What are cookies, and how do we use them?
Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device to when you visit a website.
We use cookies to store information about how you use the site and to improve your experience of using our site.
You can find out more information about cookies on the Information Commissioner’s Office website.
What are pixel tags, and how do we use them?
Pixel tags (also known as web beacons or clear GIF) are invisible 1x1 pixels which are placed on web pages. Pixel tags are used to set or read cookies.
What cookies do we use?
We use cookies to:
1. Remember your settings
We set a cookie when you have clicked our notification banner, to make sure you won’t see this next time you visit our website.
2. Help us understand how you use our website
We use Google Analytics and software called Diginius to help us understand how you are using our website. We use this information to help us improve and update our website.
About Google Analytics cookies
Google Analytics sets cookies that store anonymised information about things such as how you got to our website and what pages you clicked on when you were there. Google Analytics have more information in their own privacy policy.
About Google Analytic’s Advertising Features
We use Google Analytic’s Advertising Features, which we use to collect more information about the demographics and interests of our visitors via Google Analytics Demographics. This information is anonymised and no individuals can be identified from it.
About Diginius
Diginius Insight sets cookies that store anonymised information about things such as how you got to our website and what pages you clicked on when you were there.
3. Help us with our communications and marketing
We use Facebook pixel tags, in combination with cookies, to better understand visitors who come to our website via Facebook adverts, and what they do when they are on our website.
We use this information to help make our Facebook advertising better, and to help us make sure that our Facebook marketing is shown to the right people.
We do not use cookies to store information which could identify you. All identifying information is ‘pseudonymised’, which means it is replaced by a code when it is stored, which means it is not possible for us to know who you are from this information.
However, Facebook does save and process data obtained in this way, which they used for their own advertising purposes according to their own privacy policy. It also allows Facebook and its partners to show you advertising based on this data.
Cookies from third-party websites
‘Third-party’ cookies are ones which are set by other organisations.
For example, when you view a YouTube video on our website, YouTube may set a cookie to measure how you interact with that video.
Because of how cookies work, our website cannot access third-party cookies, and owners of third-party cookies cannot access our own cookies.
Can I turn off cookies?
Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through the browser settings.
Opting out of Google Analytics tracking
Google Analytics collects information anonymously, however you can opt-out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites you use by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
You can go to Google preferences to see what Google thinks are your age, gender and interests. You can add, edit or delete information on that page, or you can opt-out of Google collecting and analysing your behaviour altogether.
Opting out of Facebook pixel tracking
Turning off cookies in your browser will allow you to opt of Facebook pixel tracking. There are also plug-ins and extensions which you can download for your browser which block the functionality of pixel tags.
Where can I find out more?
If you want to know more about cookies and how they work, and how to find out what cookies have been set, please visit:
This page was last updated on 20th October 2020