I. WHAT ARE COOKIES?
Cookies are small pieces of data that websites and online services set on your browser or device. They are used to recognize you on subsequent visits and play a crucial role in enhancing your online experience.The primary purposes of cookies include:Personalization: Cookies help personalize your experience on a website by remembering your preferences and settings. For instance, they can keep you logged in, remember your language settings, or maintain your shopping cart in online stores.
Analytics and Performance: They are used to collect information about how you interact with a website. This data can include which pages you visit most often and whether you encounter any errors. Websites use this information to improve their content, navigation, and performance.
Advertising: Cookies play a significant role in advertising. They are used to track your browsing habits and preferences, which helps advertisers display more relevant ads to you. This process is often referred to as targeted or personalized advertising.
Security: Some cookies are essential for security purposes, helping to detect and prevent fraudulent activities and protect your data.
Local Shared Objects (Flash cookies): These are similar to browser cookies but can store more complex data. They are used by Adobe Flash Player and can be managed through Adobe's website rather than your browser.
Beacons, Pixel Tags, and Clear GIFs: These are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, similar in function to cookies. They are used to track the online movements of web users or to access cookies. These are often used in email marketing to know if the emails are opened or clicked on.
Device IDs and Digital Fingerprinting: These involve techniques to uniquely identify a device or browser, enabling more persistent and accurate tracking than traditional cookies. Digital fingerprinting, for example, might combine data like device type, operating system, browser version, and installed fonts to create a unique profile of a device.
II. PURPOSES OF COOKIE USE
Cookies are versatile tools used by websites and online services for various purposes, each contributing to the functionality, security, and user experience of the service.Here's how cookies are employed for different purposes:Analytics: Cookies collect data on how users interact with a website, such as pages visited, time spent on each page, and any errors encountered. This information helps website owners understand user behavior, measure the effectiveness of content, and identify areas for improvement. For example, if analytics cookies reveal that a particular page has a high exit rate, the site might revise that page to better engage users.
Ad Interactions: In advertising, cookies track users' online activities, such as the websites they visit and the products they show interest in. This data is used to display targeted ads that are more relevant to the individual user.
Performance Improvement: Cookies enhance the performance of websites by remembering users' preferences and actions. For example, a website might use a cookie to remember that you've already signed in so that you don't need to log in every time you visit. They can also enable faster loading of frequently accessed content.
Fraud Prevention: Security cookies help in detecting and preventing fraudulent activities. They can identify irregularities in user behavior that may indicate fraud, such as repeated failed login attempts or transactions from unexpected locations. By tracking such activities, cookies contribute to the overall security of online services.
Content Customization: Cookies enable websites to provide a tailored experience by remembering users' settings and preferences. For instance, if you frequently browse 2D platformer assets on our game asset store, cookies will help remember your preference and display more 2D platformer assets on your next visit.
III. TYPES OF COOKIES WE USE
Cookies can be categorized based on their purpose and functionality.Here are the key categories and their roles:Strictly Necessary Cookies: These are essential for the basic functioning of the website. They are typically used to enable services you have specifically requested, like logging into secure areas of a site, using a shopping cart, or making payments. Because they are crucial for the operation of a website, they do not require consent under most privacy laws. Additionally, these strictly necessary cookies are used in compliance with Turkey's Law No 5651 - 'Regulation of Publications on the Internet and Suppression of Crimes Committed by Means of Such Publication,' to fulfill legal obligations and maintain website integrity.
Functionality Cookies: These cookies allow websites to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language, or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. They are used to enable a personalized experience for the user. For example, a website might use a functionality cookie to remember your preferences for text size, fonts, and other customizable aspects of the site.
Performance Cookies: These cookies collect information about how visitors use a website, for instance, which pages visitors go to most often, and if they get error messages from web pages. They don't collect information that identifies a visitor; all information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. It is only used to improve how a website works.
Third-Party Advertising Cookies: These cookies are used by advertising companies to collect information about your browsing habits and preferences, so they can display ads that are more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaign.
Social Media Cookies: These cookies are set by a range of social media services that have been added to the site to enable you to share content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies, you may not be able to use or see the sharing tools.
IV. COOKIE MANAGEMENT TOOL
At Leartes Studios, we understand the importance of your privacy and give you control over the cookies used on our website and associated platforms. To facilitate this, we have integrated a user-friendly cookie management tool that allows you to manage your cookie preferences effectively.How to Access the Cookie Management Tool:Initial Visit: Upon your first visit to our website, a cookie banner will be displayed, informing you about the use of cookies. This banner provides a direct link to our cookie management tool.
