Cookies Policy

This Cookies Policy explains how HEEM Consulting uses cookies and similar tracking technologies on our website. It also describes your choices regarding these technologies. By using our website with cookies enabled in your browser, you are consenting to our use of cookies under this policy. If you do not agree, you may disable cookies as described below (though some parts of our site may not function properly without them).

1. What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device (computer, smartphone, tablet) when you visit websites. They allow the website to recognize your device and store certain information about your preferences or past actions. Cookies can make your next visit easier and the site more useful to you by remembering information such as login status, personalization settings, and usage analytics. Cookies set by the website owner (in this case, HEEM Consulting) are called “first-party cookies.” Cookies set by parties other than the website owner (for example, analytics or advertising partners) are called “third-party cookies.” Both first-party and third-party cookies may be used on our site.

2. Why We Use Cookies
HEEM Consulting uses cookies and similar technologies for several reasons:

• Essential Functions: Some cookies are necessary for our website to function correctly. For instance, if our site has a login area or client portal, a cookie might keep you logged in as you navigate between pages.

• Essential cookies may also help load the pages faster or distribute workload on our servers. These cookies are generally session cookies (temporary cookies that expire once you close your browser).

• Preferences and Personalization: We use cookies to remember your preferences and enhance your experience. For example, if you select your language or region on our site (or if our site automatically detects and sets a language), a cookie will save that so you don’t have to choose it each time. Similarly, if you adjust text size or other viewing preferences, cookies may store those settings. These cookies can be session cookies or have a longer lifespan to remember you on future visits.

• Analytics and Performance: We use analytics cookies to collect information about how visitors use our site. This includes data like which pages are visited most often, how users navigate through the site, what country or city visitors are in, and if they encountered any errors. We primarily use this information to improve our content and website performance. For example, analytics might show that a certain page is slow or confusing, so we can fix it. We currently use [hypothetical example: Google Analytics] which sets cookies to gather this information and report website trends to us. The information collected is aggregated and not intended to personally identify any individual visitor. (Google Analytics may also set its own cookies; see third-party cookies below.)

• Functionality: In some cases, we might use cookies for additional website features. For instance, if we embed videos from YouTube or slideshows, those third-party tools might set cookies to remember your preferences (like volume level or playback position) or to track viewing statistics.

• Advertising/Marketing: At present, HEEM Consulting does not host third-party advertisements on our site, and we do not use cookies for advertising targeting. If this ever changes (for example, if we partner with an ad network for retargeting ads to our site visitors on other platforms), we will update this policy. Those types of cookies, if used, would track your visits to our site and possibly other sites to serve you relevant advertisements. We will always provide you the ability to opt out of such marketing cookies and will not engage in advertising cookies without proper consent where required.

3. Types of Cookies We Use

The cookies on our site can generally be categorized as follows:

• Strictly Necessary Cookies: These are essential for basic site functionality and security. Without these, services you expect (like navigation, logging in, or submitting forms) might not work. For example, we might have a cookie to keep track of your session ID so that the site recognizes you as you move page to page. These cookies are usually first-party and session-based. Example: A cookie named PHPSESSID or JSESSIONID (depending on our server technology) that identifies your browsing session.

• Preferences (Functional) Cookies: These cookies allow our site to remember choices you have made in the past (like your username for auto-login, or region selection) and provide enhanced, more personalized features. They may also be used to provide services you have asked for, like playing a video or commenting on a blog. Example: A cookie that remembers you’ve seen a particular announcement so it doesn’t show every time.

• Analytics/Performance Cookies: These cookies collect information about how visitors use our site (pages visited, time spent, errors encountered, etc.). All information these cookies collect is aggregated and anonymous; we do not see personal details through these. They help us understand user interactions and improve our website. Example: Google Analytics cookies such as _ga (used to distinguish users) and _gid (used to distinguish users on a day-by-day basis), and _gat (used to throttle request rate). These cookies may have durations like 24 hours or 2 years, as set by Google. We may also use similar cookies from other analytics providers or our own server logs for internal analysis.

• Third-Party and Embedded Content Cookies: Our site might include content from third parties, like an embedded YouTube video, a Twitter feed, or a Google Map. When you interact with that content, those third parties may set cookies on your device. For instance, YouTube might set cookies to track video views or remember your volume settings; social media networks could set cookies if you share an article using their share buttons. We don’t control these cookies, and they are governed by the privacy/cookie policies of the third-party providers. Example: A YouTube embed may set cookies such as VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE (for estimating bandwidth) and YSC (a session cookie for tracking video views), or an NID cookie from Google for preferences.

