We use cookies to improve the service we offer you, to provide you with a better experience when browsing our website and to allow us to show you advertisements that are suited to your browsing habits. We are responsible for installing the cookies that we use and for what we do with the data that we collect, whether they are our own or third-party cookies.
The following table provides you with links to different parts of this policy that may be of interest to you. In any case, we recommend that you read the policy in its entirety.
1. What are cookies and what other things do we store on your browser?
2.Are they dangerous?
- In the case of technical and customization cookies, the benefits outweigh the risks.
- Statistics cookies DO NOT present a considerable risk either.
- Own cookies do not usually pose a risk to you either.
3. Which technical cookies do we use and why?
4. Which preference cookies do we use and why?
5. How can I manage or deactivate cookies?
6. Modifications to this Cookie Policy
1.What are cookies and what other things do we store on your browser?
Cookies are small text files that we store on your browser when you visit our website. These files contain information on your browsing habits and your interaction with our website, for the purpose of making your user experience as efficient as possible and displaying you advertisements that are tailored to your browsing habits. Some cookies are essential for the correct functioning of our website, as is the case with technical cookies and user interface customization cookies, while others, such as analysis cookies and behavioral advertising (or marketing) cookies, require your consent in order for us to use them.
LocalStorage and sessionStorage are two data storage spaces on your device’s browser and, just like cookies, they can either be our own (when they are created by our website) or from third parties (when they are created by our service providers or partners). The difference between the two spaces is that localStorage stores information indefinitely or until you decide to clear your browser’s data, while sessionStorage only stores information for as long as the tab you are using to browse our website is open, with it being deleted once you close it. Unlike cookies, these two spaces can store a larger amount of information without affecting the performance of our website.
For more information, click here (in Catalan).
Finally, we also inform you that even though the purpose of the third-party cookies that we use, for which we are responsible, is indicated in the following sections, said third parties may use the data they collect from their cookies for other purposes, for which they are solely responsible. In the case of third-party cookies, we are only responsible for downloading the cookies onto your device (in accordance with the given purpose). Visit the policies of these third parties to find out more about their purposes and whether or not they transfer your data to countries outside of the European Union (see links in the table).
A cookie’s risk level generally depends on its type and whether it is our own or from a third party. Most cookies are not dangerous. More specifically:
In the case of technical and customization cookies, the benefits outweigh the risks.
In its Opinion 04/2012 on Cookie Consent Exemption, the Article 29 Working Party (Art. 29 WP), currently known as the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), considered that they do not present a risk to users, allowing the following cookies to be exempted from the requirement of informed consent:
- those that are used “for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network” between the user and the web servers, and
- those that are “strictly necessary in order for the provider of an information society service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user to provide the service.”
This exemption from the requirement to base their lawful use on your consent, given that they pose no risk to you, is also reflected in cookie guides published by most data protection agencies of EU countries (in the Spanish policy, for example, it can be found in section 4.1 of the guidance on the use of cookies, published in July 2020).
The Art. 29 WP even defined which purposes are expressly considered to be more beneficial than dangerous to you.
Purpose of cookies explicitly exempt from the requirement of informed consent
Regarding their purpose, the Art. 29 WP explicitly exempted the following cookies from the obligation to obtain the informed consent of the visitor:
- So-called “user-input” cookies, which are normally used to track the user’s activity when filling out online forms in a HTTP session, or to remember the items that the user has added to their shopping cart in an e-commerce store.
- Session cookies, which are used to authenticate or identify the user, and which store a type of token (authenticated proof that the user is who they say they are) to prevent the user from having to enter their username or password on every page which has restricted access.
- User security cookies, specifically used to strengthen the security of the service that the user has explicitly requested, such as detecting repeated incorrect attempts to enter a website and abuse of the service.
- Session cookies for multimedia players, which save the user’s preferences.
- Session cookies for managing the load on the information systems.
- User interface customization cookies, which may include the user’s language of choice, among other things.
- Certain complementary cookies (plug-ins) for sharing things on social media platforms.
In general, whenever a website offers its users a service, in order to use cookies – whether its own or from third parties – exclusively for purposes that do not require the user’s consent, as listed above, there is no need for the owner of the website, in this case us, to inform the visitor that they are being used or to request their consent.
Statistics cookies DO NOT present a considerable risk either.
Regarding the processing of the data gathered by analysis cookies, the aforementioned Opinion of what is now the EDPB claimed that, despite not being exempt from the duty to obtain consent for their use, it is highly unlikely that they pose a risk to users’ privacy as long as they are own cookies that process aggregate data for purely statistical purposes and provide information on how users use the site, with users also having the ability to reject the use of said cookies.
Own cookies do not usually pose a risk to you either.
Own cookies are generated by our website, unlike cookies generated by third-party independent services or suppliers, and it is these independent services or suppliers who define the purposes of their cookies and the processing activities they perform on the data they collect.
Our only liability regarding third-party cookies is the necessary collaboration of our website in placing these cookies on your computer, something that we are obligated to do since they are necessary for you to be able to use the services provided by said third parties (such as cookies that check that you are not one of those countless bots on the Internet, thus preventing them from sending requests or comments via the forms on our website so that we can focus on helping real human beings).
3.Which technical cookies do we use and why?
Technical cookies allow users to browse a website, platform or application and use the different options or services that can be found on it, while also permitting us to correctly manage and operate the website and enable all services and functions it contains (such as cookies that identify your session, allow you to access certain restricted areas of the website, remember the items in your order, process your order purchase and manage your payment, among others). The website or app may not function properly without these cookies, which is why they are considered necessary.
In our specific case, we use the following cookies:
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
| cookieyes-consent | cookieyes-consent | CookieYes cookie consent solution uses this cookie to remember a user’s consent preferences so that these preferences are respected on future visits to our website. It neither collects nor stores any of the visitor’s personal data. | 1 year |
4.Which preference cookies do we use and why?
Preference or customization cookies enable our website to remember information that changes our pages’ behavior or appearance in order to adapt the browsing experience to different users’ preferences. This includes the language in which the website is displayed, among many other things. If you voluntarily choose these characteristics, for example, by selecting the flag or letters that indicate the website’s display language, this is considered to be a service expressly requested by you, provided that the cookies are solely used for the purpose of customization, and as such we are not required to request your explicit authorization.
Our website uses the following preference cookies:
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
| pll_language | sigmaeconomistes.ad | Saving the language configuration chosen by the user | 1 year |
5.How can I manage or deactivate cookies?
You can administer, manage and deactivate the cookies used by our website on your browser at any moment by withdrawing your consent, which you can do by following the instructions provided by your specific browser:
- Instructions for Microsoft Edge
- Instructions for Google Chrome
- Instructions for Google Android
- Instructions for Internet Explorer 11
- Instructions for Mozilla Firefox
- Instructions for Opera
- Instructions for Safari
If you disable the installation of cookies on your browser, you can continue to use the browser to access our website, but you may have a sub-optimal browsing experience and some services may not function correctly.
6. Modifications to this Cookie Policy
We update this Cookie Policy whenever necessary to reflect changes to our products and services.
If there are considerable changes to this policy, we will inform you before they come into effect by posting a prominent notice in the cookies banner of our website. In any case, we recommend that you check this Cookie Policy from time to time to see which ones we use and how we use them.
Latest update: 6 January 2023