How we use cookies, beacons, proxies and other technologies

When you access the Ant Financial website or use a service provided by Ant Financial, we may use a small data file to identify you to provide you with a smoother access experience. This helps you save the effort of repeatedly entering registration information or can help determine the security of your account. These data files may be a cookie, flash cookie or other local storage provided by your browser or relevant application (collectively, "cookies"). Please understand that some of our services are available only through the use of cookies. If your browser or browser plug-in permits, you may adjust the extent to which you accept or even refuse cookies from Ant Financial. However, all of these actions under certain circumstances may affect your ability to securely access the Ant Financial website or use the services provided by Ant Financial.

Our website may also include some electronic images (called "single-pixel GIF files" or "web beacons"). The use of web beacons can help the website to calculate the number of visiting users or access cookies. We will use web beacons to collect information about your browsing on the website. Examples included the address of the page you visit, the website you were previously visiting, the length of your visit to a page, your browsing environment and display settings, etc.

When you use third party services, not from Ant Financial, we cannot ensure the third party entity will take security measures in accordance with our requirements. If your access is via our website or customer platform, in order to provide you with a more secure access experience and to protect your account security to the greatest extent possible, we may use proprietary network protocols and proxy technology (referred to as a "special network channel" or "network proxy"). The use of a special network channel may help you identify sites known to be high-risk by Ant Financial and reduce the risk of  phishing or account leaks as a result. At the same time, it is beneficial for protecting both you and the third party's interests and prevents criminals and other third parties from tampering with your service content. Examples include advertising injections resulting from unsafe routers or illegal base stations, illegal content tampering and more.