Protecting our customers is at the heart of everything we do at Product Investigation and protecting your information is no exception. This means that any cookies used on our sites will not contain personally identifiable information about you. However, we do use cookies on our websites to help make your visits more effective so we’d like to explain more about how and why we use them.

Cookies make websites work better

Cookies are small text files placed on your computer by websites or sometimes by emails. They provide useful information to companies, which helps in all sorts of ways. For you, it means you can use the site more efficiently and save time by not having to re-enter your details each time you visit. They also make sure you receive the most relevant information from Product Investigation. For us, cookies help us to analyse how our customers interact with our sites so we can make improvements.

We use three types of cookies on our websites

  • Session cookies that are deleted after each visit.
  • Persistent cookies that remain in place across multiple visits to our sites.
  • Third party cookies that are used by our approved business partners.

Some of these cookies are essential and some are non-essential.

Some cookies are essential

Certain cookies are necessary in order for you to use our websites. These are used ‘in-session’ each time you visit and then expire when you leave the site. They’re not stored on your computer and they don’t contain any personal data. However, you can delete them via your browser if you wish to, but this will restrict the functions that you’re able to carry out on our sites. For more information about how to disable cookies in your browser please visit the About cookies website

Here’s a list of essential cookies and how we use them:

Session cookies

These enable you to carry out some essential functions on our sites, such as maintaining log in details for the session or a transaction. They also help by minimising the need to transfer information across the internet. They are not stored on your computer and they expire when you terminate your browser session.

Tracking cookies

These enable us to recognise repeat visitors to the site. By matching an anonymous, randomly generated identifier, we’re able to record specific browsing information such as how you arrive at the site, the pages you view, options you select, and the path you take through the site. By monitoring this information we’re able to make improvements to our sites.

We use Omniture’s software to analyse page use, page interactions and the routes our customers take through our sites. These are known as ‘web metrics’. We don’t record any personal information you provide during an on-site purchase or any other process

Some cookies are non-essential

These cookies are usually supplied by our business partners and help us to filter out irrelevant messages or pop-ups and to make sure that we only send you information that’s interesting and relevant to you. We also use some non-essential cookies for analytical purposes. Here’s a list of non-essential cookies and how they’re used:

Survey control cookies

These are provided by our business partners such as ServiceTick to enable us to send surveys about our sites to customers. Accepting this cookie means that you won’t be asked to complete the survey if you’ve already done so or declined previously.

DoubleClick cookies

Provided by our online advertising supplier, these cookies are used to serve our internet advertisements on other sites. Some of our web pages may contain electronic images that help us see how users interact on these pages. They may also provide DoubleClick with information about the interaction.

Marketing cookies

These cookies help us tailor the advertisements you see on third party sites by understanding what interests you on our sites, such as the pages you view. We don’t combine this information with other personal information you provide us with.

addthis.com cookies

Provided by our bookmarking supplier, these cookies enable you to easily bookmark selected pages.

Google Analytics

From time to time Product Investigation use Google Analytics. This is a web analytics service provided by Google enabling us to recognise repeat visitors to the site. By matching an anonymous, randomly generated identifier, we’re able to record specific browsing information such as how you arrive at the site, the pages you view, options you select, and the path you take through the site. By monitoring this information we’re able to make improvements to our sites.

Google also reserve the rights to the data collected.

You can accept or block cookies

By using our websites you agree that we can place both essential and non-essential cookies on your device.

You can block any cookies from any website through your browser settings. For more information about how to disable cookies in your browser please visit the About cookies website

If you share the use of a computer, accepting or rejecting the use of cookies will affect all users of that computer.

Flash cookies

These cookies make it quicker and easier for you to access sites on subsequent visits that use Flash technology. Deleting them means you may have to re-enter information each time you visit the same site. But just like any cookie, you can delete Flash cookies by going to the Settings Manager for your Adobe Flash Player. You will be taken to the Adobe website, which lists the websites with the cookies in your browser. Just click Delete opposite the relevant website.

Find out more

You’ll find more information about cookies at www.allaboutcookies.org, which gives details on how to delete cookies from your computer. For information on how to do this on your mobile phone browser, please see your handset manual.