.

When buttons (‘Like’, ‘Share’ etc.) from these social networks appear on a website, cookies are placed that can track your browsing behaviour. Other third parties, such as advertisers, may place cookies to ensure that you see certain advertisements.

When we allow third parties to place cookies on our websites, we make sure this is as controlled as possible. For example, these parties must contractually guarantee a secure connection over which the data will be exchanged.

Third-party cookies are entirely managed by third parties, and Telenet has no control over the way in which these third parties manage the cookies in question or use the data collected in this way. We therefore advise you to consult the privacy statement and cookie policy of the third parties concerned if you would like more information about this.

3. WHAT TYPES OF COOKIES DO WE USE AND FOR WHAT PURPOSES?

A number of types of cookies can be placed via our various websites and/or mobile apps. The cookies can be divided into different categories:

• Category 1: Functional and analytical cookies
• Category 2: Personalization cookies
• Category 3: Commercial cookies
• Category 4: Social media cookies

Category 1: Functional and analytical cookies

Functional and analytical cookies are the minimum required to make our websites and mobile apps work properly, enable us to improve them and optimize the user experience.

These cookies do not focus on a particular person, but rather are only used for aggregated analytical and performance-oriented purposes. The associated data will therefore not be used for marketing or third party purposes.

These cookies are set by default and this cannot be changed, as otherwise we cannot guarantee the best user experience of our website. Furthermore, it is also possible that certain parts and/or functionalities of our websites and mobile apps will not work, or not work properly.

We use functional cookies to enable you to navigate the website and/or use our mobile apps, use the functions of the website and/or mobile apps and to remember the choices and selections (such as login names, shopping basket, language choice etc.) you made during your previous visits or earlier use of our mobile app so that you do not have to set your preferences each time you visit.

Analytical cookies collect aggregated data about the use of our websites and mobile apps, such as the number of visitors, which web pages are visited most frequently and how much time users spend on a particular web page. This information enables us to improve our websites and mobile apps and optimize the user experience. It is possible that we use third-party cookies for this, such as Adobe Analytics or Google Analytics.

Category 2: Personalization cookies

These cookies track your clicking and browsing behaviour on our websites and/or apps, such as which pages you visited, which articles you read and what you clicked. This allows us to create a user profile for you and personalize the content of the website and advertisements for Telenet products and services to match your needs, interests and preferences.

These cookies do not track you on any website or mobile app that is not connected to Telenet and in no way serve the interests of third parties. This means that these cookies are not used to show advertisements for products and services marketed by third parties and they are not passed on to third parties for their own purposes.

The use of these cookies is subject to your prior consent. You can therefore refuse to allow these cookies to be placed on your device by setting your cookie preferences. Section 5 explains how to manage your cookie settings.

For the sake of clarity, even if you have not given your permission for these cookies, you will still see advertisements on our websites and in our apps. Those advertisements will probably be less relevant, however, because they will not have been tailored to your likely interests. So we leave it up to you to decide whether or not you want to see personalized advertisements.

Category 3: Commercial cookies
In addition to Telenet, it is also possible that third parties (e.g. advertising partners) place cookies that track your clicking and browsing behaviour on our websites and/or apps. The cookies and tools of our partners’ advertising networks also allow us to advertise Telenet products and services that may interest you (retargeting) on the websites that are part of those networks.

It is also possible for third parties to place cookies for their own marketing purposes. This allows them to track your clicking and browsing behaviour and use that information to show you personalized advertisements for their own products or those of their partners.  These ‘third-party cookies’ are entirely managed by third parties, and Telenet has no control over the way in which these third parties manage the cookies in question or use the data collected in this way. You can read more about this in section 2 of this cookie policy.

Finally, Telenet can also pass on the collected data (clicking and browsing behaviour) to other parties within the Telenet Group or external partners for the purpose of offering you personalized advertisements for their products. You can find the list of our external partners here. Telenet ensures that these partners do not receive any information that would allow them to identify you directly, such as your name or email address.

