Membership FAQ
Find the answers to all your questions about CNET UK membership
About your account
- Do I have to register to use CNET UK?
- Can I use my Facebook account?
- Why do you need my personal details?
- Why do I need a username?
- What are the rules for usernames?
- What is an avatar? What are the rules for avatars?
- Why can't I register?
- What setting should I use for cookies?
- How can I tell if I am logged in?
- Do I have to log in every time I visit the site?
- What should I do if I forget my password?
- How can I update my personal details?
- How do I report bad behaviour by other users?
- How do I report a problem with my account?
Staying in touch
- Do you have a Facebook page?
- Can I follow CNET UK on Twitter?
- Do you put videos on YouTube?
- Do you have a mobile app?
- I'm old school, how about an RSS feed?
- How do I get updates by email?
- How do I unsubscribe from a newsletter or alert?
General
- How can I contact CNET UK?
- Can I reproduce your content?
- How do I submit my software to the Downloads section?
About your account
- 1 - Do I have to register to use CNET UK?
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Most areas of the site are open to everyone, but you'll need to register if you want to write user reviews, enter competitions or subscribe to email newsletters and alerts.
Registered users get a username and avatar, and we make it easier for you to add comments. If you create an account, you won't have to copy the distorted letters and numbers every time you make a comment.
- 2 - Can I use my Facebook account?
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Yes, you can log in with Facebook and create a CNET UK account using your Facebook details.
If you already have a CNET UK account, you can update it with your Facebook details. This will change your username, email address, password and avatar to match your Facebook account. To do this:
- Log in to your existing CNET UK account
- Click the Details button in the top right corner
- Follow the instructions in the Your Account section
Once you've done this, you'll be able to log in to CNET UK using your Facebook details.
- 3 - Why do you need my personal details?
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To provide you with the best and most useful content and features, and to deliver services such as e-mail newsletters and competitions. Please read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy for more information.
- 4 - Why do I need a username?
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Usernames are used to identify you on the site. For example, when you comment on a story, your username will appear next to the comment. If you create an account using Facebook, your Facebook username will appear next to your comment.
- 5 - What are the rules for usernames?
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Your username can only contain letters and numbers. We do not allow offensive usernames. If we consider your username inappropriate, we may withdraw it and require you to choose another one.
- 6 - What is an avatar? What are the rules for avatars?
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An avatar is a small image that is displayed alongside your username to identify you to other users. When you are logged in, it will also appear in the membership box at the top of the page.
If you create an account using Facebook, your Facebook profile picture will be used as your avatar.
If you aren't using Facebook, you can choose one of our avatars or upload an image of your own. If you'd like to upload your own image, the following rules apply:
- Your image must be saved as a GIF, JPG or PNG file
- Maximum size for the file is 100K
- Your image should be square (if it isn't, it will be squashed into a square)
Avatar images must not be offensive. If we consider your avatar inappropriate, we may withdraw it and require you to choose another one.
You can change your avatar image as often as you like. However, each time you upload a new one, it will overwrite the old one -- we only store one avatar image per user.
- 7 - Why can't I register?
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You probably have cookies turned off in your browser. We use cookies to customise some areas of the site for members and collect statistical information -- please read the Cookies section of our Privacy Policy for more information. If you do not want to turn on cookies for all sites, you can just turn them on for CNET UK.
- 8 - What setting should I use for cookies?
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For information on managing your browser settings to accept or refuse cookies, please visit AllAboutCookies.
- 9 - How can I tell if I am logged in?
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When you're logged in, your avatar and username will appear in the top right corner of the page, next to the Details and Log out buttons. If you see Log In and Join buttons, you aren't logged in.
- 10 - Do I have to log in every time I visit the site?
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No, you can choose to be logged in automatically. Next time you log in, select the 'Keep me logged in' checkbox to store these details on your computer.
If you use more than one computer to visit CNET UK, you'll need to do this on each one. You may not want to do this on a computer you share with other people.
- 11 - What should I do if I forget my password?
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When you try to log in, you'll see a 'Forgot' link by the password box. Click this link and follow the instructions on the screen.
If you can't remember which email address you used, send an email to Customer Service listing all your email addresses and we'll do our best to help.
- 12 - How can I update my personal details?
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Once you have logged in, click the Details button next to your username in the top right corner of the page. This will take you to your Account Details pages, where you can change your account details and update your newsletter subscriptions.
- 13 - How do I report bad behaviour by other users?
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Please send an email to our Moderation Team. If you are reporting an offensive comment, please copy the location of the page from your browser's address bar and paste it into your email.
- 14 - How do I report a problem with my account?
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Please send an email to Customer Service describing the problem and we'll do our best to sort it out.
Staying in touch
- 15 - Do you have a Facebook page?
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Yes, you can find out what the team is up to via our official page.
- 16 - Can I follow CNET UK on Twitter?
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Yes, follow the @cnetuk feed.
- 17 - Do you put videos on YouTube?
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We publish extra footage, longer versions and behind-the-scenes videos in the CNET UK channel on YouTube
- 18 - Do you have a mobile app?
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iPhone users should download the Crave from CNET UKiPhone app for all the latest tech news and gadget-based fun.
- 19 - I'm old school, how about an RSS feed?
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For general and category-specific feeds, see the RSS feeds page. To make a custom RSS feed, go to the Search homepage and use the filters on the left to specify exactly what you want in the feed. Click the orange RSS button above the search results to subscribe to your feed.
- 20 - How do I get updates by email?
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Visit the Newsletters page for more information about our email newsletters.
You can also get email alerts when we publish articles about specific products or companies you're interested in. Find an article about the product or company, then click the red 'Alert Me' button to set up an alert.
- 21 - How do I unsubscribe from a newsletter or alert?
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Click the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email.
To see all your newsletters and alerts, make sure you are logged in, then click the Details button next to your username in the top right corner of the page. This will take you to your Account Details pages, where you can update your newsletter subscriptions. Alerts are listed on a separate page. Click the Manage Alerts button to see them.
General
- 22 - How can I contact CNET UK?
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See the Contact Us page for email addresses and telephone numbers.
- 23 - Can I reproduce your content?
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Please see the Permissions and Reprints section on the CBS Interactive UK web site for information about reproducing content.
- 24 - How do I submit my software to the Downloads section?
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Please visit Upload.com to find out more about our library and submit your software.
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