COOKIES – WHAT THEY ARE WHAT WE USE THEM FOR

When you access our website, we will usually place small amounts of information on your device (eg computer, tablet or mobile phone). These include small files (most of which are known as cookies), the main purpose of which is to help us monitor and understand the behaviour and interests of visitors to our website.The cookies we presently use are set out in the table below.  Our use of cookies may change over time, so please check back periodically to make sure that you are still OK with the cookies we use.  The Changes section, at the end of the document, sets out the changes. 

CHANGING YOUR COOKIE SETTINGS

If you continue to use our website, we will assume you are happy for us to set cookies. If you aren't, then there are a number of things you can do.You can set your web browser to disable all cookies; allow only 'trusted' sites to set them; or to accept cookies from websites only for the duration of your visit.  The following links will show you how to manage cookies on the following browsers:

• Google Chrome

• Microsoft Edge

• Mozilla Firefox

• Microsoft Internet Explorer

• Opera

• Apple Safari

 You can also visit the AboutCookies website, for more information about cookies and how to manage them. We may sometimes use external suppliers to deliver services on our behalf, which means some cookies may be set by a third party. We do not control these cookies.  You can block them or restricted them as set out above.  If you would like more information about these third party cookies, it is available from to youronlinechoices.com/UK/. 

OUR COOKIES

We have set out the types of cookies we use in the table below, but here is some additional explanation. 

Strictly necessary cookies. Without these strictly cookies, our website won't work properly. 

Performance cookies. These cookies collect anonymous information about how visitors use our website - for example, which pages are visited. We use this aggregated information to improve our website. We don't collect any information that identifies you as an individual.  They:

• give us an overall picture of how people use our website by telling us things like the number of visitors to each page and what people do on a page;

• allow us to test out ideas to find out what's working and what could be improved. We do this by seeing what people click on and how they move through the site.

Functionality cookies. Functionality cookies record information about choices you've made and allow us to tailor the website to your needs. They may also take the form of Flash cookies, which are stored in your Adobe Flash Player rather than your browser, and control your preferences when watching online videos or listening to recordings. The Adobe website has comprehensive information on how to delete or disable Flash cookies.  What they do:

• Remember any settings you've applied, such as layout, text size, preferences or colours.

• Remember if we've already asked you if you want to complete a survey.

• Enable us to share information with partners who provide a service on our site. This is only to provide the service, product or function, not for any other purpose

Advertising cookies. These cookies are used to show you adverts relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert, as well as help measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. They are usually placed by advertising networks, with our permission.We also share information about your use of our site with our advertising and analytics partners. They may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services. They remember that you have visited a website and this information is shared with other organisations, such as advertisers.Please be aware that these cookies are not controlled by us. 

Google Analytics. To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites you view, you can download and install a browser add-on created by Google Analytics for this purpose 

What they do:

• These cookies collect information about your browsing habits to make advertising content more relevant to you and your interests

EMBEDDED CONTENT

Sometimes, we embed images or videos from websites such as YouTube. As a result, when you visit a page featuring such content, you may be presented with cookies from these websites. We do not control these cookies and cannot prevent these sites or domains from collecting information on your use of this content.You should check the relevant third-party website for more information about them and how to opt out. If you are not logged in to their services, they will not know who you are but may still gather anonymous usage information (eg number of views, plays, loads etc).Read more about YouTube's privacy policy for embedded content. 

SOCIAL NETWORKING AND SHARING TOOLS

On some pages, we also feature embedded 'Share' buttons or widgets that enable you to share content with friends through a number of popular social networking sites (eg; Twitter; Facebook etc).These sites may set cookies which can identify you as an individual when you are also logged in to their services. This means they may be collecting information about what you are doing all around the internet, including on our website. We do not control these cookies and you should check the relevant third-party website to see how your information is used and how to opt out. 

WHAT WEB BEACONS ARE

Some of our pages contain electronic images known as web beacons (or clear gifs), which allow us to count the number of visitors to these pages. Web beacons are usually only used to track the effectiveness of a particular advertisement, link or campaign. Some of these web beacons may be placed by third-party advertisers. You can visit the AllAboutCookies website to find out more about web beacons.