Version: April 15, 2024

Alation uses cookies, web beacons, and other technologies (collectively referred to herein as “Cookies”) when you use our websites and services that link to this Notice (the "Services"). 

This Notice explains what Cookies are, why we use them, and how you can manage them.

If you do not wish to accept the use of Cookies, please disable them by following the instructions below in this Notice or changing your browser settings so that Cookies cannot be placed on your computer or mobile device. Disabling certain Cookies (e.g., Strictly Necessary Cookies) may render the Services inaccessible in whole, or in part.

What are Cookies?

Cookies are text files containing small amounts of information automatically downloaded to your computer or device when you visit a website. On each subsequent visit, cookies return data to the originating website or share data with other websites that recognize that cookie. 

Cookies are useful because they allow a website to recognize a user's device over time. They can be used for many different activities, such as letting you navigate between pages efficiently, remembering your preferences, personalizing your online experience, and generally improving the user experience. They can also help ensure that the advertisements you see as you browse the web are more relevant to you and your interests. 

How do we use Cookies?

We use Cookies to remember some details about visitors to our Services, including but not limited to your general location, the way you reached the Services, and language or other settings preferences. We also rely on information obtained from Cookies to perform ongoing analysis and improve the Alation Services and our services, and to tailor our content to your interests. We may use both first-party Cookies, as set by us, and third-party Cookies, set by our partners and vendors. 

Pixels (also referred to as web beacons, clear GIFs, or pixel tags) are transparent images used in tandem with Cookies that enable us, our vendors, or other business partners to record your actions as you use the Services. We use these to count and track visitors who have visited certain pages, to perform ongoing analysis, to improve our Services, and for other statistical purposes.

Types of Cookies we use

There are four different types of Cookies we use: 

  • Strictly Necessary Cookies. These Cookies are required to operate our Services (e.g., to enable you to log in to secure areas of our Services or record your consent preferences). These Cookies are necessary for certain functionality to work.  We want you to understand these essential Cookies, and why we use them, but we are not legally required to get your consent to use them on our Services as we use these Cookies only to provide you with essential Service functions. You also cannot opt out of these Cookies.

  • Functionality Cookies. These Cookies allow us to remember choices you make on the Services, such as, as applicable: remembering your username, preferences, and settings; remembering if you've filled in a survey or reacted to something on or through the Services; remembering if you've used our Services before; restricting the number of times you are shown particular content; and remembering your location. These Cookies aim to provide a more personal experience so that you don't have to reset your preferences each time you use our Services. As described below, you may disable these Cookies; but if you do so, various functions of our Services may be unavailable or may not work how you want them to.

  • Performance Cookies. These Cookies collect information about how visitors use and interact with our Services, for instance, which pages you go to most often. These Cookies also enable us to personalize content and remember your preferences (e.g., your choice of language, country, or region). These Cookies help us improve how our Services work and provide a better, personalized user experience.

  • Targeting Cookies. These Cookies record your visits to our Services, the pages you have visited, and the links you have clicked. They gather information about your browsing habits and remember you visited our Services. We (and third-party advertising platforms or network partners) may use this information to make our Services, content, and advertisements displayed on our Services and other websites more relevant to your interests (this is sometimes called "interest-based" or "targeted" advertising). These types of Cookies are also used to limit the number of times you see an online advertisement and to help measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

How long do Cookies stay on my device?

Some Cookies operate only from the time you visit our Services until the end of that particular web-browsing session. They expire and are automatically deleted when you close your internet browser. These Cookies are called "session" Cookies.

Some Cookies will stay on your device between browsing sessions -- they do not expire when you close your browser, so your choices and preferences can be remembered between sessions. These Cookies are called "persistent" Cookies. The time a persistent cookie stays on your device varies from cookie to cookie.

Third-party Cookies

Please note that third parties (including for example, advertising networks and providers of external sites like web traffic analytics) may also use Cookies on our Services to assist us in our analytics and advertising activities.

Your Cookies Choices

There are several ways to manage the Cookies set on your devices. As explained above, however, strictly necessary Cookies cannot be disabled. If you block certain Cookies, the Services may not be accessible to you, and/or the performance, features, or Services may not function in their intended way.

All cookies: You can also exercise your preference to receive all types of Cookies by managing them from your web browser. As the means to activate or deactivate Cookies varies from one web browser to another, you should visit your web browser’s help menu for more information on Cookie preferences. You can also configure your browser at any time to be notified of the receipt of a Cookie, so that you can decide whether you want to accept it or not. Currently, it is technically impossible for you to synchronize your Cookies settings between your browsers and your devices (e.g., your computer or your smartphone). You must therefore set them on each browser/device that you currently use and each time you use a new browser or device.

If you are located in the European Union or the United Kingdom, you can also manage cookies through our Cookies Preferences tool, which is available as a link in the footer of our website called "Your Privacy Choices.”

Targeting cookies: If you are interested in more information about tailored online advertising and how you can generally control Cookies from being put on your computer to deliver tailored advertising, you may visit the Network Advertising Initiative’s Consumer Opt-Out link, the Digital Advertising Alliance’s Consumer Opt-Out link, or Your Online Choices to opt-out of receiving tailored advertising from companies that participate in those programs.

Further information

If you have any questions about how we use Cookies, you can contact Alation by emailing privacy@alation.com.