Cookie policy
Our cookie promise
We’ll only ever use cookies and other similar technologies for the purposes set out in this policy and will never use them to inflate or alter the prices you see when searching on Skyscanner or to manipulate demand.
About this policy
Along with our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, this policy provides you with information about the cookies and other similar technologies that are used by all of our websites, mobile apps and other services. We’ll review this policy from time to time to make sure it’s up-to-date. If we make changes, we’ll post the latest version here. When we make significant changes, we’ll let you know when you next access our services, or by other communications.
How do we use cookies and similar technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies when you use our services. These are controlled either by us directly or by third parties acting on our behalf or independently.
We use cookies and similar technologies when they are essential to deliver our services, to improve your experience through analytics and optimisation and to deliver personalised ads. You can find out more about how to manage cookies and similar technologies below.
What are cookies and similar technologies?
A cookie is a small text file which is placed on your device, via your web browser, at the request of the websites you visit or applications you use and which stores information on your device for a limited period of time.
Some of the cookies we use are removed as soon you leave our site or app, because we don’t need to store this information between visits. By contrast, ‘persistent’ cookies enable our services or tags to recognise you when you make return visits to us, and automatically expire when they reach a specified expiry date unless you delete them earlier. Persistent cookies placed on your device by Skyscanner will never be stored for longer than 2 years from the date of your last visit. There are tools available to check the expiry date on cookies, and this functionality may be provided by your browser.
We also use similar technologies referred to as ‘tags’, ‘tracking pixels’, ‘code snippets’, ‘tracking URLs’, ‘local storage’ and ‘scripts’ as well as ‘software development kits (SDKs)’ and ‘device identifiers’ in our apps. These technologies are implemented on our services and may be used together with text cookies to enable information to be stored on, or transmitted to and from, the device you use to access Skyscanner.
In this policy we collectively refer to all of these app and web technologies as “cookies and similar technologies”.
We may from time to time add, remove or update the cookies and similar technologies we use across our services.
You can view the main cookies and similar technologies we use at the date of this policy in the What cookies and similar technologies do we use and how can you opt out of them? section of this policy.
Who controls these cookies and similar technologies?
The cookies and similar technologies on our services are controlled either by us directly or by third parties acting on our behalf. There are also some cookies and similar technologies which we’ve implemented for advertising purposes that are controlled by independent third parties. You can find out more about these third parties and how to opt-out of their cookies and similar technologies in the What cookies and similar technologies do we use and how can you opt out of them? section of this policy.
What cookies and similar technologies do we use and how can you opt out of them?
When you access Skyscanner via our website or app, we use cookies and similar technologies that fall under the three categories listed below.
1. The Essentials
Your data is collected or accessed using cookies and similar technologies that are essential to the proper functioning of our services. Like other websites and apps, you can’t opt out of these cookies and similar technologies because without them, Skyscanner wouldn’t work. We restrict these cookies and similar technologies to only those that are strictly necessary for us to deliver the products and services you have requested. For example, we use essential cookies and similar technologies to:
- record whether or not you go on to complete a booking with a travel supplier that you redirect from Skyscanner to complete a booking with, which is essential in order to enable us to ensure that the links between our platforms are working correctly and to identify and rectify any problems or errors;
- provide functionality such as Trip planning based on bookings on Skyscanner and our partners’ sites;
- remember information that is essential to determining how your search results are displayed, such as your language and currency preferences or the product features we make available to you based on factors such as the device you are using, or your city or country level geographic location;
- remember your search criteria – such as routes, dates and the number of travellers – as you move between pages and to pass this information to the travel suppliers that you redirect to from Skyscanner, or to send you to specific places within our app or on our site;
- gather important information about how our products and services are used which influence vital product decisions, updates and changes and the features we make available in certain markets;
- ensure our services are secure from automated agents, bots and fraudulent activity; and
- provide login functionality and customer support services.
