1. What cookies are
A cookie is a small text file that a website places on your device when you visit. The file stores a short piece of data — often just a unique identifier — and is sent back to the website on your next visit. Cookies are the oldest and most common way for websites to remember information between page loads and between sessions.
Similar technologies include local storage, session storage, web beacons (tiny invisible images used for tracking), pixel tags, and fingerprinting scripts. For the purposes of this policy, "cookies" refers to all of these client-side storage mechanisms collectively.
2. Why websites use cookies
Cookies serve several purposes. Some are essential: keeping you logged in between pages, holding the contents of a shopping basket, remembering that you've already given consent. Others are helpful but optional: remembering your preferred language or theme. A third group is used for measurement — counting visitors, understanding which pages are popular. A fourth group is used for marketing: tracking which ad brought you to the site, retargeting you later on other platforms.
Under EU and UK law, only the first group (strictly necessary) can be set without your consent. Everything else requires opt-in.
3. Cookie categories
Regulators group cookies into four categories. We use the same taxonomy so it's clear which legal rules apply where:
- Strictly necessary — required for the site to work. Set without consent under ePrivacy Art. 5(3).
- Preference (functional) — remember your choices. Opt-in required.
- Analytics (statistics) — measure how the site is used. Opt-in required.
- Marketing (advertising) — used for targeted advertising and profiling. Opt-in required, and explicit opt-in is best practice.
4. Strictly necessary cookies
These cookies keep the site functional and secure. They cannot be switched off in our systems because the site would not work properly without them. They are set in direct response to actions you take (such as accepting a consent banner or using a feature that requires state). They do not store personally identifying information.
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
cookie_consent1st party | This website | Remembers your cookie preferences so we don't show the consent banner on every page | 12 months |
session1st party | This website | Temporary session identifier used when an interactive feature requires state across page loads | Session (deleted when you close the browser) |
5. Preference cookies
Preference cookies remember choices you've made — like a language or theme — so the site behaves consistently across visits. They are opt-in under UK-GDPR and GDPR: the site will operate perfectly well without them, you'll just need to re-make the choice on each visit.
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
theme1st party | This website | Remembers whether you selected light or dark mode so your choice persists on return visits | 12 months |
lang1st party | This website | Stores your preferred language when a localised version of a page is available | 12 months |
6. Analytics cookies
Analytics cookies help us understand how visitors use the site — which pages are viewed, how long people stay, which articles get shared. This helps us decide what to write next. Analytics is always opt-in, and all information is aggregated: we never identify individual visitors through analytics data.
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga, _ga_*3rd party | Google Analytics (Google Ireland Ltd) | Distinguishes unique visitors and measures how the site is used — aggregate visitor counts, most-viewed pages, average session length | Up to 24 months |
_plausible3rd party | Plausible Analytics (or similar privacy-first analytics) | Counts unique visitors and page views without collecting personal data or building cross-site profiles | 24 hours |
7. Marketing cookies
Marketing cookies are used by advertising networks to track visits across sites and serve targeted advertising. Under UK-GDPR, GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive, marketing cookies require explicit opt-in — they are never set by default.
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
_fbp3rd party | Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd | Used by Meta Pixel to measure advertising performance and retarget visitors on Facebook / Instagram | 3 months |
NID, IDE3rd party | Google Ireland Ltd | Used by Google Ads for conversion tracking and retargeting | Up to 13 months |
8. Third-party cookies
A third-party cookie is one set by a domain different from the one shown in your browser's address bar. Analytics, advertising, embedded videos, embedded social posts, and live chat widgets all typically set third-party cookies.
When a third-party cookie is set on your device through this site, the provider of that cookie becomes an independent data controller for that data. Their own privacy and cookie policies apply, and we have no direct control over their processing. The current list of third parties whose cookies could potentially be set is the union of the Provider columns in the tables above — Google (Analytics / Ads), Meta, Plausible, and similar. Today, none of these are active.
9. How to manage cookies
You have three layers of control, any one of which is enough to block cookies:
- At the consent banner — when a consent banner is present, you can accept all, reject all, or pick categories individually. Your choice applies immediately and is remembered.
- In your browser settings — every modern browser lets you block all cookies, block only third-party cookies, delete existing cookies, or set per-site rules. See the links below.
- At the operating-system or network level — privacy extensions such as uBlock Origin or Privacy Badger, and DNS-level blockers such as Pi-hole or NextDNS, can block tracking requests before they ever reach your browser.
Browser-specific instructions:
10. Opting out of specific providers
In addition to browser-level controls, individual advertising and analytics networks offer opt-out tools:
- Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on ↗ — prevents Google Analytics from collecting data across every site that uses it.
- Google Ads personalisation controls ↗
- Meta (Facebook / Instagram) ad preferences ↗
- Your Online Choices (EU) ↗ — opt out of behavioural advertising across most major networks.
- DAA WebChoices (US) ↗
You can also enable the Global Privacy Control signal in your browser or a privacy extension. We respect GPC as an expression of opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal data wherever applicable law recognises it.
11. Changes to this policy
If we introduce new cookies or change the providers listed above, we'll update this page and update the "Last updated" date at the top. If the change materially affects what's stored on your device — for example, if we enable analytics — a consent banner will appear on your next visit before anything new is set.
12. Contact
For cookie-related questions, or to exercise any rights over data collected through cookies (where applicable), see the contact section of our privacy policy. We respond to all privacy and cookie enquiries within 30 days.