1. What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files created by the website, downloaded to and stored on any internet-enabled device—such as your computer, smartphone, or tablet—when you visit our homepage. The browser you're on uses the cookies to forward information back to the website at each subsequent visit for the website to recognize the user and to remember the user’s choices (for example, login information, language preferences, and other settings). This can make your next visit easier and the site more useful to you.
A cookie file can contain and/or automatically collect information, such as a user identification code or IP address that a website will use to track the pages and number of times you have visited. The data read from these cookies may be linked to personally identifying (PII) and non-personally identifying (non-PII) information. We may collect and use non-PII to help us improve our services, customize your experience and analyze use of our services.
2. What types of cookies do we use and for what purposes do we use them?
We use different types of cookies to run our website. The cookies indicated below may be stored in your browser.
- Essential Cookies. These cookies are necessary for the website to function and will be placed on your device once you access the website. Most of these cookies are set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. These cookies provide a convenient and complete use of our website, and they help users efficiently use the website and make it personalized. These cookies identify the user’s device insofar, so we would be able to see how many times our website is visited but do not collect any additional personally identifiable information. These cookies may collect and use information such as your server preferences, single-session data and corresponding identifiers, web beacons and log files, and other credential-related information. Essential cookies may also help inform Snow whether you require, or have already been served, an affirmative consent request in connection with our data policies. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will then not work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information and are stored on the user’s device until the end of the session or permanently.
- Analytical Cookies. These cookies collect information about how users interact with our website, for example, to determine which sections are most frequently visited and which services are most often used. The collected information is used for analytical purposes to understand the interests of our users and how to make the webpage more user-friendly. If you do not allow these cookies, we will not know when you have visited our site and will not be able to monitor its performance. For analytical purposes, we may use third-party cookies. These cookies are stored on the user’s device for as long as set by the third-party cookie provider (ranging from 1 day to permanently).
- Preference Cookies. These cookies collect information about how users interact with our website, for example, to determine which sections are most frequently visited and which services are most often used. Before you agree to the use of all cookies, Snow will only collect anonymous data regarding access to Snow’s website. The collected information is used for analytical purposes to understand the interests of our users and how to make the webpage more user-friendly. Snow does not provide user information to third parties except in connection with the Site or as required by law. For analytical purposes, we may use third-party cookies. These cookies are stored permanently on the user’s device.
- Third-party Cookies. Our website uses third-party services, for example, for analytics services, so we would know what is popular on our website and what is not, thus making the website more usable. You can learn more about these cookies and their privacy policy by visiting the websites of respective third parties. All information processed from third-party cookies are processed by the respective service providers. At any point in time, you have the right to opt out from data processing by third-party cookies. For more information, please see the next section of this Cookie Policy.
We use reports provided by Analytic Services to help us understand website traffic and webpage usage. For example, we may use Google Analytics cookies to help measure how users interact with our website content. These cookies collect information about your interaction with the website, such as unique visits, returning visits, length of the session, actions carried on the webpage, and others.
We may also use Facebook pixels to process information about user’s actions on our website, such as visited webpage, user’s Facebook ID, browser data, and others. The information processed from Facebook pixels are used to display you interest-based ads when you are using Facebook as well as to measure cross-device conversions and learn about users’ interactions with our webpage.
Below we describe how we use the key technologies running through our services, with links to their privacy policies where you can find out more about what they do with your data. This is a list of the common technologies used to support our websites and other online services. It is not intended to be a comprehensive list.
Full details of the technologies used on a specific website are provided in the cookie management platform for that service (available via Your Privacy Choices in the footer).
