Like most websites and apps, we use cookies and other tracking technologies. By using our website, apps, products and/or services you agree to our use of cookies.
We use them to:
- Remember information about you, so you don’t have to give it to us again.
- Keep you signed in, even on different devices.
- Help us understand how people are using our services, so we can make them better.
- To deliver advertising
- Help us personalise our services to you by remembering your preferences and settings. And your progress, so you can pick up where you left off even on a different device.
- To find out if our emails have been read and if you find them useful.
How to change cookie settings / stop browser tracking your info
Some essential features on our sites just won’t work without cookies. And having other cookies switched off can seriously affect the way you’ll be able to enjoy our services.
You can normally render them ineffective by switching off cookies in your browser. There are also browser add-ons and extensions that specifically block web beacons.
To avoid web beacons in emails, you can turn off images in your email service. Check your email’s Help section to find out how.
The Cookies List below includes some details as to how to turn off some cookies.
First-party cookies
These cookies are set by the website you’re visiting. And only that website can read them.
Third-party cookies
These cookies are set by someone other than the owner of the website you’re visiting. Some of our web pages may also contain content from other sites like YouTube or Twitter, which may set their own cookies. Also, if you share a link to a one of our pages, the service you share it on (for example, Facebook) may set a cookie on your browser. We have no control over third-party cookies – you can turn them off, but not through us.
Session cookies
These cookies only last for your online session and disappear from your computer or device when you close your browser (like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Safari).
Persistent cookies
These cookies stay on your computer or device after your browser has been closed and last for a time specified in the cookie. We use persistent cookies when we need to know who you are for more than one browsing session. For example, we use them to remember your preferences for the next time you visit.
Strictly necessary cookies
These cookies let you use all the different parts of our websites. Without them, services that you’ve asked for can’t be provided. Some examples of how we use these cookies are:
- When you sign in to our services
- Remembering what you’ve already done, like text you’ve entered into a registration form, so it’ll still be there when you go back to the page in the same web session.
- Remembering security settings that affect access to certain content, for example, any parental controls
Functional cookies
These help us personalise our services to you by remembering your preferences and settings. Some examples of how we use these cookies are:
- Remembering your choice of playlists and favourite content and help you do things like commenting on a blog
- Remembering where you paused a programme on a video player and then later picking up where you left off
- Remembering if you visited the website before so that messages for new visitors are not displayed to you
- Remembering settings on the website like colour, font size and layout
Performance cookies
These help us understand how people are using our services online, so we can make it better. And they let us try out different ideas. We sometimes get other companies to analyse how people are using our services online. These companies might set their own performance cookies. Some examples of how we use these cookies are:
- Collecting information on which web pages visitors go to most often so we can improve our online services
- Making sure that the website is working properly and fixing any errors testing designs to help improve the look and feel of the website
- Advertising cookies
- Some websites use advertising networks to show you specially targeted adverts when you visit. These networks may also be able to track your browsing across different sites. We might use advertising cookies but they won’t track your browsing outside our websites, apps, and other services.
You can find more information here about how we use advertising cookies.
Other tracking technologies
Some sites use things like web beacons, transparent GIFs, page tags and web bugs to understand how people are using them and to target advertising to them.
They usually take the form of a small, transparent image that is embedded in a web page or email. They work with cookies and capture data like your IP address, when you viewed the page or email, what device you were using and where you were.
Cookies List
| Cookie | Type | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHPSESSID | Strictly necessary | Until you close your browser | To maintain information about each visit to the website and enable core site functionality. This cookie does not contain any personal information, and only lasts for the duration of your visit. |
| viewed_cookie_policy | Functionality | 1 year | Saves a message to let us know that you’ve seen our cookie message. |
| wordpress_test_cookie | Strictly necessary | Until you close your browser | A test performed to see if cookies are enabled on your browser. |
| wordpress_* | Functionality | 12 months | Used to maintain any users identity if they log into the site. |
| comment_author, comment_author_email, comment_author_url | Functionality | 2 weeks | Cookies beginning with “comment_author_…” are only stored if you make a comment on the site. They store your name, email and website so you don’t need to re-input each time you make a comment on the site. |
| woocommerce_cart_hash | Strictly necessary | Until you close your browser | Enables the functionality of our shopping cart. |
| woocommerce_items_in_cart | Strictly necessary | Until you close your browser | Remembers items you have put in your shopping cart. |
| wp_woocommerce_session_ | Strictly necessary | Until you close your browser | Contains a unique code for each customer so in order to find cart data. |
| woocommerce_recently_viewed | Functionality | Until you close your browser | Keeps a temporary log of products you have viewed on the site. |
| _t | Strictly necessary | Years | Token used to identify the user between main website and forum. |
| _forum_session | Strictly necessary | Until you close your browser | Set to track logged-in status for the online community. |
| theme_key | Functional | Years | Stores user selected theme. |
| _ga | Analytics | 2 years | We use Google Analytics software to collect information about how you use our website. We do this to help make sure the site is meeting the needs of its users and to help us make improvements. Google Analytics stores information about:
For further information on Google Analytics cookies, please visit Google Analytics Cookie Usage on Websites or view the Google Privacy Policy . |
| _gat | Analytics | 10 minutes | Google Analytics cookie - see above. |
| _gat_tNet | Analytics | 10 minutes | Google Analytics cookie - see above. |
Change Log
2018-05-27: More detailed user centred explanation added.