• (Potential) Advertising Cookies: As noted, we currently do not use advertising cookies. If we ever do, these would be cookies used to deliver advertisements relevant to you, possibly limiting the number of times you see an ad, or measuring the effectiveness of an ad campaign. These are usually placed by advertising networks with our permission. They remember that you visited our site and this information could be shared with other organizations (e.g., if we did retargeting on LinkedIn or Google Ads). Again, we would explicitly inform and obtain consent if such cookies were in use.

4. How Long Cookies Last (Session vs. Persistent)

• Session Cookies: These cookies are temporary and only last for the duration of your browsing session on our site. When you close your browser, session cookies are deleted. Many of the strictly necessary cookies are session cookies.

• Persistent Cookies: These cookies remain on your device for a set period of time or until you delete them. They are activated each time you visit the site that created that cookie. For example, if we have a persistent cookie to remember your language preference, it will remain for perhaps 6 months or 1 year, so that if you visit within that timeframe, you don’t have to select language again. Analytics cookies are often persistent (e.g., Google Analytics _ga cookie lasts 2 years unless deleted).

We provide details of specific cookie durations in a cookie consent tool or table on our site (if applicable). Because cookies are stored by your browser, the actual lifetime can also depend on your browser settings.

5. Your Choices and Managing Cookies

You have the right to choose whether to accept or reject cookies. Here are several ways you can manage cookies:

• Cookie Consent Tool: On our site, when you first visit, you will see a cookie banner. This banner allows you to accept all cookies or reject non-essential cookies. We also provide a “Change Cookie Consent” link (often in the footer of the site) which you can use at any time to adjust your preferences. Through this tool, you can typically toggle categories of cookies (e.g., Analytics, Functional) on or off. Our site will then respect those choices by not loading or running scripts for the categories you have disabled. You can revisit this tool whenever you want to update your preferences.

• Browser Settings: Most web browsers let you control cookies through their settings preferences. You can set up your browser to block cookies (either all cookies or cookies from specific sites) or to notify you when cookies are being set. You can also usually delete cookies that have already been set. Each browser is a bit different:

• In Google Chrome, you can go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Cookies and other site data, and choose to block third-party cookies or all cookies, and see all cookies stored.

• In Safari (Apple), go to Preferences > Privacy, and you can block all cookies or manage website data (to remove specific cookies).

• In Mozilla Firefox, go to Options > Privacy & Security, and under Cookies and Site Data, you can set custom settings for cookies and site data.

• In Microsoft Edge, go to Settings > Cookies and site permissions, to manage cookie settings.

• For other browsers or mobile devices, refer to the browser’s help documentation.
Keep in mind that if you block cookies at the browser level, it might affect your experience on our site (and other sites). Some functionalities may not work, as mentioned earlier.

• Opt-Out of Third-Party Cookies: If our site uses any third-party analytics or advertising cookies, those providers often offer their own opt-out mechanisms:

• For Google Analytics, you can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, which prevents GA from collecting data on any site you visit.

• For interest-based advertising cookies (if we had them), you can visit industry opt-out sites like the NAI Opt-Out or DAA WebChoices to opt out of many advertising cookies collectively. Since we don't currently use targeted ads, this is more FYI.

• Some third parties like Google or Facebook allow you to adjust ad settings directly in your user account with them.

• Do Not Track Signals: The “Do Not Track” feature is offered by some browsers, which sends a signal to websites that you do not wish to be tracked. There is no standardized way that websites must respond to DNT signals. Currently, our site’s cookie behavior is not modified in response to DNT signals alone. Instead, we rely on the consent tool and your browser cookie settings as described. However, as stated in our Privacy Choices section, we do honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal for opting out of sale/sharing of data. GPC relates to cookies in the context of sharing information with third parties, which in practice would also reduce certain third-party tracking if applicable.

6. Cookies in Emails: In addition to website cookies, we may include tracking technologies in our email communications (for instance, a tiny pixel image, often called a web beacon). This helps us know if you opened an email or clicked on a link, which informs us about engagement. These technologies are not cookies stored on your browser, but they function similarly. You can typically disable images in your email client if you do not want to load such trackers, or you can unsubscribe from our mailing list if you prefer not to receive tracked emails. We use this information primarily to improve our email content and timing, and to understand what topics are of interest.

7. Changes to this Cookies Policy: We may update this Cookies Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, law, or our usage of cookies. The “Last Updated” date at the top will indicate when it was last revised. If there are significant changes, we may notify you by site notice or email. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

8. Contact Us: If you have any questions about our use of cookies or other tracking technologies, please contact us at info@heemconsulting.com or through our Contact page. We will be happy to assist with any queries or concerns you have about your privacy and cookie preferences.

By using our site after having seen the cookie notice, you agree to the placement of cookies on your device as described in this policy (unless you’ve adjusted your preferences to opt out of certain cookies).

We thank you for visiting HEEM Consulting’s website and for reviewing our Cookies Policy.