What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files which are placed on your computer or mobile device when you first visit a website. Cookies are used to make the website work well or simply work more efficiently. They are also used for web analytics with the purpose of helping the users optimise their visit on the website. There are two types of cookies: session cookies and persistent cookies:

• session cookies are created temporarily in your browser's subfolder while you are visiting a website. These cookies expire and are automatically deleted when you close your internet browser.
• persistent cookies remain in your browser's subfolder and are activated again once you visit the website that created that particular cookie. A persistent cookie does not expire when you close your browser, it remains in the browser's subfolder for the duration period set within the cookie's file.

What are cookies used for?

There are many functions cookies serve. For example, they can help us recognise and count the number of visitors, analyse how well our website is performing, remember your username and preferences. This makes it possible to match your preferred interests more quickly and make the content displayed more relevant to you.

The BMI Group uses the following cookies:

As already mentioned, the websites of the BMI Group use the web analysis functions of Google Analytics. Google Analytics is provided by Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheater Parkway, Mountain View, CA, 94043, USA ("Google"). Google Analytics uses cookies in the form of text files that are stored on users' computers. The information collected by cookies on the use of BMI online products and services is generally transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. However, if IP anonymization is activated on the portal, your IP address will be shortened beforehand by Google within member states of the European Union or in other contracting states of the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

Google uses this information on behalf of the BMI Group to evaluate the use of the BMI Group's online products and services, to create online reports on product and service activities and to provide us with other services related to the use of our Online products and services and our website. Based on the processed data, anonymized user profiles are then created.

The IP address given in the user's browser will not be merged with other Google data. Users can set their browser software to prevent the storage of cookies. Users can also prevent the data collected by cookies about the use of our online products and services from being sent to Google and processed by Google by downloading and installing the browser plug-in via the following link: http://tools.google .com / dlpage / gaoptout? hl = de . Please note that some outdated web browsers may not support the Google opt-out browser plug-in. If you want to use such an old web browser, please read the settings of your browser if you want to deactivate cookies.

Further information on the use of data by Google for advertising purposes as well as on settings and options for objection can be found on the following Google websites:

• https://policies.google.com/privacy/partners?hl=en  ("How does Google use data when you use our partners' websites or apps")
• http://www.google.com/policies/technologies/ads ("Use of cookies by Google")
• http://www.google.de/settings/ads ("Control the information that Google uses to advertise")
• http://www.google.com/ads/preferences ("Control which ads Google shows you")

 ** We use Hotjar to better understand the needs of our users and to optimize the offer and the experience on this website. With the help of Hotjar's technology, we get a better understanding of the experiences of our users (e.g. how much time users spend on which pages, which links they click, what they like and what not, etc.) and this helps us to offer our users feedback align. Hotjar works with cookies and other technologies to collect data about the behavior of our users and about their end devices, in particular the IP address of the device (is only recorded and stored anonymously when you use the website), screen size, device type (Unique Device Identifiers ), Information about the browser used, location (country only), Preferred language for displaying our website. Hotjar stores this information on our behalf in a pseudonymized user profile. Hotjar is contractually prohibited from selling the data collected on our behalf. For more information, see the 'about Hotjar' section on Hotjar's help page . 

How to manage and disable cookies?

In the settings of your internet browser you can choose whether or not to accept cookies. However, you must be aware of the fact that if you use your browser settings to block all cookies you may lose some features and functionality on our website or you may not be able to access some parts of the website.

The following websites provide information on how to manage and adjust the cookies settings on some popular browsers:

• Google Chrome – https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en&p=cpn_cookies
• Microsoft Internet Explorer http://www.microsoft.com/info/cookies.mspx
• Mozilla Firefox http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/cookies-information-websites-store-on-your-computer?redirectlocale=en-US&redirectslug=Cookies
   

If you use other browsers you can check the support section of their websites to find out how to manage and disable cookies.

To find out more about cookies in general, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and disable them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org