What are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer, smartphone, or other device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site. Cookies can be either "persistent" or "session" cookies. Persistent cookies remain on your computer after you close your browser and are used to remember your preferences for future visits. Session cookies, on the other hand, expire when you close your browser and are typically used to track your activity during a single browsing session.
At DirectingMastery, located in the heart of Los Angeles, California, we utilize cookies to improve your browsing experience, personalize content, and analyze our website traffic. Our Cookie Policy is designed to provide you with clear and comprehensive information about the cookies we use, their purpose, and how you can manage your cookie preferences. This policy is overseen by our Data Protection Officer, Anya Sharma, who ensures compliance with all applicable data protection regulations.
Types of Cookies We Use
We use several types of cookies to enhance your experience on DirectingMastery's website. These can be broadly categorized as follows:
- Strictly Necessary Cookies: These cookies are essential for the operation of our website and enable you to navigate and use its features. Without these cookies, services you have asked for, like accessing secure areas or online courses, cannot be provided.
- Performance Cookies: These cookies collect information about how visitors use our website, such as which pages are visited most often and if they get error messages from web pages. These cookies don't collect information that identifies a visitor. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. It is only used to improve how our website works.
- Functionality Cookies: These cookies allow our website to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language, or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. For instance, a website may be able to provide you with local weather reports or traffic news by storing in a cookie the region in which you are currently located.
- Targeting or Advertising Cookies: These cookies are used to deliver advertisements more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaigns. They are usually placed by advertising networks with the website operator’s permission. They remember that you have visited a website and this information is shared with other organizations such as advertisers.
- Analytics Cookies: We use analytics cookies, such as Google Analytics, to help us understand how users interact with our website. This information is used to improve the user experience and optimize our content.
Below is a detailed table outlining the specific cookies we use, their names, purposes, and expiry times:
| Cookie Name | Purpose | Expiry Time |
|---|---|---|
| _ga | Used by Google Analytics to distinguish users. | 2 years |
| _gid | Used by Google Analytics to distinguish users. | 24 hours |
| _gat | Used by Google Analytics to throttle request rate. | 1 minute |
| PHPSESSID | Preserves user session state across page requests. | Session |
| dm_cookie_consent | Records the user's consent to the use of cookies. | 1 year |
How We Use Cookies
We use cookies for several key purposes:
- To personalize your experience: Cookies help us remember your preferences and tailor our content to your interests.
- To improve our website: We analyze cookie data to understand how users interact with our website and identify areas for improvement.
- To provide targeted advertising: Cookies enable us to show you advertisements that are relevant to your interests.
- To ensure website security: Some cookies are essential for maintaining the security of our website and protecting your data.
- To remember your login details: If you choose to have us remember your login details, a cookie will be stored to facilitate this.
- To analyze site traffic and usage: Analytics cookies help us understand where our visitors are coming from and how they are using our site.
Our commitment to privacy and data protection is paramount. We ensure that all cookie data is handled in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. You can learn more about our data protection practices in our Privacy Policy .
Your Consent Options
When you first visit our website, we will display a cookie banner that informs you about our use of cookies and asks for your consent. You can choose to accept all cookies, reject all non-essential cookies, or customize your cookie preferences.
You can also manage your cookie preferences at any time by:
- Adjusting your browser settings: Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can typically block all cookies, accept only first-party cookies, or delete cookies that have already been stored. Refer to your browser's documentation for instructions on how to manage your cookie settings.
- Using a cookie consent tool: We may provide a cookie consent tool that allows you to manage your cookie preferences directly on our website. This tool will enable you to enable or disable specific categories of cookies.
- Visiting third-party websites: You can opt out of targeted advertising by visiting the websites of the third-party advertising networks that we use. For example, you can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website and your ability to access certain features. We respect your choices and are committed to providing you with control over your cookie preferences. If you have any questions or concerns about our use of cookies, please contact us at Contact Us .
Changes to Our Cookie Policy
We may update our Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or to comply with legal requirements. We will post any changes to our Cookie Policy on our website and, where appropriate, notify you by email or other means. Please check our Cookie Policy regularly to stay informed about our use of cookies.
This Cookie Policy was last updated on October 26, 2024. For any questions about our cookie policy, feel free to reach out to our Data Protection Officer, Anya Sharma, at [email protected].