View cookies and similar technologies that are essential
These are the Skyscanner and third party essential cookies and similar technologies in use at the date of this policy
Skyscanner Essential Cookies and Similar Technologies
Cookie Name Description Privacy Policy abgroup Used to control product features and access to functionality https://www.skyscanner.net/media/privacy-policy Airport-transfers Persists information between pages and display information requested Auth_first_name Track name changes in booking flows Auth_last_name Track name changes in booking flows Authinfo Check logged in status Carhire Persists information between pages and display information requested Exitstate Support refreshed pages in booking flows Login_redirect Redirects users to the correct page after logging in Preferences Used to identify and attribute traffic Sat Used to track conversion rates and provide product functionality in app and web Scanner Persists information between pages and display information requested Ssab Used to control product features and access to functionality Ssculture Stores settings such as market, locale and currency User_credentials Used for authentication userJourney Track and monitor events and avoid duplication Third party essential cookies and tracking technologies
Cookie or Similar Technology Description Third Party Name Privacy Policy Akamai RT Measures website performance Akamai https://www.akamai.com/uk/en/privacy-policies/ Auth0 Authentication and traveller user profiles Auth0 https://auth0.com/privacy Automattic VIP GO Hosting for certain pages on Skyscanner sites collect operational data to ensure the service is working Automattic Inc https://automattic.com/privacy/ Braintree Payment processing and secure transfer of data Braintree https://www.braintreepayments.com/gb/legal/braintree-privacy-policy Branch.io Deeplinking into specific places in app Branch Metrics https://branch.io/policies/#privacy Braze SDK Delivery of multi-channel (push, email, in app) messaging Braze https://www.braze.com/privacy/ Ctrip Fraud Detection Service used to check for fraudulent transactions Ctrip http://pages.english.ctrip.com/webhome/purehtml/en/public/PrivacyPolicy.html Fabric Crashlytics Service used to identify and fix crashes in the Skyscanner app Google https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/ Google Analytics Business and financial reporting Google https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/ PerimeterX Security tool for preventing bot attacks PerimeterX https://www.perimeterx.com/privacy/ Polyfill.io Service for providing polyfills for functionality not present in older browsers The Financial Times https://polyfill.io/v3/privacy-policy/ Sentry Used for identifying errors and crashes Functional Software https://sentry.io/privacy/ Twilio Tool for handling in-app chat and customer care Twilio https://www.twilio.com/legal/privacy Zendesk Used for help and customer support services Zendesk https://www.zendesk.co.uk/company/customers-partners/privacy-policy/ 2. Improve your Experience
Your data is stored or accessed via cookies and similar technologies that are used to optimise and personalise your experience of the Skyscanner Services. Without them, Skyscanner would feel a lot less easy to use and you would not benefit from the best possible experience.
These cookies and similar technologies help improve your experience by allowing us to:
- recognise whether you are a first-time visitor or a return visitor and to tailor the presentation of the Skyscanner Services, such as by recalling your language and currency preferences or your most recent searches.
- recognise you when you access Skyscanner from different devices, to provide you with a consistent experience.
- monitor, test, and understand more about how our services are used and accessed such as the app store you used to download our app onto your device;
- analyse and measure product improvements and guide our product development teams based on your activities; and
- gather feedback about how you use Skyscanner and how our services perform on your device.
These cookies and similar technologies help us to make decisions about how best to develop or deliver our product to meet your needs. You can opt out of the use of these cookies and similar technologies on your device by following the instructions in the How can I withdraw my consent to the use of cookies and similar technologies? section of this policy.
View cookies and similar technologies used to improve your experience
These are the cookies and similar technologies used at the date of this policy to improve your experience. Where available, we have also included a link to opt-out of the use of third party cookies and similar technology on an individual level. You can do that by visiting the link in the table on each device you use to access Skyscanner.
