What are cookies?

This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are, how we use them, the types of cookies we use (i.e., the information we collect using cookies and how that information is used), and how to manage your cookie settings.

Cookies are small text files used to store small pieces of information. They are stored on your device when a website loads in your browser. These cookies help ensure that the website functions properly, enhance security, provide a better user experience, and analyse performance to identify what works and where improvements are needed.

Why do we use cookies?

Cookies perform different functions that help us make your online experience smoother and more interactive. Especially if you are using the same device and the same browser as you did when you visited our website previously.

To allow Websites and Web Portals to function properly: Some cookies are necessary to maintain and operate Sidekick’s websites and web portals. They allow us to provide you with consistent access to services and functionalities, consistent and updated information, and a seamless online experience.

To help us improve our Websites and Web Portals: Cookies help us improve our website and web portals by analyzing how visitors interact with them. On certain websites and web portals, we use that information to determine what is popular and what else visitors may find useful. That information allows us to understand how visitors use our website to make them better and enhance the web experience, and to display content most relevant to individual users.

To customize a user’s web experience on our Websites and Web Portals: Cookies also help us understand how you use and interact with our websites and web portals. They can be used to remember your preferences and user ID when you visit our websites. If we know your settings and preferences, on certain Sidekick websites and web portals, we can provide a more personalized user experience by helping you navigate more efficiently to relevant pages, remember your personal preferences, and modify content based on those preferences to provide more personalized content (based on preferences or geography, for example).

To protect the security and integrity of our Websites and Web Portals: Sidekick uses cookies and similar technologies that are strictly necessary to protect our websites and web portals from unauthorized access, fraud, abuse, and malicious or automated activity.

These technologies help us:

• authenticate users and maintain secure sessions;

• detect and prevent fraudulent, abusive, or suspicious behavior;

• identify automated or malicious activity (such as bots or credential-stuffing attacks);

• safeguard accounts, data, and system integrity; and

• comply with applicable legal and regulatory obligations relating to cybersecurity and information security.

The information collected for these purposes may include technical identifiers such as IP address, device and browser characteristics, session identifiers, and related security signals. These technologies are strictly necessary for the secure operation of our services and cannot be disabled without impacting the security or functionality of the relevant service.

In addition to the above uses of cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies, we also use third-party service providers to help us implement and utilize cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies to analyze the data they collect. In some cases, we link the information gathered by cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies to a user’s personal information. We may also use cookies, web beacons, tracking technologies, and the personal information they collect to tailor our websites, web portal, and communications so they are more relevant to a user’s interests. Additionally, cookies enable tailored content such as relevant advertisements to be provided on partner websites.