The use of these cookies is also subject to your prior consent. You can therefore refuse to allow these cookies to be placed on your device by setting your cookie preferences. Section 5 explains how to manage your cookie settings.

For the sake of clarity, even if you have not given your permission for these cookies, you will still see advertising messages both on our websites and those of third parties. Those advertisements will probably be less relevant, as they are not tailored to your likely interests. But the choice as to whether or not you wish to receive personalized advertisements is entirely yours.

Category 4: Social media cookies
These cookies enable optimal interaction with social media channels such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook etc. as they are necessary to provide certain functions on our websites and in our apps such as the Twitter ‘Tweet’ button, LinkedIn ‘Share’ button, playback of a video on YouTube etc.

These cookies do not allow us to access your social media accounts or the data you store within them.
The use of or interaction with social media buttons or functions is subject to the social media providers’ own rules. Telenet has no influence on the social media channel with regard to the collection of your personal data (e.g. your IP address) and information about your browsing behaviour for purposes specific to those third parties (direct marketing, analytical studies or market research, building user profiles etc.). We encourage you to consult the terms of use and privacy policy of the relevant social media network to learn how the network handles your personal data.

We ask for your prior consent for the use of social media cookies. You can therefore refuse to allow these cookies to be placed on your device by setting your cookie preferences. Section 5 explains how to manage your cookie settings.

4. HOW LONG DO COOKIES LAST?

Based on the lifespan of the cookies, we also make a distinction between session and persistent cookies:

• Session (temporary) cookies: These cookies are temporarily stored in your browser or mobile app. As soon as the browser or mobile app is closed, these cookies are automatically deleted.
• Persistent (permanent) cookies: These cookies remain on your computer, tablet or smartphone, even after you have closed your browser or mobile app. These cookies allow us to recognize you if you visit our website or use our mobile app at a later time. Persistent cookies remain on your device until their expiry date is reached, until a new version of the cookie is installed or until you delete them yourself via your browser or mobile app settings.

5. HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR COOKIE SETTINGS?

We give you the opportunity to decide what kinds of cookies you want to allow us to use. Accepting cookies does not mean that you can be identified directly, unless you have provided us with information that allows you to be identified directly, such as information related to registration (e.g. when you register in a private zone and create a login).

You can provide your cookie preferences in the following ways:

During your first visit:
When you first visit one of our websites or use one of our mobile apps, you will asked to provide your cookie preferences via a cookie banner. You will be given the opportunity to approve or reject the recommended cookies. If you do not choose to accept the recommended cookies, a second screen will appear where you can accept or reject the various types of cookies (accompanied by a brief explanation).

Until you have made an explicit choice, the default cookie setting is ‘category 1: Functional and analytical cookies’. This category of cookies is set by default and this cannot be changed, as this would otherwise interfere with the proper operation of the website or mobile app.

If significant changes are made to the cookie policy or the cookies placed by our websites/mobile apps, you will automatically be given the opportunity to change your settings via the cookie banner. If nothing changes, you will receive a reminder about your cookie preferences once a year.

After your first visit:
When you visit our website or mobile app again after you have set your cookie preferences during your first visit on the same device, you will no longer see a cookie banner (unless your permission is no longer valid or there have been significant changes to the cookie policy or the cookies placed).
Nevertheless, you retain full control over your cookie settings: you can change your cookie preferences at any time by clicking the ‘cookie settings’ button at the bottom of our websites or in the mobile app’s settings.

In your browser settings
By default, most web browsers are configured to accept cookies automatically. You can change your browser settings at any time by changing preferences that may allow or disable all or certain cookies, delete the cookies already stored or notify you when a cookie has been placed.

Each type of browser has its own settings for handling cookies. You can find that information on your browser’s website.

Keep in mind that changing your settings can prevent some elements of Telenet’s and other websites from functioning optimally. The same applies to the mobile apps.