Cookie Policy

What this Policy covers

This Cookie Policy explains how VIO CHIMNEY (“we,” “us,” “our”) uses cookies and similar technologies on viochimney.com and its associated pages, forms, telephone lines, and messaging programs (the “Platform”), what each category of technology does, and the choices you have. It should be read together with our Privacy Policy, which describes how we handle personal information generally. Capitalized terms used here have the meanings given in the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

“Cookies” are small text files placed on your browser or device by a website. We use the word broadly in this Policy to cover related technologies as well: browser localStorage and sessionStorage (small data stores in your browser), pixels and web beacons (tiny images or code snippets that report when a page or message was viewed), tags and scripts from measurement providers, and software development kits used by mobile platforms. Cookies can be “first-party” (set by us) or “third-party” (set by a vendor whose technology we embed), and can be “session” cookies (deleted when you close your browser) or “persistent” cookies (retained until they expire or are deleted).

This Policy also covers measurement pixels in emails we send. Those messages may contain a small image that reports whether a message was opened, which helps us know whether service updates and responses are actually reaching you. Most email clients let you block remote images, which prevents this measurement without affecting the content of the message.

How consent works on this site

On your first visit, a consent banner appears with three controls: Accept All, which enables every category described below; Reject Non-Essential, which limits the Platform to essential technologies only; and Manage Preferences, which lets you review this Policy and make or change per-category choices. Essential technologies are always active because the Platform cannot function without them; every non-essential category — analytics, marketing, and personalization — stays fully disabled unless and until you affirmatively allow it.

Your choice is stored on your device in browser localStorage under the key vio-cookie-consent, along with the categories you allowed. On each page load, our scripts check this stored choice before any non-essential technology is permitted to run: if the stored choice does not allow a category, the corresponding tags are simply never loaded. We do not use so-called dark patterns: declining is as easy as accepting, and declining never blocks you from browsing the Platform or requesting service.

Because your choice is stored in your own browser, it applies to that browser on that device. If you clear your browsing data, use a different browser or device, or browse in private or incognito mode, the banner will appear again and ask for a fresh choice.

Essential cookies (always active)

Essential technologies are strictly necessary for the Platform to work and cannot be switched off through the banner. They include: security and integrity cookies that protect forms against abuse and cross-site request forgery; session state needed to move you through a multi-step service request; load-balancing and performance-routing identifiers; the vio-cookie-consent record itself, which remembers the consent choice you made; and locally stored accessibility preferences (such as text size, contrast, and reduced-motion settings from our accessibility panel), which we treat as essential functionality because they exist solely to honor your accessibility choices. Essential technologies do not build advertising profiles.

You can block essential cookies with browser-level controls (see Browser and device controls below), but parts of the Platform — including service request forms — may stop working correctly if you do.

Analytics cookies

Analytics technologies help us understand how the Platform is used in aggregate: which pages are visited, in which cities and regions requests originate, how visitors move between pages, where forms are abandoned, and which content leads to completed service requests. We use this information to fix problems, improve content, and decide where to offer coverage. Analytics data is used in aggregate; where our analytics vendors support it, we enable privacy-protective settings such as IP truncation and approximate rather than precise location.

Analytics technologies load only after you choose Accept All or enable the analytics category through Manage Preferences. If you have not allowed them, no analytics tags run.

Marketing cookies

Marketing technologies measure our advertising: they attribute a visit or a service request to the campaign, search term, or advertisement that brought you here (including via UTM parameters and advertising click identifiers), route offline conversions such as tracked phone calls back to campaigns, and limit how often you see the same advertisement. Some marketing technologies are set by advertising partners and may be considered “sharing” or a “sale” under the broad definitions of California privacy law — our Privacy Policy explains this and your opt-out rights.

Marketing technologies load only with your explicit consent and are never required to request service. Choosing Reject Non-Essential, or disabling the marketing category in Manage Preferences, is effective as an opt-out of any such sharing through this browser. We also honor the Global Privacy Control signal, as described in our Privacy Policy.

