Skyscanner cookie policy

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 recognize 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.

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 travelers – 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. The cookies and similar technologies will vary depending on the device/platform you are using.

Skyscanner Essential Cookies and Similar Technologies

Third-party essential cookies and tracking technologies

2. Improve your Experience

Your data is stored or accessed via cookies and similar technologies that are used to optimize and personalize 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:

• recognize 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;
• recognize 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;
• analyze 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. The cookies and similar technologies will vary depending on the device/platform you are using. 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.

3. Personalize your ads

Your data may be collected and accessed using cookies and similar technologies to personalize the ads you see while using our services and elsewhere on the web if you agree to ad personalization. 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”).

Third-party ad solutions

We use technologies to personalize ads on certain platforms. When you are opted in to ad personalization on these platforms, 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 Solution providers like Facebook, Google and TikTok for the purpose of customizing, optimizing 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, Google and TikTok, we do so using the tools they provide. They may, in addition, use that information to personalize features and content (including advertisements and recommendations) you see on their networks, to optimize delivery of advertisements and for research and development purposes in accordance with their policies (see for example the Facebook Privacy Policy, Google Privacy Policy and TikTok Privacy Policy).

You can opt out of your information being used for ad personalization by third-party ad solutions 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 ad personalization, this will stop your information from 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 the web.

Skyscanner ads and offers

When you are opted in to ads or offers personalization we may also use information we collect via cookies and similar technologies to show you personalized ads, marketing, offers 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 personalize the ads we show you or to send you personalized marketing communications relevant to your booking based on information like your destination, the time you are traveling, the services you've selected or which travel supplier you are traveling with. We may also use this information to provide you with relevant information about the destination you are traveling 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 by Skyscanner for ads and offers personalization 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.

You won’t see personalized ads, offers or marketing while you are on Skyscanner when you opt out.

However, you’ll continue to see advertising or offers when you’re on our services based on contextual information on the page or screen you are viewing. For example, if you have searched for a flight to London then you may be shown an ad 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 personalize your ads

These are the cookies and similar technologies used at the date of this policy to personalize 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.

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 we use to personalize the offers or 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 to 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 specialized 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 tracking and 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.