PRIVACY & COOKIES

GENERAL STATEMENT

We respect your right to privacy. Visitors are advised that each time they visit a www.healthscale.ie website, two general levels of information about their visit can be retained. The first level comprises statistical and other analytical information collected on an aggregate and non-individual-specific basis from all browsers who visit the site. The second is personal or particular information to a visitor who knowingly provides that information.

The statistical and analytical information provides general and not individually specific information about the number of people who visit this website, the number of people who return to this site, the pages that they visit, where they were before they came to this site and the page in the site at which they exited. This information helps us monitor traffic on our website to manage the site’s capacity and efficiency. It also allows us to understand which parts of this site are most popular and to assess user behaviour and characteristics to measure interest in and use of the various areas of the site.

Through this website, you may be able to send us information, such as through the “registration” pages or any other area where you may send emails, provide feedback, etc. By participating in these, you will be providing us with some personal information relating to you. This information will only be used by this site for:

  1. the purposes for which you provided it;
  2. verification purposes and statistical analysis; and
  3. marketing and administration purposes.

Collection and use of personal information

Personal information: information that is associated with your name or personal identity. This website does not collect any personal data about you on this website, apart from information about which you volunteer (for example, by emailing or registering with us). Any information you provide in this way is not made available to any third parties and is used by this site only in line with the purpose for which you provided it.

Collection and use of non-personal information

Non-personal information: data collected for statistical purposes unrelated to a specific identity. This site collects and analyses technical information to evaluate our website. The type of technical information we log is confined to the following:

  • The IP address*1 of the visitor’s Web server
  • The top-level domain name used (for example, .ie, .com, .org, .net)
  • The pages visited on this site website, i.e. URL’s*2 visited
  • The previous website address from which the visitor reached us, including any search terms used
  • Clickstream data, which shows the traffic of visitors around this website (for example, pages accessed)

*1 An IP address is an identifier for a computer or device on a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) network, such as the World Wide Web. Networks use the TCP/IP protocol to route information based on the IP address of the destination. In other words, an IP address is automatically assigned to your computer when web surfing, allowing web servers to locate and identify your computer. Computers require IP addresses for users to communicate on the Internet, browse and shop.

*2 A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the global address of documents and other resources on the World Wide Web.

WE USE COOKIES

What is a cookie?

A cookie is an information in the form of a very small text file placed on an internet user’s hard drive. The server generates and sends the cookie to the user’s browser, then stores it and the browser (client-side software) that places the cookie on the user’s device.
The server sets the information the cookie contains, and it can be used by that server whenever the user visits the site. A cookie can be considered an internet user’s identification card, which tells a website when the user has returned. It can also serve other purposes, such as maintaining session state, storing preferences, or tracking activity.

What is the purpose of cookies?

Cookies make the interaction between users and websites faster and easier. Without cookies, it would be very difficult for a website to allow a visitor to fill out a shopping cart or to remember the user’s preferences or registration details for a future visit. Websites use cookies mainly because they save time and make the browsing experience more efficient and enjoyable.

Are cookies dangerous?

No. Cookies are small pieces of text. They are not computer programs and can’t be executed as code.

Can cookies threaten users' privacy?

Cookies are stored on the computer’s hard drive. They cannot access the hard drive, so a cookie can’t read other information saved on the hard drive, get a user’s email address, etc. They only contain and transfer to the server as much information as the users disclose to a particular website.

What do our cookies do?

Our use of cookies ensures both the basic functioning of our website and our Google Analytics statistics to help us improve engagement with our users. Editing your cookie preferences could prevent some aspects of our website from functioning correctly.

Can you control how cookies work?

Yes. Users can set their browsers to accept or reject all or certain cookies. All recent versions of popular browsers give users control over cookies. For more information on managing cookies with your browser, please visit http://www.aboutcookies.org/default.aspx?page=1.