| Key |
Category |
Data System |
Description |
Provenance |
Data controller |
| _bit |
Analytics |
Bit.ly |
analytics, potentially a session or persistent ID for tracking user behavior. |
third_party |
Snow |
| _bs |
Targeted Advertising |
Blushift |
Session cookie for basic site functionality or a broader "browser session" identifier. |
third_party |
BBC Studios |
| cart_currency |
Essential Services |
Shopify |
Stores the currency chosen for the shopping cart. |
first_party |
Snow |
| __cf_bm |
Essential Services |
Cloudflare |
Used by Cloudflare for bot management, distinguishing legitimate user traffic from malicious bots. |
third_party |
Snow |
| cf_chl_rc_m |
Essential Services |
Cloudflare |
Cloudflare cookie, potentially related to challenge solutions for security (e.g., CAPTCHAs). |
third_party |
Snow |
| _cmp_a |
Essential Services |
Shopify |
Shopify for managing customer privacy settings and consent. |
first_party |
Snow |
| _ga_* |
Analytics |
Google Analytics |
Google Analytics cookies; _ga distinguishes unique users, _ga_<container-id> persists session state for GA4. |
third_party |
BBC Studios |
| _ga_* |
Analytics |
Google Analytics |
Google Analytics cookies; _ga distinguishes unique users, _ga_<container-id> persists session state for GA4. |
third_party |
Snow |
| _gcl_au |
Targeted Advertising |
Google Ads |
Google Adsense/Google Ads cookie; tracks conversions and ad efficiency across websites. |
first_party |
BBC Studios |
| IDE |
Targeted Advertising |
Google Ads |
Set by DoubleClick (Google) for advertising purposes, helping to build a profile for relevant ads on other sites. |
third_party |
BBC Studios |
| keep_alive |
Essential Services |
Shopify |
Session cookie to maintain a user's logged-in state or active session. |
first_party |
Snow |
| _ketch_consent_v1_ |
Essential Services |
Ketch |
Indicates consent management; stores user's cookie consent preferences. |
first_party |
Snow |
| _landing_page |
Essential Services |
Shopify |
Tracks the landing page a user arrived on, potentially for analytics or advertising effectiveness. |
first_party |
Snow |
| localization |
Essential Services |
Shopify |
Stores a user's preferred locale or language settings for the website. |
first_party |
Snow |
| _orig_referrer |
Essential Services |
Shopify |
Tracks the original referring URL that brought the user to the site, often for analytics. |
first_party |
Snow |
| _pay_session |
Essential Services |
Shopify |
A session cookie related to the payment process, ensuring continuity during checkout. |
third_party |
Snow |
| secure_customer_sig |
Essential Services |
Shopify |
A security signature related to a customer's session, likely for authentication or verifying data integrity during checkout. |
first_party |
Snow |
| _shop_app_essential |
Essential Services |
Shopify |
An essential cookie likely used by a Shopify app for its core functionality. |
third_party |
Snow |
| _shopify_essential |
Essential Services |
Shopify |
Essential cookies for the basic functioning of a Shopify store (e.g., remembering login, shopping cart items). |
first_party |
Snow |
| shopify_pay_redirect |
Essential Services |
Shopify |
Used to facilitate redirects during the Shopify Pay (Shop Pay) checkout process. |
first_party |
Snow |
| _shopify_s |
Analytics |
Shopify |
Associated with Shopify's analytics suite, collecting data about store usage. |
first_party |
Snow |
| _shopify_sa_p |
Analytics |
Shopify |
Associated with Shopify's analytics suite, specifically concerning marketing and referrals. |
first_party |
Snow |
| _shopify_sa_t |
Analytics |
Shopify |
Also related to Shopify's analytics suite, potentially for tracking traffic or specific user actions. |
first_party |
Snow |
| _shopify_test |
Essential Services |
Shopify |
Used by Shopify to verify the browser's ability to store cookies, ensuring scripts function correctly. |
first_party |
Snow |
| _shopify_y |
Essential Services |
Shopify |
A persistent cookie used by Shopify for analytics, likely to distinguish unique visitors. |
first_party |
Snow |
| _swb |
Essential Services |
Ketch |
Potentially related to a specific app or feature within Shopify (e.g., "Shop With [Brand]"). |
first_party |
Snow |
| _swb_consent_ |
Essential Services |
Ketch |
Related to consent for the _swb cookie or feature. |
first_party |
Snow |
| test_cookie |
Targeted Advertising |
Google Ads |
A generic cookie used to test if the user's browser accepts cookies. |
third_party |
BBC Studios |
| _tracking_consent |
Essential Services |
Shopify |
Stores a user's tracking preferences, indicating whether they have consented to data tracking. |
first_party |
Snow |
| wpm-test-cookie |
Essential Services |
Shopify |
Similar to test_cookie, likely specific to a WordPress site or a Web Pixel Manager to verify cookie functionality. |
first_party |
Snow |
| XSRF-TOKEN |
Essential Services |
|
A security cookie that helps protect against Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks. |
