Privacy policy
Effective
This policy explains what information Cobalt (“we”) collects through cobalt-research.com, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. It covers this website only. Information we handle for customers under a services agreement, such as plant video, is governed by that agreement.
Information you give us
When you fill in the contact form, we collect your name, work email and company, and, if you choose to give them, what your company makes and its approximate headcount. If you email us, we receive your email address and whatever your message contains.
We use this information to reply to you, to discuss a possible engagement, and to keep a record of our correspondence.
Information collected automatically
Site analytics. We use Vercel Web Analytics to count page views and see which pages are useful. It records the page, the referring site, and the browser, device type, operating system and country, without cookies and without identifying you across other sites.
Advertising measurement. We use the Google tag to measure whether our Google ads lead to visits and enquiries. It can set cookies and collect the identifier of the ad you clicked, the pages you visit on this site, your IP address and your browser details. When you submit the contact form, we may also send Google a hashed (one-way encoded) copy of your email address so that Google can match the enquiry to an ad click; Google uses it to measure ads for us. Google's use of this information is described in how Google uses information from sites that use its services.
Campaign details. If you arrive through an ad or a campaign link, we keep the click identifier and campaign details from that link, the page you landed on and the site that referred you in your browser's local storage for up to 90 days. If you then submit the contact form, they are sent with your enquiry, so we know which campaign it came from.
Server logs. Our hosting provider records technical information, such as IP addresses and the pages requested, to run and secure the site.
How we use information
To respond to enquiries and tell you about our services; to understand how the site is used and improve it; to measure how well our advertising works; to keep the site and the contact form free of spam and abuse; and to meet our legal obligations.
We do not sell your personal information.
Who we share it with
Service providers that handle information for us under contract: Vercel, which hosts the site and provides its analytics; Resend, which delivers contact form messages to our inbox; Google, which provides advertising measurement; and the providers of our email and business tools.
We may also disclose information when the law requires it, to protect our rights, the safety of others or the security of the site, or as part of a merger, acquisition or sale of our business.
Cookies and your choices
The Google tag uses cookies for advertising measurement. The site's analytics use none. Visitors in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland get no advertising cookies by default.
You can block or delete cookies and local storage in your browser settings, and manage the ads Google shows you at My Ad Center. Your browser's Do Not Track setting does not change how the site works.
How long we keep it
We keep enquiries and correspondence for as long as we need them to respond to you, to pursue a possible engagement and for our business records, and then delete them. Campaign details in your browser expire after 90 days, and you can clear them at any time.
Your rights
You can ask us what personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, or ask us to stop contacting you, by writing to contact@cobalt-research.com. We will not treat you differently for doing so.
Depending on where you live, you may have further rights. In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, these include objecting to or restricting our use of your information, receiving a copy in a portable format, and complaining to your data protection authority. We rely on our legitimate interest in answering your enquiry and running the site, and on your consent where the law requires it. California residents may ask what categories of personal information we collect, use and disclose, and ask us to delete it.
Where it is processed
Cobalt is based in the United States, and our service providers may process information in the United States and other countries. Where we transfer information from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, we rely on the safeguards our providers offer, such as standard contractual clauses.
Security
We use reasonable measures to protect the information we hold. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Children
The site is meant for businesses and is not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from them.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will post the new version here and update its effective date.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your information go to Cobalt, San Francisco, California, at contact@cobalt-research.com.