TNS Group – Cookies Statement (Europe)

Introduction to the TNS Group Cookies Statement (Europe)

Transaction Network Services and its operating Group of companies (TNS Group) are committed to transparency in relation to its uses cookies.  As we want you to be confident that your personal data is processed lawfully and fairly and in accordance with your consent, we have adopted this Cookies Statement to let you know more about our use of cookies.

The principle operating entity within the TNS Group in Europe is Transaction Network Services (UK) Limited (“TNS”).  Registered in England under Company No. 02952557. Registered office is at Sheffield Business Park, 5 Europa View, Sheffield S9 1XH.   For details of the relevant TNS Group operating entities in Europe and US, please refer to our Data Protection Statement (see: /legal/data-protection-statement-europe/)

This Cookies Statement provides details of where cookies are used on TNS Group sites and how to manage them:

1.Use of cookies by the TNS Group

2.How to control and delete cookies

3.Categories of cookies used on TNS Group websites

4.Flash cookies

5. Additional cookies

6. Changes to TNS Group Cookies Statement

1. Use of cookies by TNS Group

Although TNS Group do not use cookies to collect personal data that could personally identify you, we will use cookies to:

  • help understand how our websites are used on an aggregated (not individual) basis, so we can improve them for you
  • provide an enhanced and more personalized user experience for you
  • provide services that are necessary for the running of our website

By using our site, you agree to these cookies being set, but you’re free to change your browser settings if you want to delete or block these. However, we recommend you allow cookies so you can:

  • get the best experience and additional functionality – e.g. social media sharing buttons, polls, etc.
  • help us improve our website – we need to understand how our websites are used to make them better. These cookies don’t collect information that could identify you personally, but they do help us understand:
    • which pages are most popular – so we can make these as accessible as possible
    • which pages aren’t being used – so we can remove content that isn’t of value
    • what’s being searched for – so we can improve access to most requested information
    • where errors are being displayed – so we can fix these for you
    • where we need to focus our development effort to take into account changes in browser usage (e.g. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari) and device types (e.g. tablets, desktops, mobiles)
  • All of this helps us develop the sites to deliver a better experience for you. Without this information, we will have less insight into what users want. Please help us deliver a better experience to you by allowing cookies.
  • On the first visit to our websites, an information box will be displayed advising that cookies are in use, with links to our privacy policy and this cookie information page.

2. How to control and delete cookies

  • Always remember that you may refuse to accept cookies by activating the setting on your browser which allows you to refuse the setting of cookies. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of our site. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you log on to our site.
  • Update your browser settings –  The help facility on your browser will explain how to do this or you may want to visit the independent site www.aboutcookies.org for more helpful information. Note that deleting or blocking cookies may prevent parts of TNS Group websites working correctly.
  • Manage your settings on third party sites – Sites like Google and YouTube have their own cookie policies. Access their cookie pages to find out how to delete or opt-out across all websites where their services are used.
  • For example, Google utilizes and implements certain tracking cookies which store information in an anonymized form. Information regarding the use of such cookies can be found at:

3. Categories of cookies used on TNS Group websites

The following categories of cookies are used by TNS Group:

  • Strictly necessary cookies – these cookies are essential in order to enable you to access and use the features/services on our websites. Without these cookies, such features/services cannot be accessed or used.
  • Performance cookies – this type of cookie collect information about how visitors use our websites.  For example, frequency of visits and whether error messages occur. These cookies don’t collect personal data per se which identifies a website visitor. All data collected by these cookies is aggregated and as such is anonymous.  It is only used to improve our websites.
  • Functionality cookies – these cookies allow the website to remember choices you make and provide enhanced, more personal features. They may also be used as part of the provision of our products and services. The information these cookies collect may be anonymised and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites.
  • Targeting and advertising cookies – these cookies are used to track the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns and to limit the number of times you see any TNS Group advert. They may also be used to deliver adverts more relevant to you and your interests based on the sites you visit. We don’t use retargeting and advertising cookies but we may introduce these from time to time.

4. Flash cookies

TNS Group websites use Adobe Flash Player to deliver some video content and tools. To improve user experience, ‘Local Shared Objects’ or ‘Flash cookies’ are used to provide features like auto-resume and saving your preferences. These are stored on your computer/device in a similar way to cookies, however it’s not possible to manage these using your browser settings in the same way. The Adobe website provides information on how to delete or disable Flash cookies either for a specific domain like aegon.co.uk or for all websites – see http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/security  for details. Shared flash objects may be used – these remember whether message have been shown and which options you’ve chosen, to maximise the user experience.

5. Additional cookies

Although we’ve carried out an audit of our websites, it’s possible that we may have missed a cookie from our lists above. If you happen to find one that is being set on our sites but isn’t listed above, please contact our Data Protection Officer (see our Data Privacy Statement) or email us at: gdpr@tnsi.com .

6. Changes to TNS Group Cookies Statement

We keep our cookies statement under regular review. This cookies statement was last updated on 25th April 2018.