Cookie Policy for SkillForge Academy
This Cookie Policy explains how SkillForge Academy ("we," "us," or "our") uses cookies and similar technologies on our website, skillforgeacademy.com (the "Website"). It explains what these technologies are and why we use them, as well as your rights to control our use of them.
By using our Website, you consent to the use of cookies as described in this Cookie Policy. If you do not agree to our use of cookies, you can manage your cookie preferences as explained below.
What are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer or mobile 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 website. Cookies enable the website to remember your actions and preferences (such as login, language, font size, and other display preferences) over a period of time, so you don’t have to keep re-entering them whenever you come back to the site or browse from one page to another.
Cookies can be "persistent" or "session" cookies. Persistent cookies remain on your computer after you close your browser and will be used by your browser on subsequent visits to the Website. Session cookies are temporary and are deleted when you close your browser.
Types of Cookies We Use
We use the following types of cookies on our Website:
- Strictly Necessary Cookies: These cookies are essential for the operation of our Website and enable you to navigate the site and use its features. Without these cookies, services you have asked for, such as logging into secure areas, 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 are used to improve how our Website works. For example, we use Google Analytics to understand how customers use our site so we can improve the user experience.
- 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. These cookies can also be used to remember changes you have made to text size, fonts, and other parts of web pages that you can customize.
- 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.
Here is a table summarizing the cookies we use:
| Cookie Name | Type | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHPSESSID | Strictly Necessary | Maintains user session | Session |
| _ga | Performance | Google Analytics cookie to distinguish users | 2 years |
| _gid | Performance | Google Analytics cookie to distinguish users | 24 hours |
| cookieConsent | Functionality | Remembers user's cookie consent preference | 1 year |
| ad_id | Targeting | Used for advertising purposes | 3 months |
Purpose of Cookies
We use cookies for a variety of purposes, including:
- To personalize your experience: Cookies allow us to remember your preferences and tailor our Website to your individual needs.
- To improve our Website: Cookies help us understand how visitors use our Website so we can make it better.
- To deliver targeted advertising: Cookies allow us to show you ads that are relevant to your interests.
- To analyze website traffic: Cookies help us track and analyze website traffic so we can understand how our Website is being used.
- To ensure website security: Cookies can help us protect our Website from fraud and other security threats.
Specifically, SkillForge Academy uses cookies to:
- Track student progress in courses to provide personalized learning paths.
- Remember login details for registered users, allowing them to access course materials quickly.
- Analyze popular course topics to improve our curriculum and offer relevant new courses.
- Display relevant advertisements for SkillForge Academy on other websites, driving enrollment.
Managing Cookies
You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject cookies. You can exercise your cookie preferences by using the cookie consent tool provided on our Website, or by setting or amending your web browser controls to accept or refuse cookies. If you choose to reject cookies, you may still use our Website, though your access to some functionality and areas of our Website may be restricted.
Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings preferences. These settings are usually found in the "Options" or "Preferences" menu of your browser. To understand these settings, the following links may be helpful, or you can use the "Help" option in your browser:
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Cookie settings in Internet Explorer
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Cookie settings in Firefox
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Cookie settings in Chrome
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Cookie settings in Safari
To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites, visit: Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on .
Please note that if you use different devices to access our Website (e.g., your computer, smartphone, tablet), you will need to ensure that each browser on each device is adjusted to reflect your cookie preferences.
Third-Party Cookies
In addition to our own cookies, we may also use third-party cookies, which are cookies that are placed on your device by a domain other than our Website. We use third-party cookies for:
- Analytics: To track website traffic and usage. We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. Google Analytics uses cookies to collect information about your use of our Website, including your IP address. The information generated by the cookie about your use of our Website will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of our Website, compiling reports on website activity for us, and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage.
- Advertising: To display ads that are relevant to your interests. We may use third-party advertising networks to serve ads on our Website or to manage our advertising on other websites. These advertising networks may use cookies to collect information about your online activities over time and across different websites.
- Social Media: To allow you to share content from our Website on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. These social media platforms may use cookies to track your browsing activity and personalize your experience on their platforms.
SkillForge Academy works with advertising partners such as LearnWise Ads and EduSpark Marketing. These partners may use cookies to show you relevant advertisements based on your browsing history. SkillForge Academy does not have direct control over these cookies but we strive to partner with reputable companies that respect user privacy.
Changes to this Cookie Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will post any changes to this Cookie Policy on our Website. Please check back periodically to stay informed of any updates.
The date of the latest revision appears at the top of this page.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about our Cookie Policy, please contact us at:
SkillForge Academy
Attn: Privacy Officer
555 Innovation Drive
Berkeley, CA 94704
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (510) 555-0123
You can also visit our Contact Page for more options.