What exactly are cookies?
They’re not quite as delicious as the edible equivalent, but cookies do an important job in providing you with a good experience when visiting our website and helping us to track its performance.
In simple terms, they’re small text files which are downloaded to your computer. Read on to understand how they work, what information they gather and how it’s used.
You can choose to turn cookies off, but it’s worth knowing that the functionality of our website may not work as well (or at all) as a result.
For more information on cookies, you might like to read the Wikipedia article on HTTP Cookies or the European Commission guide.
Session and persistent cookies
All cookies fall into one of these categories.
Session cookies last for the duration of your visit to a particular website, simply helping to improve your experience. As soon as you close your browser, they’re deleted.
Persistent cookies are stored on your computer or device when you close your browser. They’re commonly used to remember your preferences, or log in details, improving your experience next time you visit a website.
Many businesses find cookies useful in providing insights on how visitors use their websites. In some cases that can also be used to provide relevant marketing to you.
First and third-party cookies
Whether a cookie is first, or third party, depends on where it originates.
First party cookies are set by the website you visit.
Third party cookies are set by trusted organisations, including social media sites, search engines, advertising networks and external partners.
Facebook Cookies Policy
Instagram Cookies Policy
Twitter Cookies Policy
Google Analytics is a commonly used third party, using cookies to track and provide reports on website performance. They look at things like how many clicks a page receives, and how long the average visit lasted.
Cookies used by Google
How Google use cookies in advertising
How Google uses the data it collects
Essential cookies
Cookies are used for a variety of reasons, depending on the functions they perform for a website. We’ll need your permission to use any which aren’t essential.
Strictly necessary cookies
These cookies are required to run a website, so they can’t be switched off.
They perform important jobs like:
- Keeping your information secure.
- Making it easier to navigate around.
- Track your visit for performance reporting.
Functional cookies
Another type which can’t be switched off, functional cookies are used to remember your preferences, including accessibility features like large font or page contrast.
Performance cookies
We’ll ask for your permission if we want to use these cookies, helping us to study the performance of our website and identify improvements we can make in future.
Marketing cookies
Again, we’ll ask your permission if we want to use these cookies. They’re commonly used to offer services and offers you might be interested in. If you turn marketing cookies off, you’ll still see ads online – they may just be less relevant to you.
Other things worth knowing
Does anyone else use your device? If so, cookies might remember any preferences they set, or interests they have, meaning they’ll also apply to you.
Cookies stored on your device. If you switch cookies off, it won’t delete cookies you’ve downloaded in the past, although it should stop further data being collected.
Disabling cookies
You can turn off or delete cookies in your browser. Just be aware, if you do this it could affect the performance of our website, and others which also use cookies.
Because of that, we recommend that you keep cookies switched on and manage non-essential cookie requests as you go.
The Information Commissioners’ Office (ICO) provide information on how to manage cookies in common browsers, including Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Safari.
If you have any concerns
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re worried about using our website, or you’re having difficulty because you’ve switched cookies off.