Cookie or Similar Technology Description Owner Privacy Policy Opt Out Methods AppsFlyer Service used to identify the source of app downloads and for related analytics. AppsFlyer https://www.appsflyer.com/privacy-policy/ Privacy Settings or via https://www.appsflyer.com/optout Mixpanel Analytics tool to measure events and actions in app and on web Mixpanel https://mixpanel.com/legal/privacy-policy/ Privacy Settings Usabilla Used to collect feedback from travellers Usabilla BV https://usabilla.com/privacy/ Privacy Settings Yandex Metrica Used to collect analytics and monitor performance in the Russian market Yandex https://yandex.com/legal/privacy/ Privacy Settings or https://yandex.com/support/metrica/general/opt-out.html#opt-out 3. Personalise your ads
Your data may be collected and accessed using cookies and similar technologies to personalise the adverts you see while using our services and elsewhere on the web if you agree to ads personalisation. These ads will either be delivered by us directly or by third party advertising solution providers we partner with (let’s call them “Third Party Ad Solutions”).
When you are opted-in to ads personalisation, we transfer information such as the travel you have searched for or purchased using Skyscanner, the dates you want to travel and the features you have interacted with to Third Party Ad Solutions providers like Facebook and Google for the purpose of customising, optimising and improving the relevance of the advertisements you see across the web via the Third Party Ad Solution’s advertising network.
When we transfer information to Third Party Ad Solution providers like Facebook and Google, we do so using the tools they provide. They may in addition use that information to personalise features and content (including advertisements and recommendations) you see on their networks, to optimise delivery of advertisements and for research and development purposes in accordance with their policies (see for example the Facebook Privacy Policy and Google Privacy Policy).
When you are opted-in to ads personalisation we may also use information we collect via cookies and similar technologies to show you personalised ads, marketing and promotions on Skyscanner, or to send you communications where you have opted in to receive these. For example, where you book a flight using Skyscanner or redirect from Skyscanner to make a booking on one of our partner sites, we may use the information we collect via cookies and similar technologies to personalise the ads we show you or to send you personalised marketing communications relevant to your booking based on information like your destination, the time you are travelling, the services you’ve selected or which travel supplier you are travelling with. We may also use this information to provide you with relevant information about the destination you are travelling to such as City Guides or up to date weather information or to request reviews and recommendations about the places you have visited.
You can opt-out of your information being used for ads personalisation by following the steps set out in the How can I withdraw my consent to the use of cookies and similar technologies? section of this policy below.
When you opt out of ads personalisation, this will stop your information being used for advertising purposes by any of the Third Party Ad Solutions we use. You’ll no longer receive advertisements from those Third Party Ad Solutions on Skyscanner or elsewhere as you move around web. You also won’t receive personalised ads or marketing while you are on Skyscanner when you opt out of ads personalisation. However, you’ll continue to see advertising when you’re on our services based on contextual information on the page or screen you are viewing that is specific to something you may be looking at or have searched for but which is not linked to you as an individual (for example, if you have searched for a flight to London this search data will be reflected in the URL of the results page you have landed on, and this data within the URL may then be used by us to decide to include an advert relating to a hotel in London within that webpage).
You can find out more about the advertising you experience on Skyscanner in the How is your information used for advertising? section of the Privacy Policy.
View cookies and similar technologies used to personalise your ads
These are the cookies and similar technologies used at the date of this policy to personalise your ads. Where available, we have also included a link to opt-out of the use of third party cookies and similar technology on an individual level. You can do that by visiting the link in the table on each device you use to access Skyscanner.
