Yahoo and Its Family of Brands: Understanding Cookie Use and Privacy Settings
Yahoo operates as part of a larger family of brands that includes well-known sites and apps such as AOL, Engadget, In The Know, and Makers. These platforms collectively serve millions of users worldwide, offering a variety of digital content and services. To enhance user experience and maintain service functionality across these sites and applications, Yahoo and its associated brands utilize cookies and similar technologies.
What Are Cookies and How Are They Used?
Cookies are small files stored on your device that enable websites and applications to remember information about your visit. Alongside cookies, Yahoo’s platforms also employ related technologies like web storage. These tools help improve the way the sites function by storing and reading data from your device.
Yahoo uses cookies primarily to:
- Provide and maintain access to the sites and apps
- Authenticate users to ensure security, prevent spam, and deter abuse
- Measure traffic and user interactions, such as counting visitors, tracking device type (iOS or Android), browser usage, and the length of visits
Importantly, this measurement data is collected in an aggregated form, meaning it is not linked to individual users, ensuring a degree of privacy in usage statistics.
Consent and Options for Cookie Usage
When accessing Yahoo’s sites and apps, users are presented with options regarding cookie usage. By clicking "Accept all," users agree to allow Yahoo and its partners—including over 240 entities that are part of the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework—to store and access information on the device. This consent enables the use of more advanced data such as precise geolocation, IP address, browsing and search information for purposes including:
- Analytics to improve services
- Personalized advertising and content delivery
- Advertising and content measurement
- Audience research and development of new services
Users who prefer not to consent to these additional data uses can select "Reject all." For those wishing to tailor their privacy preferences more specifically, the "Manage privacy settings" option provides customization choices.
Ongoing Privacy Controls
Yahoo emphasizes user control over privacy preferences. Users can withdraw or alter their consent at any time by accessing the "Privacy & cookie settings" or "Privacy dashboard" links found on Yahoo’s platforms. Detailed information regarding data handling practices is available in Yahoo’s privacy policy and cookie policy documents, ensuring transparency about how personal data is collected, used, and protected across the Yahoo family of brands.
In summary, Yahoo’s integrated approach to cookies and privacy settings aims to balance the delivery of a seamless, personalized user experience with user control and transparency regarding data collection and usage.