third_party |
Snow |
3. How to control cookies?
When visiting our website, you are presented with an informative statement that the website uses cookies and asks for your consent to enable cookies that are not mandatory and performance cookies. You can also delete all cookies stored in your browser and set up your browser to block cookies from being saved. By clicking on the “help” button in your browser, you can find instructions on how to prevent the browser from storing cookies, as well as what cookies are stored already, and delete them if you want to. Changes to the settings must be made for each browser that you use.
If you want to revoke your consent to save cookies on your device, you can delete all cookies stored in your browser and set up your browser to block cookies from being saved. By clicking on the “help” button in your browser, you can find instructions on how to prevent the browser from storing cookies, as well as what cookies are stored already, and delete them if you want to. You may turn off cookies in your browser or have your browser warn you before accepting cookies. You must change the settings for each browser that you use. However, please note that without saving certain cookies, it is possible that you will not be able to fully use all the features and services of Snow’s website. You can separately opt-out from having your website activity available to Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, which prevents sharing information about your website visit with Google Analytics. Link to the add-on and for more information: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/181881.
Furthermore, if you want to opt-out from interest-based behavioral advertising, you can opt-out by using one of the following tools based on the region you are in. Please note that this is a third-party tool that will save its own cookies on your devices, and Snow does not control and is not responsible for its Privacy Policy. For more information and opt-out options, please visit:
US – Digital Advertising Alliance
Canada – Digital Advertising Alliance
EU – European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance
4. Other Technologies
Web beacons: These are tiny graphics (sometimes called “clear GIFs” or “web pixels”) with unique identifiers that are used to recognize users, assess traffic patterns, identify preferred content, and measure Website engagement. In contrast to cookies, which are stored on a user's computer hard drive, web beacons are rendered invisibly on web pages when you open a page. We may also include web beacons in our e-mail messages in order to count how many e-mail messages have been opened, for example.
Web beacons or "clear GIFs" are small, approx. 1*1 pixel GIF files that can be hidden in other graphics, e-mails, or similar. Web beacons perform similar functions as cookies but are not noticeable to you as a user.
Web beacons send your IP address, the Internet address of the visited website URL), the time at which the web beacon was viewed, the user's browser type, and previously set cookie information to a web server.
By using so-called web beacons on our pages, we can identify your computer and evaluate user behavior (e.g. reactions to promotions).
This information is anonymous and not linked to any personal information on the user's computer or to any database. We may also use this technology in our newsletter.
To prevent web beacons on our pages, you can use tools such as Webwasher, bugnosys, or AdBlock.
To prevent web beacons in our newsletter, please set your mail program to not display HTML in messages. Web beacons are also prevented if you read your emails offline.
Without your explicit consent, we will not use web beacons to unnoticeably:
- collect personal data about you
- transmit such data to third-party vendors and marketing platforms.
Some of these web beacons may also be placed by third-party service providers to help determine the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. These web beacons may be used by third-party service providers to place a persistent cookie on your computer. This allows the service provider to recognize your computer each time you visit certain web pages and compiles anonymous information in relation to those page views, which in turn enables us and our third-party service providers to learn which advertisements bring you to our website and how you use the Website.
5. Cookie Policy Changes
We reserve the right to make updates to this Cookie Policy. The updated version will be indicated by a revised “Last updated” date and the updated version will be effective as soon as it is accessible. Amendments and/or additions to this Cookie Policy will come into force when published on our website.
By continuing to use our website and/or our services after changes have been made to this Cookie Policy, you are indicating your consent to the new wording of the Cookie Policy. It is your responsibility to regularly check the content of this policy to learn about any changes.
