Cookie Policy
Please read this Cookie Policy carefully as it contains important information on who we are and how we use cookies on our websites.
This Cookie Policy details how Stack Exchange, Inc. (“Stack Overflow” or “Stack” or “we/us”) uses and categorizes cookies on the Stack Overflow Network of sites (as defined in our Public Network Terms of Service), stackoverflow.co, and stackoverflow.blog (together, our “Sites”) and our portfolio of products (Stack Overflow for Teams, OverflowAPI, Public Network APIs, Advertising) (“Products”), as well as how to manage your consent regarding their use.
This Cookie Policy should be read together with our Privacy Statement, which describes how and why we collect, store, use, and protect personal data.
Cookies
A cookie is a small text file that may be stored on your computer or mobile device when you visit one of our Sites or use one of our Products. In cases where cookies are used, the respective Site or Product will send certain data to your browser (e.g., when you first visit) and then store the data on your device, so that the Site or Product can access, store, or collect information from your device.
Browsers support cookies so that websites can perform certain functions, including remembering information about your visit to improve your experience, creating aggregated and anonymized usage statistics, fraud prevention, and information security purposes. In this Cookie Policy, we use the term “cookie” to refer both to cookies and similar technologies (such as local storage and pixels).
Cookies may be set by us (“first-party cookies”) or by a third party, such as those who provide us with analytics or facilitate advertising services or interactive content (“third-party cookies”). Our Sites may also provide links to third parties who may also use cookies in accordance with their own separate cookie and privacy notices/policies.
Categories of Cookies
Stack categorizes the use of cookies into four main categories: (1) strictly necessary; (2) performance; (3) functional; and (4) targeting. Stack and third parties will only use cookies in categories you have consented to. However, please note that opting out of cookies may result in some functions not working properly.
You can review the cookies used by a particular Site by clicking the ‘Your Privacy Choices’ link at the bottom of the page. You can also withdraw your consent to the use of cookies (other than strictly necessary cookies) and manage your cookie preferences here. Please note that it may be necessary to reset your cookies and/or refresh the page for the updated settings to go into effect.
A list of the categories of cookies used on our website domains is set out below:
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Functional Cookies | These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies, then some or all of these services may not function properly. |
| Performance Cookies | These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site, which helps us optimize your experience. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies, we will not be able to use your data in this way. |
| Strictly Necessary | These cookies are necessary for our website to function properly and securely, and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, filling in forms, or where they’re essential to provide you with a service you have requested. You cannot opt-out of these cookies. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but if you do, some parts of the site will not then work. |
| Targeting Cookies | These cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you and may be set through our site by us or by our advertising partners. They may be used to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant advertising on our site or on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. |
Our Use of Cookies
General Browsing: We use cookies that are important for certain technical features, like logging into user accounts and implementing fixes or improvements to our platform.
These cookies:
- Enable behavior that is tailored to the activity or preferences of a person visiting our Sites.
- Allow users to opt-out of certain types of modeling, tailoring, or personalization in our products.
- Collect information on our users’ preferences in order to create more useful Sites and Products.
- Drive and tailor the advertising and marketing of our Sites and Products.
- Help to diagnose and correct downtime, bugs, and errors in our code to ensure that our Sites are operating efficiently.
Public Q&A Platform: We use cookies that support and enhance our public Q&A platform by enabling important functionality. Such activity includes tracking and attributing reputation and badges based on Site activity.
These cookies:
- Secure the platform and validate user accounts are genuine (and not bots, spam, scrapers, etc.)
- Enable the core functionality of the platform, including posting Q&A and attributing activities and awards to users.
Stack Overflow for Teams: We use cookies for our Stack Overflow for Teams Q&A platform, enabling authorized users to access our secured, private Q&A solution.
These cookies:
- Validate the identity of authorized persons and accounts.
- Enable the core functionality of the platform, including private Q&A, attributing activities and awards to users, enhancing performance, providing security, and diagnosing and resolving technical issues.
Advertising: We use cookies to enable advertising with our third-party partners, which allows us to continue to provide our Sites free of charge.
These cookies:
- Customize the ad experience for users.
- Help us measure ad performance (e.g., whether an ad was viewed or clicked on) for internal reporting and product optimization.
Analytics: We use cookies to compile usage activity to better tailor our Sites and Products. We DO NOT share personally identifiable “raw” data with anyone through the use of cookies; we make high-level decisions based on aggregated and anonymized data about overall usage of our Sites and Products.
These cookies:
- Monitor Site and/or Product traffic and trends.
- Measure the effectiveness of On-Prem Products.
- Measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
Third-party opt-outs
The major online advertising industry groups offer tools to limit how cookies are used for advertising purposes by participating third parties. More information is available from the Network Advertising Initiative, the Digital Advertising Alliance, and the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance. Google also provides web users with the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on to prevent the collection of data via Google Analytics.
How to contact us
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this Cookie Policy, please contact us at: privacy@stackoverflow.com
Changes to this Cookie Policy
We may change this Cookie Policy from time to time. When we do, we will inform you by publishing it on our websites. Please check in here periodically to make sure you have read and understand the current policy in effect.