Personalization cookies

Personalization technologies remember choices you make so the Platform can tailor itself to you — for example, remembering your city or ZIP code so we can show relevant coverage and phone numbers, remembering a partially completed request so you can resume it, and remembering display preferences. Personalization technologies load only if you allow them; without them the Platform still works, but it will not remember these conveniences between visits. Accessibility preferences are always honored as essential functionality regardless of this category, as described above.

Third-party cookies

Some technologies on the Platform are set by third-party vendors — for example, analytics providers, advertising and attribution partners, and call-tracking providers. These vendors receive the data their technologies collect and handle it under their own privacy policies; we do not control their retention periods or practices. We contractually limit our service providers to processing data on our behalf, and we gate all non-essential third-party technologies behind your consent choice as described above.

A note on identifiers. Third-party technologies typically work by assigning your browser a pseudonymous identifier rather than using your name. We do not hand advertising partners the name, email address, or phone number you enter in a service request for cookie-based advertising purposes, and no non-essential identifier is written to your browser before you consent.

How long cookies and stored data last

Lifespans vary by technology. Session cookies disappear when you close your browser. Persistent cookies remain until a set expiration date or until you delete them; expiration is set by whoever placed the cookie and, for measurement technologies, typically ranges from one day to about thirteen months. Data in localStorage — including the vio-cookie-consent record and locally stored accessibility preferences — has no automatic expiration and remains until you clear site data for viochimney.com or we remove it. Third-party vendors control the lifespans of the technologies they set, which are described in their own policies.

Your consent record is kept only to honor your choice and demonstrate that consent was obtained. If we materially change the categories of technologies we use, we will re-prompt you with the banner, and your previous record is superseded by the new choice you make.

Changing or withdrawing your choice

You can change your mind at any time. Use the Cookie Settings link in the Platform footer (or the Manage Preferences control on the banner, when shown) to reopen the preferences panel and update your per-category choices, or to withdraw consent entirely by selecting Reject Non-Essential. Withdrawal takes effect going forward: previously loaded tags stop being loaded on subsequent page views, though technologies already stored by third parties may persist until they expire or you delete them with your browser controls.

You can also clear the stored choice directly by deleting site data for viochimney.com in your browser (which removes the vio-cookie-consent record); the banner will reappear on your next visit and no non-essential technology will load until you choose again.

Browser and device controls

Most browsers let you block or delete cookies, block third-party cookies specifically, and clear localStorage through their settings (typically under Privacy or Site Data). Browsing in private or incognito mode limits persistence between sessions. Mobile operating systems offer settings to limit ad tracking or reset advertising identifiers. Browser extensions and privacy tools can provide additional blocking. Note that browser-level blocking is independent of our consent banner and may also affect essential functionality.

Global Privacy Control. If your browser or extension sends the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, we treat it as a valid opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information for that browser where applicable law requires. Because there is no settled standard for legacy Do Not Track signals, the Platform does not respond to them.

What happens if you reject non-essential cookies

Nothing you need breaks. You can browse every page, read every guide, and submit a service request with only essential technologies active. The consequences of rejecting are limited to us: we lose aggregate insight into how pages perform, our advertising measurement becomes less accurate, and the Platform will not remember optional conveniences between visits. Rejecting non-essential cookies is never a condition of receiving service and never changes the service you are offered.

Changes to this Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy as our technologies, vendors, or legal requirements change. When we do, we will revise the Last updated date above; if a change would expand the categories of non-essential technologies used or materially change their purposes, we will refresh the consent banner so you can make a new choice before any new category loads.

Contact

Questions about this Cookie Policy or our use of cookies and similar technologies may be sent to legal@viochimney.com with “Cookies” in the subject line. For how we handle personal information generally, and for your state privacy rights, see our Privacy Policy.