Returning Users: If you wish to change your preferences at any time after your initial visit, you can easily access the cookie management tool. This can be done by clicking on the “Cookie Settings” link, which is available at the footer of every page on our website. Additionally, for ease of access, a dedicated icon may also be present on our pages, allowing direct access to the cookie settings.
- Reviewing Cookie Information: The tool provides detailed information about the various types of cookies used on our site, including strictly necessary cookies, performance cookies, functionality cookies, advertising cookies, and social media cookies. You can learn about the purpose of each cookie category and how they impact your experience.
- Customizing Your Preferences: You can choose to accept or decline different categories of cookies according to your preferences, except for strictly necessary cookies, which are essential for the website's functionality.
- Saving Your Preferences: After making your selections, you need to save your preferences. The website will remember your choices and apply them on subsequent visits.
- Changing Your Preferences: Your cookie preferences are not irreversible. You can return to the cookie management tool at any time to adjust your settings
Non-Personalized Content: If you choose to disable cookies, the content and products you see on our site will no longer be personalized to your preferences. This means you will experience our website similarly to someone who has never visited it before. The products displayed will be standard offerings, not tailored to your specific interests or browsing behavior.
Basic User Experience: Without cookies, our website can only provide a basic user experience. You will still be able to browse and view products, but the functionality and user experience might be limited compared to when cookies are enabled.
V. USE OF GOOGLE ANALYTICS
At Leartes Studios, we use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”), to understand how our visitors engage with our website and services. This information is crucial for us to improve our website's functionality, user experience, and tailor our content and services to better meet your needsHow We Use Google Analytics:Data Collection and Usage: Google Analytics uses cookies to collect information about your interactions with our website, including the pages you visit, the time you spend on each page, the links you click on, and the frequency of your visits. This information is used to compile reports and help us improve the website.
Anonymized Data: The information generated by the cookies about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google. We have implemented IP anonymization, which means Google will truncate/anonymize the last octet of the IP address for Member States of the European Union as well as for other parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area.
Browser Add-on: If you prefer that your website visit data is not used by Google Analytics, you can install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. This add-on instructs the Google Analytics JavaScript running on websites to prohibit sending information to Google Analytics. To install the opt-out browser add-on, visit Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
Adjusting Browser Settings: You can also control the information websites can collect about you by adjusting your browser’s privacy settings. Most modern browsers offer options to block third-party cookies, which will limit the data that analytics services and other websites can collect.
Google’s Use of Data: Google may also use the data collected to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network. For more information on how Google uses data when you use our site, please visit How Google uses data when you use our partners' sites or apps
Commitment to Privacy: We are committed to respecting your privacy and understand the importance of providing you control over your data. Our use of Google Analytics is in compliance with relevant data protection regulations and is intended to improve the user experience on our website.
VI. TOOLS FOR ENHANCED COOKIE CONTROL AND DEVICE-LEVEL OPT-OUT OPTIONS
In addition to our integrated cookie management tool, there are various browser plugins and device-level settings that can enhance your control over cookies and related tracking technologies.Browser Plugins for Enhanced Cookie Control:Ghostery: This browser extension detects and blocks tracking technologies on the websites you visit, providing protection against ads, trackers, and other scripts. It can help you manage which data is collected about your online activity. Learn more and download at Ghostery's website.
AdBlock: Popular for blocking ads, AdBlock also stops trackers and helps protect your privacy. It offers customizable features to manage website scripts and cookies. Visit AdBlock's website for more information.
Privacy Badger: Developed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, this tool automatically learns to block invisible trackers and control intrusive cookies. For more details, visit Privacy Badger's website.
- Go to "Settings" > "Privacy" > "Advertising".
- Enable the "Limit Ad Tracking" option. This setting restricts advertisers from using your iOS device`s unique identifier for targeted advertising.
- “Settings” > "Safari" > "Advanced” > "Block All Cookies"
- This setting will block all cookies on Safari, the default browser on iOS devices.
- Open "Settings" and navigate to "Google" > "Ads".
- Select “Opt Out of Ads Personalization”. This will prevent your Android Advertising ID from being used for personalized ad targeting.
- Both iOS and Android devices allow you to reset your device’s advertising identifier, which can help disrupt tracking based on previous data.