What cookies and similar technologies are
Cookies are small pieces of information that a website or related service can store or read through a browser. Similar technologies may perform comparable functions, such as remembering a preference, supporting security, measuring how a page is used or recognising a browser in connection with an optional advertising service. The exact behaviour depends on the technology and purpose involved.
This policy distinguishes between technologies that are necessary for requested website functions and optional technologies used for measurement or marketing. That distinction matters because a visitor may have different choices depending on the category, the information involved and the requirements that apply in the visitor’s circumstances.
Necessary technologies
Necessary technologies support functions required to provide the website or a choice expressly requested by the visitor. Examples can include maintaining basic security, enabling essential page operation, preventing misuse and remembering a privacy or cookie preference so the same choice does not have to be requested on every page view.
Necessary technologies are not classified as marketing tools merely because they operate on a website that receives advertising traffic. Their purpose should remain limited to the function that makes them necessary. If a technology is used for a separate analytics or advertising purpose, that separate purpose should be assessed independently.
Preference technologies
Preference technologies can be used to remember a setting selected by the visitor, such as a privacy choice or interface preference. Their purpose is to make a later visit consistent with a choice already made rather than to infer unrelated interests.
The retention period for a preference technology should be proportionate to the setting being remembered. A session-only choice may expire when the browser session ends, while a longer-lived preference may remain for a reasonable period so the website does not repeatedly ask the same question.
Analytics and measurement
Optional analytics or measurement technologies may be used to understand aggregated activity such as which pages are viewed, how visitors move through the site, whether a page encounters an error or whether a particular piece of content is useful. Depending on the service and configuration, measurement data may include browser, device, referral and interaction information.
Where consent or another specific requirement applies to optional analytics, the technology should be handled consistently with that requirement. A measurement service should not be described as strictly necessary simply because its reports are useful to the website operator.
Marketing and advertising technologies
Marketing or advertising technologies may be capable of measuring campaign activity, limiting repeated advertising, recognising a browser across visits or supporting interest-based advertising. These functions are optional in nature and are separate from the basic ability to load a product page or submit a genuine enquiry.
If such technologies are used, the purpose and available choices should be presented clearly enough for the visitor to distinguish advertising-related activity from essential website operation. Declining optional marketing technologies should not be represented as declining the basic right to read the website.
Third-party technologies
Some optional website functions may be provided by third parties. Where a third party sets or reads its own cookie or similar identifier, that provider may apply its own technical settings, retention periods and privacy terms. The website’s use of a third-party tool does not remove the need to provide appropriate information or choices where required.
A third-party technology should be considered according to what it actually does. A service used only to deliver a requested function is different from a service that builds profiles or measures activity across unrelated websites, and the disclosures and choices should reflect that difference.
Consent and changing your choice
The website’s cookie notice can be used to record the choice presented to the visitor. Where optional technologies require consent, accepting them should be a genuine choice rather than a condition hidden inside unrelated wording. A visitor should also be able to understand that necessary functionality may continue even when optional categories are declined.
Browser settings can generally be used to block or remove cookies. Doing so may remove remembered preferences and can affect functions that rely on necessary browser storage. A different browser or device may have a different state because choices do not always transfer automatically between separate browser environments.
Retention periods
Cookie retention should match the purpose for which the technology is used. Session technologies are typically short-lived and may expire when the session ends. A preference technology may remain longer so a choice can be remembered. Optional analytics or advertising cookies can have different periods depending on the provider and configuration actually in use.
Retention should not be extended merely because storage is technically possible. Where an optional third-party service presents a specific duration, that information should be considered together with the purpose of the service and the visitor’s consent or other applicable privacy requirements.
Information linked to cookies
A cookie value is not necessarily meaningful on its own, but it can become personal information where it is reasonably capable of being linked with an identifiable person or combined with other information in a way that identifies an individual. Cookie-related information should therefore be handled according to its actual function and the context in which it is used.
Information from cookies should not be repurposed for an unrelated use without considering the privacy obligations that apply. The Privacy Policy explains the broader approach to personal information submitted or generated through website use.
Security and misuse prevention
Browser technologies can play a role in protecting forms, managing sessions or detecting unusual activity. Security-related processing should be proportionate to the risk and should not be used as a label for unrelated tracking. Necessary security functions and optional measurement functions should remain conceptually separate even if both involve technical identifiers.
Visitors should also protect their own browsers and devices by using current software and appropriate security settings. Removing cookies can be useful for privacy management, but it does not replace broader device and account security.
Policy updates
This Cookie Policy may be updated if website functions, cookie categories, third-party tools or applicable requirements change. A material change to optional tracking should be reflected in the information and choices presented to visitors rather than being hidden behind unchanged wording.
Questions about cookie use can be directed to Chanel Garden using tel. +61423744371 or E-mail: [email protected].