What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are sent by a website to a web browser and contain information that is transferred to your computer’s hard drive. This enables the website to identify and track the web browser. Cookies can, among other functions, enable a website to recognise a device each time it visits, remember user preferences and recommend content. Cookies in themselves do not identify the individual user, but rather the computer used. However, some cookies will contain personal information such as a username. Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a more personal user experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our website. By continuing to browse and use our website, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Different cookies do different things and some are essential to the operation of a website whilst others are not. The different types of cookie are:
What cookies do we use?
You can find more information about the individual cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them in the table below:
| Cookie | Purpose | Expiry of cookie |
|---|---|---|
| DoubleClick for Publishers | This is a third-party cookie provided by Google, Inc. We use it to ensure you see advertisements that are relevant to you. Find out more at: https://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/doubleclick/publishers/welcome/. | 24 months after being set. |
| Google Analytics | Our website employs cookies from Google Analytics. Google Analytics is a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. Google Analytics cookies are used to collect information about how visitors use our website. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the website, where visitors have come to the website from and the pages they visited. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve our website. Google holds this information and provides us with access to it.Find out more about Google Analytics at: https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/analyticsjs/cookie-usage. The Google Analytics privacy policy is at: http://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/. |
The lifespan of a Google Analytics cookie depends on what it is and what it does. Some expire at the end of your browser session, whilst others can last for up to 24 months. |
| has_js | We set this cookie so that we know you have JS enabled. This helps us optimise the experience when visiting our site. | This lasts as long as your browser session. |
| *optimizely* | These are cookies we use for A/B testing. | 10 years |
| *parsley* | Parsley is a tool we use to validate forms on the front-end. This helps track which fields require validation and helps us track this across pages. | 365 days |
| __distillery | Set by our third party Wistia Inc. It is a video player cookie recording the position where the video has been stopped to allow playback continuation. | 1 year |
| muxData | Set by our third party Wistia Inc. | 20 years |
What about third-party cookies?
Please note that third parties (including, for example, advertising networks and providers of external services like web traffic analysis services) may also use cookies, over which we have no control. These cookies are likely to be analytical/performance cookies or targeting cookies.
Can I refuse or opt out of cookies?
Most browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually change your browser settings to limit or prevent cookies. You can find out how to opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics by visiting http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. Unless you have adjusted your browser settings so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies as soon as you visit our website. If you set your browser to not accept cookies, it may result in certain sections of our website not working properly and certain personalised services not being provided to users of your computer. More information about cookies generally can be found at: http://www.allaboutcookies.org