Premium Pack skins an cookies

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waldemar.hersacher
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Premium Pack skins an cookies

Unread post by waldemar.hersacher »

When publishing a PP skin I can activate cookies to store the last open tabs.

Today you are forced to get the agreement to do so. There are a lot of websites out there where you get a popup "We are using cookies, allow us to store them".

I'm not a lawer when you must show this popup. I think it is not necesary when deploying it on CD/DVD but for the public WepHelp it will be.

One solution would be to integrate a popup directly into the skin (which would be work for Tim).
Another would be to present a page before opening the WebHelp in a new blank browser window or tab. But in this case a link from search engine would bypass this.
Waldemar
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Tim Green
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Re: Premium Pack skins an cookies

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Waldemar,

I've been thinking about this as well. So far, I've decided not to include it in the skin directly because that would be an additional popup on top of any that the site is also using. My feeling is that the popup would really have to be in the site where the WebHelp is used, and not in the WebHelp itself. Particularly because the WebHelp cookies have nothing at all to do with tracking in any way -- they are just state information and nothing else. It would be more relevant for the site to display its own cookie policy (which may include tracking) and simply include the innocuous WebHelp state cookies in that.

What makes this all rather silly is that Google Analytics is not included in it at all, because it doesn't use cookies. But it can actually collect much more information... :?
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Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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waldemar.hersacher
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Re: Premium Pack skins an cookies

Unread post by waldemar.hersacher »

Cookie or not cookie that's the question.
What makes this all rather silly is that Google Analytics is not included in it at all, because it doesn't use cookies.
This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. ("Google"). Google Analytics uses "cookies", which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyze how users use the site.
From Help and Manual -> Company -> About us -> Privacy

I see a lot of websites placing cookies starting with "__ut". Some of them having such a popup and some of them are telling in a way like the H&M website that an analytic tool is used.

My son-in-law is coming this weekend and I will ask him about that. He is programing and offering internet games and I think he had to deal with that.
My feeling is that the popup would really have to be in the site where the WebHelp is used, and not in the WebHelp itself.
My private Website is the publish from H&M with nothing around it. But that's a really unusual use case.
Waldemar
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Tim Green
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Re: Premium Pack skins an cookies

Unread post by Tim Green »

This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. ("Google"). Google Analytics uses "cookies", which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyze how users use the site.
Yes, of course GA also uses cookies -- my bad. Too many long hours after the release, sorry... :?
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Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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Simon Dismore
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Re: Premium Pack skins and cookies

Unread post by Simon Dismore »

GA also uses cookies
I haven't tried it yet, but Google says you can use analytics without cookies by substituting your own clientID.

I don't believe this makes any difference to the requirement to get consent, because the EU Directive is technology-neutral. It is "the storing or information, or the gaining of access to information already stored, in the terminal equipment" of a user that requires consent. They use a very wide interpretation of "information", e.g. device configuration, installed fonts etc are all treated as stored information, so using device fingerprinting usually requires consent in the same way as cookies do (see this opinion PDF for details).
cookies to store the last open tabs
I'm not a lawyer, but... if that's all you are doing why not simply add a checkbox saying something like "Remember tabs". You could link to an explanation if you like, but if the user has explicitly asked you to remember their tabs then you have to store something, so Criterion B in the above PDF should apply. When the checkbox is set, your tabs cookie will be updated. If the checkbox is unset by the user, you delete the cookie.
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