Last updated 3 October 2018

This policy should be read together with our privacy policy and our website terms of use, and any location specific legal notice.

1. What is a cookie?

Cookies are small data files or pieces of information that many websites automatically download or transfer to a user's computer, phone or tablet’s hard disk to recognise users, help their websites operate better and sometimes to track information about your use of the website. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies.

2. Our use of cookies

When you visit our websites our web server sends a cookie to your device which allows us to recognise your device and distinguish you from other users.  This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you visit or return to our websites and also allows us to improve our websites.

3. Types of cookies we use and why

Our websites use different cookies to improve the user experience and help us see what is popular, as explained below. The information collected is not linked to personally identifiable information.

• Single session cookies: to keep track of your movement from page to page on the website so you are not asked for the same information you have already given during your visit and so you can proceed through quickly and easily without having to authenticate or reprocess each new area you visit; to analyse user behaviour, such as which pages you visit during the session to improve your overall experience (for example enabling us to determine and display more relevant content).
• Remember me cookies: so we can remember your personal preferences such as log in details in order to improve the user experience for example by avoiding you having to re-enter these details on each visit.
• Persistent cookies: to collect information about number of visitors to the site and pages visited in order to analyse user behaviour. This is anonymous information and is used to compile reports so we can develop and improve user experience such as displaying more tailored and relevant content for example.

4. Accepting cookies

You do not have to accept cookies, but without accepting them you may not have a great user experience when on our website.

If you wish to reject the cookies then please read the information that came with your browser software to see how you can turn off the automatic download feature. For more information about cookies, including how to set your internet browser to reject cookies, please go to www.allaboutcookies.org.

5. How long will the cookies remain?  

The cookies will remain in the cookies file of your browser after the closing of the browser, and will become active again when you visit and reopen the website, until removed.  The cookie(s) can be deleted at any time by you. They do not collect any information when you are not accessing the website.

6. Web beacons

Our websites and other communications contain electronic images called 'web beacons' (they are also known as one pixel GIFs, clear GIFs or pixel tags).  Web beacons allow us to count visitors who have viewed content on websites or pages or what subscribers have read our emails.  We can then develop statistical information about the activities and features that most interest you and then provide more personalised content. We do not use web beacons to access your personal information without your consent.

7. Third party advertising services:

We may utilise certain third-party advertising services (e.g. organisations such as FastClick or Google) to display advertising for our advertisers. These third-party services may place a cookie on your computer for the purposes of ad tracking and presentation. We do not share personally identifiable visitor information with these third-party services.

8. Google Analytics

When you visit our websites, Google Analytics, a website analytics service provided by Google, Inc (Google), will place cookies on your computer’s browser. The information generated by the cookies about your use of our website is transmitted to Google. This information is then used for the purpose of compiling statistical reports to enable us to measure and analyse the number of visits to our website and its pages, the average time spent on the site and the pages viewed. We will not (and will not allow any third party to) use Google Analytics to track or to collect any personal data of visitors to our sites. We will not associate any data gathered via use of cookies with any personal data from any source as part of our use of Google Analytics. For further information about Google Analytics please click here and for details of Google Analytics’ Privacy Policy, please click here.

You may choose to opt-out of Google Analytics using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on which you may access here.

9. Other analytics services

Every time you use our website, information may be collected by us or on our behalf via website analytics services.  This includes information such as:

• your server IP address and domain name of your internet service provider;
• the type of browser and operating system you use;
• pages accessed;
• the date and time of your visit; and
• any address of a recurring site and any other website you are about to visit.

This information is used to provide statistical reporting on the use of our website, including the frequency and duration of visits, and which web pages you have accessed on our website.

10. Tracking Technologies

When you access and use our website, we may record the following information:

• IP address: our servers may record data regarding your device and the network you are using to connect with us, including your IP address. An IP address is a series of numbers which identify your computer, and which are generally assigned when you access the internet. Alone, IP addresses are not personal information, as any one computer or device may be used by multiple people (i.e. it is not possible to ascertain the identity of a user simply from the computer or device being used). We may use IP addresses for system administration, investigation of security issues and compiling anonymised data regarding usage of our sites and/or mobile applications.
• Geo-Location: when using our website, you may search for products and services in the area in which you are located. If you choose to do so, depending on the mobile device or application you are using, we may collect your geo-location information to search for the applicable products and services or to personalise and improve your individual viewing experiences on our sites and provide information that may be of interest to you. You may at any time disable our collection and use of your location information by turning location services off at the device level.

 

11. Personalised internet-based advertising

We may also use cookies that gather information about the pages you visit on our websites and also other information about other websites that you visit, so as to place you in a 'market segment'. This information is then used by us (and our suppliers, such as third-party advertising services) to place personalised interest-based advertisements, which we believe will be relevant to your market segment. Without these cookies, advertisements you encounter will be less relevant to you and to your interests.

Examples of internet-based advertising cookies that may be set by us are cookies that tell us where you came from so that we can evaluate marketing and advertising campaigns, cookies that help us determine where you are located so that we can serve you advertisements that are relevant to you based on your location and cookies that help us group you into interest groups with other users so that we can show you advertisements that are relevant to you while you’re on our websites.