Artsonia - Online Tracking Technologies Policy

Online Tracking Technologies Policy

Last updated: May 27, 2020

Artsonia offers a range of features that use technologies like cookies, pixel tags ("pixels"), device or other identifiers and local storage (collectively, “Online Tracking Technologies”) to provide a seamless and safe experience on Artsonia.com, our mobile application and any sites linking to this policy (the “Service”).

First and foremost, we do not use or disclose information collected through Online Tracking Technologies for third-party advertising on our website or elsewhere (including behaviorally-targeted advertising to students). As described in more detail below, we use these technologies in many ways so that Artsonia works, like for security purposes, to provide certain helpful features, and also to understand and measure how Artsonia is used. Third parties that you interact with as you use the Service may also use these technologies for a variety of purposes. Below we provide more information about Online Tracking Technologies and how they work.

Quick Reference

What are some of these Online Tracking Technologies?
How does Artsonia use Online Tracking Technologies when visitors use a mobile device?
How can visitors manage these Online Tracking Technologies?
Why does Artsonia use Online Tracking Technologies?
How do third parties use Online Tracking Technologies on Artsonia's Service?
Does Artsonia use Online Tracking Technologies if visitors don't have an account or have logged out of their account?

What are some of these Online Tracking Technologies?

How does Artsonia use Online Tracking Technologies when visitors use a mobile device?

Many mobile devices act just like computers, such as smart phones that support full-featured browsers. For those devices, we use Online Tracking Technologies in ways that are similar to when you are accessing the web from a computer. Other devices use different technologies such as local storage on a device, Software Development Kits (SDKs) or Advanced Programming Interfaces (APIs) to facilitate the same types of processes we use cookies for, as described below. As on the web, we also may use similar technologies to store and retrieve an identifier or other information from or on your device.

How can visitors manage these Online Tracking Technologies?

Browser Cookie Controls

Your browser or device may offer settings related to these technologies - visit your browser or device's help menu to learn about your options (browsers for mobile devices may not offer visibility). For example, you may set your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, changing these settings may impact your use of some features or services on our Service as they may not function properly without cookies.

Flash Cookies

Cookie management tools provided by your browser will not remove Flash cookies. Learn how to manage privacy and storage settings for Flash cookies. If you disable Flash cookies, you won’t have access to certain features that make your guest experience more efficient and some of our Services will not function properly, such as online voting for a particular artist.

Mobile

Please note that the choices described above regarding browser-based opt-outs may not apply to opt-outs involving mobile applications.

Why does Artsonia use Online Tracking Technologies?

Artsonia uses cookies that are session-based and persistent. Session cookies exist only during one session. They disappear from your computer when you close your browser software or turn off your computer. Persistent cookies remain on your computer after you close your browser or turn off your computer. We use these technologies for a variety of reasons, such as allowing us to show you content that’s most relevant to you, improving our products and services, and helping to keep our Service secure.

While specific names of the Online Tracking Technologies that we use may change from time to time as we improve and update our Service, they generally fall into the below categories of use:

Categories of Use	Description
Authentication	These tell us when you’re logged in, so we can show you the appropriate experience and features. For example: cookies help us remember your browser so you do not have to keep logging into our Service. Most Artsonia users that log in will have an authentication cookie called ‘AuthUser’ in their browsers. A browser sends this cookie with requests to the Artsonia website. This cookie contains a unique ID Artsonia uses to know that you are logged in.
Security, and Service Integrity	These help keep Artsonia safe and secure by supporting and enabling security features and to help us detect activity that violates our Terms of Service or otherwise degrades our ability to provide our Service.
Localization	These help us provide localized experiences. For example: We may store information in a cookie that is placed on your browser or device so you will see the website in your preferred language. Most Artsonia users will have a preferences cookie called ‘Locale’ in their browsers. A browser sends this cookie with requests to the Artsonia website. The Locale cookie contains a unique ID Artsonia uses to remember your preferred language (e.g. English).
User Preferences	These provide functionality that help us deliver products and services and change the way the website behaves or looks. For example: Cookies help us store preferences, know when you’ve seen or interacted with certain content, and provide you with customized content and experiences. For instance, cookies allow us to make suggestions to you and others, and to customize content on our Service. Loss of the information stored in a preference cookie may make the website experience less functional but should not prevent it from working. For example: We use a cookie called ‘History’ which Artsonia uses to remember your preferences and other information, such as the last visited artwork.
Session State	Websites often collect information about how users interact with a website. This may include the pages users visit most often and whether users get error messages from certain pages. We use these so-called ‘session state cookies’ to help us improve our Services, in order to improve our users’ browsing experience. Blocking or deleting these cookies will not render the website unusable. For example: we use a cookie called ‘Sessions’ to record a general session when you visit our Services. This is used, for example, to aggregate and identify errors that occur during a user's session.
Performance	These help us ensure Artsonia is operationally performing at a high level, such as by understanding how quickly our website loads for different users. For example: these cookies help us route traffic between servers and understand how quickly certain pages load for different people and if they receive error messages from certain pages.
Processes	Process cookies help make the Artsonia website work and deliver services that the website visitor expects, like navigating around web pages or accessing secure areas of the website. Without these cookies, the website cannot function properly. For example: we use a cookie called 'OpenHouse' that makes it possible for parents to give permission during a school-sponsored parent night to have their child's artwork displayed on the website.
Analytics and Research	These are used to understand how our visitors use and engage with our Service, and thus so we can continue to find ways to make Artsonia a great experience. For example: We may use these technologies to know which content on Artsonia is the most popular and which ones could be improved, such as the cookied called 'User' that tracks user activity after clicking a link in a notification email. From time-to-time, Artsonia engages third parties to track and analyze usage and volume statistical information from individuals who visit our Service. Artsonia may also utilize Flash cookies for these purposes.

How do third parties use Online Tracking Technologies on Artsonia's Service?

In addition to our own Online Tracking Technologies, we work with various companies to help us analyze how our Service is used, for functionality and serving content and to improve Artsonia. These third parties may use web measurement and customization technologies (such as cookies) in conjunction with the provision of these services. Take a look at our third-party service providers to learn more about them as well as to review their privacy policies.

Does Artsonia use Online Tracking Technologies if visitors don't have an account or have logged out of their account?

We still use cookies if you don’t have an account or have logged out of your account. For example, if you have logged out of your account we use cookies to, help you log in faster the next time.

We also set cookies if you don’t have an Artsonia account, but have visited artsonia.com, to help us protect our Services and the people who use it from malicious activity. For example, these cookies help us detect and prevent denial-of-service attacks and the mass creation of fake accounts.