Cookie or Similar Technology Description Owner Privacy Policy Opt Out Method A8-net Used to run personalised advertising campaigns in the Japanese market F@n Communications https://www.fancs.com/en/privacy Privacy Settings Adara Used for ads personalisation across communication channels Adara https://adara.com/privacy-promise/ Privacy Settings or https://adara.com/opt-out/ AddThis Technology to enable sharinig on social media sites Oracle https://www.oracle.com/legal/privacy/addthis-privacy-policy.html Privacy Settings or https://datacloudoptout.oracle.com/#optout AppNexus Header bidding technology that allows us to serve ads Xandr https://www.appnexus.com/platform-privacy-policy Privacy Settings or https://www.appnexus.com/platform-privacy-policy#choices Bing Used to personalise ads on the Bing network Microsoft https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-gb/privacystatement Privacy Settings Comscore Used for audience profiling to target advertising in the Italian market Comscore https://www.comscore.com/About/Privacy-Policy Privacy Settings Criteo Used to create audiences for advertising retargeting Criteo https://www.criteo.com/privacy/ Privacy Settings or https://www.criteo.com/privacy/ Facebook Analytics Used for personalising and optimising ads shown on the Facebook network Facebook https://en-gb.facebook.com/policy.php Privacy Settings or https://en-gb.facebook.com/help/568137493302217 Facebook Retargeting Used to create customer audiences for ads personalisation on the Facebook network Facebook https://en-gb.facebook.com/policy.php Privacy Settings or https://en-gb.facebook.com/help/568137493302217 Google Ads Used to personalise ads on the Google advertising network Google https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads?hl=en-GB Privacy Settings or https://support.google.com/ads/answer/2662922?hl=en-GB Prebid.js Header bidding technology to allow us to display ads Prebid.org http://prebid.org/privacy.html Privacy Settings Salesforce DMP Used to build audience segments for the purpose of serving personalised ads on the Salesforce network Salesforce https://www.salesforce.com/products/marketing-cloud/sfmc/salesforce-dmp-privacy/ Privacy Settings or https://www.salesforce.com/products/marketing-cloud/sfmc/salesforce-dmp-consumer-choice/ Twitter Used to create advertising campaigns on twitter Twitter https://twitter.com/en/privacy Privacy Settings or https://help.twitter.com/en/safety-and-security/privacy-controls-for-tailored-ads Yahoo Used for advertising personalisation the Yahoo advertising network Oath https://policies.oath.com/us/en/oath/privacy/index.html Privacy Settings or https://policies.oath.com/us/en/oath/privacy/controls/index.html
How can I withdraw my consent to the use of cookies and similar technologies?
When you access our services for the first time on your device, we ask you to agree to us using cookies and similar technologies in line with this policy. If you don’t agree to our use of these technologies, or you change your mind at a later date, you can withdraw your consent using the methods set out in this policy or alternatively, stop using our services.
Opt-out via Skyscanner Privacy Settings in app or on web
The most effective way to manage cookies and similar technologies on Skyscanner is to use the privacy controls we provide in our product.
You can control the non-essential cookies and similar technologies that are used on your device by visiting https://www.skyscanner.net/privacy-settings on web or via the Privacy Settings menu in the Skyscanner App. These settings enable you to opt-out or opt-in to our use of the non-essential cookies and similar technologies we use to improve your experience or to those that we use to personalise the advertisements you see.
Browser or device settings
Another way to opt out of cookies and similar technologies is via the settings of the browser or device you are using to access our services. Internet browsers such as Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera and Edge have settings that allow you to control the way your information is collected and shared. Typically, these browsers allow you to view all the cookies they are storing on your device, delete your cache of cookies, and adjust your preferences for future collection. Guides on how to access and use such functionality are available at https://www.aboutcookies.org.
The downside of using browser or device settings to withdraw your consent is that it will have the effect of disabling many of the cookies and similar technologies that are essential to enabling our services to function – the impact of this is that some or all of the features and functionality we offer may stop working. Because of this, we would recommend taking a more targeted approach to withdrawing your consent. For example, if you wanted stop cookies and similar technologies being used for the purposes of serving you interest-based advertisements, then instead of blocking all cookies, you could instead opt-out of these via the Privacy Settings in Skyscanner referred to above.
Many browsers and other third parties provide specialised ad-blocking software, ‘extensions’ or tools that enable you to block the use of all cookies for advertising purposes. If you access our services from an iOS or Android device, you can also control how your information is used for certain purposes such as advertising via your device settings.
You can also find helpful information about how to manage and limit your exposure to online interest-based advertising more generally across the web at http://optout.aboutads.info, http://optout.networkadvertising.org and http://youronlinechoices.eu. You can use these services to opt-out of the majority of interest-based advertising used by us as well as other websites.
More information
If you have any questions regarding this policy or would like more information about the cookies used on our websites, please contact us.