Cookie Policy

What are cookies?

Cookies are small pieces of data, stored in text files, that are stored on your computer or other device when websites are loaded in a browser. They are widely used to “remember” you and your preferences, either for a single visit (through a “session cookie”) or for multiple repeat visits (using a “persistent cookie”). They ensure a consistent and efficient experience for visitors, and perform essential functions such as allowing users to register and remain logged in. Cookies may be set by the site that you are visiting (known as “first party cookies”), or by third parties, such as those who serve content or provide advertising or analytics services on the website (“third party cookies”).

Both websites and HTML emails may also contain other tracking technologies such as “web beacons” or “pixels.” These are typically small transparent images that provide us with statistics, for similar purposes as cookies. They are often used in conjunction with cookies, though they are not stored on your computer in the same way. As a result, if you disable cookies, web beacons may still load, but their functionality will be restricted.

How we use cookies

We use cookies for a number of different purposes. Some cookies are necessary for technical reasons; some enable a personalized experience for both visitors and registered users; and some allow the display of advertising from selected third party networks. Some of these cookies may be set when a page is loaded, or when a visitor takes a particular action (clicking the “like” or “follow” button on a post, for example).

Many of the cookies we use are only set if you are a registered GGather.com user (so you don’t have to log in every time, for example), while others are set whenever you visit one of our websites, irrespective of whether you have an account.

For more information on the choices you have about the cookies we use, please see the Controlling Cookies section below.

Where we place cookies

We set cookies in a number of different locations across our services. These include:

• • On our websites (including ggather.com, api.ggather.com, core.ggather.com, serafin.io, and any other subdomains of ggather.com and serafin.io).

• • In the administrative dashboards of our websites.

• On sites we host for our users.
• On sites that use our plugins and widgets.
• In the emails we send.

Types of Cookie

The table below explains the types of cookies we use on our websites and why we use them.

Examples

Below are examples of the cookies set by GGather, with explanations of their purpose. Some of these cookies are set across our whole network, whereas some are specific to individual services (e.g. GGather.com API). Please note that this is not an exhaustive list, but rather aims to be representative. Information about cookies that may be set by third parties, such as our ads partners, is below.

In addition, people and companies that use our services to publish or host their own sites may place additional cookies. We provide more information on these cookies below.

Advertising

Please also see the section below on third party advertisements that you may see on our sites or sites that use our services.

Analytics and Performance

Functionality

Security

Strictly Necessary

Advertisements from Third Parties Through GGather’s Ads Program

Our mission is to democratize publishing. So that we can offer free access to create a website using GGather.com, we show ads on some of our users’ sites. Our users may also choose to place ads on their site through our ads program. Additionally, we also show ads from our ads program on some of our own websites (e.g. longreads.com), and in emails.

We operate our ads program in partnership with third party vendors. As part of the operation of our ads program, we use cookies to collect certain information. Advertising cookies enable us and our partners to serve ads and to personalize those ads based on information like visits to our sites and other sites on the Internet.

Below is a representative list of our advertising program partners, along with information on the cookies that that each partner sets. The partners we work with change from time to time, and this is not an exhaustive list. Your choices to control cookies related to our ads program are described below.

Please note that this section is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather aims to be representative and there may be other additional cookies set.

Consent for Advertising Cookies on Our Sites

You may see a “cookie banner” on our websites and dashboards. If you are visiting one of our users' sites from the EU, then we do not set, or allow our ad partners to set, cookies that are used to show you targeted ads before you click to accept. When you consent in this manner, we and our advertising partners may set advertising cookies on the site you are visiting and on other of our websites, dashboards, and services. We may display the banner to you periodically, just in case you change your mind.

Controlling Cookies

Visitors may wish to restrict the use of cookies or completely prevent them from being set. Most browsers provide for ways to control cookie behavior such as the length of time they are stored – either through built-in functionality or by utilizing third party plugins. If you disable cookies, please be aware that some of the features of our service may not function correctly.

To find out more on how to manage and delete cookies, visit aboutcookies.org. For more details on your choices regarding use of your web browsing activity for interest-based advertising you may visit the following sites:

• networkadvertising.org
• optout.aboutads.info 
• youradchoices.com
• youronlinechoices.eu

On a mobile device, you may also be to adjust your settings to limit ad tracking.  

You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing Google’s opt-out browser add-on.

Our Internal Analytics Tool

In order to better understand how our services are used, we monitor certain user activities that take place within our products, including page views and clicks on any links used when managing a site via our dashboards.

We call each one of these actions an “event.” Analytics events are attached to your GGather account and are handled via a first party system that GGather owns and maintains. In general, we record the following data for each event: IP address, GGather user ID and username, GGather-connected site ID (for sites not hosted on GGather), user agent, referring URL, timestamp of event, browser language, and country code.

We use this information to improve our products, make our marketing to you more relevant, personalize your experience, and for the other purposes described in our Privacy Policy.