1 What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files that a website saves in your browser. They help the site work, keep it secure, and show the site owner how it's being used. Some are set by the website itself, and others by services it uses (known as third-party cookies).2 Strictly necessary cookies
These keep the website secure and working properly, so they can't be switched off. They don't track you for advertising.- seopress-user-consent-accept (this website, 30 days): remembers that you clicked “Okey doke” on the cookie banner, so Google Analytics can run and the banner doesn't keep popping up.
- seopress-user-consent-close (this website, 30 days): remembers that you clicked “No thanks”, so Google Analytics stays switched off and the banner doesn't keep popping up.
- __cf_bm (Cloudflare, 30 minutes): may be set to help tell people and bots apart, to protect the site from automated attacks.
- cf_clearance (Cloudflare, up to 1 year): remembers that you've passed a security check, if you've been shown one.
You'll only ever have one of the two cookie-choice cookies at a time. After 30 days it expires and the banner will ask you again.3 Analytics cookies
These help me understand how visitors use the website, such as which pages are popular and how people find the site, so I can improve it. The website uses Google Analytics, and it only switches on if you click “Okey doke” on the cookie banner. Until then, Google Analytics isn't loaded, no analytics cookies are set and nothing is sent to Google. If you click “No thanks”, it stays that way.- _ga (Google Analytics, 2 years): tells visitors apart by giving each browser a random ID.
- _ga_* (Google Analytics, 2 years): keeps track of your current visit.
The website also uses Google Consent Mode, which tells Google about your choice so it's respected. Google Analytics doesn't tell me who you are. You can read how Google uses this information at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.4 Things saved in your browser
A few features of this website remember small bits of information in your own browser (using what's called local and session storage) rather than cookies. None of it leaves your device:- lw-yk (local storage, until you clear it): remembers whether you've switched on Speak Yorkshire.
- lw-draft-start (local storage, until you clear it): remembers when you sent your first draft form, so the countdown on the thanks page stays accurate.
- lw-first-name (session storage, until you close the tab): remembers your first name for a moment after you send the first draft form, so the thanks page can say hello.
5 Other services
- Billing portal: the billing portal at billing.jimmcguire.me is run by Stripe, which sets its own cookies to keep payments secure. See Stripe's cookie policy.
- WhatsApp: the WhatsApp buttons simply link to WhatsApp. No WhatsApp cookies are set on this website unless you click through.
- Fonts: the website's fonts are hosted on this website itself, so no third-party font service receives your information.
6 How to control cookies
- Change your choice: you can accept or reject analytics cookies at any time in cookie settings, which brings the cookie banner back up. If you switch analytics off after accepting it, any Google Analytics cookies already in your browser will stay there until they expire or you delete them.
- Browser settings: most browsers let you block or delete cookies. Blocking strictly necessary cookies may stop parts of the website from working, and clearing them means the cookie banner will ask you again. The ICO explains how at ico.org.uk.
- Google Analytics opt-out: Google offers a browser add-on that stops Google Analytics on all websites.
8 Changes to this policy
I'll update this page if the cookies the website uses change. The date at the top shows when it was last updated.