Explanation of Main Terms

This page has been translated from the official Japanese version into English for the convenience of our international readers. In the event of any discrepancy, the Japanese original shall prevail.

A cookie is a small file containing a string of text which is sent to and saved on a user’s computer when they access a website. When a user accesses the same website again, the saved cookie is loaded to identify the browser. Cookies retain information such as a user’s browser settings. A user can also reset their browser, reject the receipt of all cookies, or configure their browser to notify them whenever a cookie is sent. However, some functions and services on a website may not function correctly without cookies.

A first-party cookie is a cookie issued from the domain of the website currently being accessed. As websites can only assign cookies on a per-domain basis, they cannot assign cookies across multiple sites (domains).

A third-party cookie is a cookie issued by a website with a domain other than the one currently being accessed. Behavioral targeting advertisements mainly use third-party cookies. As it is possible to issue third-party cookies across multiple sites without relying on a specific site domain, these cookies allow behavioral information spanning multiple websites to be collected.

Individual Identification Number

An individual identification number is an identifying number assigned to each device (similar to a serial number assigned to a mobile phone, etc.) such as a mobile phone, smartphone or tablet (collectively “mobile devices”). It is also known as a Unique Subscriber ID, User ID, UID, and by other names, which differ depending on the mobile phone company. When a user utilizes a web service or uses an app with a mobile device, this number is sent to the server and is primarily used to identify the terminal accessing the server. However, individual identification numbers are not acquired from smartphones and tablets running on iOS.

Advertising Identifier

An advertising identifier is a text string created to differentiate advertising in order to display advertising that matches a user’s interests (behavioral targeting advertisements) in smartphones and tablet apps. The advertising identifier identifies the terminal device and can record information about how a user behaved in the app and what kinds of advertisements were viewed.
On iOS, the identifier is referred to as IDFA (Identification For Advertisers), while it is referred to as the advertising ID (Google Advertising ID) on Android. Users can easily reset (reissue) or halt transmission of these identifiers.

Behavioral Targeting Advertisements

With this form of advertising, the interests of each user are analogically inferred based on various information such as website and app viewing history, click advertisements and other behavioral history, and e-commerce website purchase history. Based on these inferences, advertisers deliver the ads they think are appropriate on a per-user basis. User information is retained by browsers using cookies, or saved in apps using advertising identifiers.

Information Icon

This is an icon display “i” or similar which is displayed at the top right corner of a behavioral targeting advertisement.
Clicking on the icon displays the privacy policy related to the behavioral targeting advertisement and allows the user to perform the process of unsubscribing from behavioral targeting advertising.

IP Address

All computers connected to the Internet are allocated a unique number known as an Internet Protocol (IP) Address. As different IP addresses are generally allocated to each country, IP addresses are used to identify the country from which a computer is accessing the Internet.

OS (Operating System)

An operating system, or OS, is a type of software that manages the entire system of a device, providing basic device management and control functions, as well as basic features that are shared for use by various other pieces of software.

Browser

A browser refers to the software application used to view websites.

Secure Socket Layer (SSL)

SSL is a form of communication that sends and receives encrypted data over the Internet and other networks.