Cookies are strings of text-only information that are uploaded to your computer, laptop or mobile device (hereafter all referred to as ‘devices’) whenever you visit a website. The next time you visit the same website, your browser reads the cookie and sends information to the site that originally uploaded the cookie or to the site that recognised it. You can find out more about cookies online at www.allaboutcookies.org.

Cookies are extremely useful and can be used for a number of purposes. Among other things, they can make visits to a website much easier, since they remember your preferences and both speed up and simplify communication between you and the site. Cookies are sometimes also used in order to show you ads related to your hobbies and interests.

You can change your cookie settings on the website you’re visiting (‘first-party cookies’) or on external websites whose content is available on the website you’re visiting (‘third-party cookies’).

Depending on its type, a cookie is either saved for the period of a single website visit or for repeated visits.

Session cookies

This cookie enables us to correlate actions that take place during your browser session. A session begins when a browser window opens and ends when it’s closed. Session cookies are stored temporarily and are deleted as soon as the window is closed

Persistent cookies

This is a cookie that’s stored on your device for a longer period (the period encoded in the cookie). It’s activated each time you visit a website in the given period.

Types of cookies

There are four main types of cookie:

Strictly necessary cookies

These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around a website and use its features. They can also provide a service you’ve asked for. For example, they might remember the items you’ve placed in your shopping basket in an online store. We don’t need to ask your permission to use these cookies.

Functionality cookies

These cookies allow a website to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language or the region you’re in) and provide enhanced, more personalised features. For example, a website may be able to provide you with local weather reports or traffic news by storing your place of residence in a cookie. These cookies can also remember your preferences in regard to text size and fonts and offer a desired service like watching videos or commenting on blogs. The information these cookies collect may be made anonymous, and they can’t track which websites you’ve visited and what you’ve done there.

Performance cookies

These cookies collect information about how you use a website – for instance, which pages you visit most often and whether you get error messages on them. These cookies don’t collect information that identifies you. All of the information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. They’re only used to improve how a website works.

Targeting cookies

These cookies are used to deliver adverts to you personally, based on your hobbies and interests. Often the number of times you see them is limited so as to measure the effectiveness of the advertising. They’re usually placed by advertising networks, but always with the website operator’s permission. They remember that you’ve visited a website, and this information is shared with other organisations (such as advertisers). Targeting cookies are often linked to the site functionality provided by another organisation. You can find out more about targeting cookies and Internet privacy online at www.youronlinechoices.com.