1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Our Website (www.solsticeprog.uk) uses cookies and similar technologies. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our Website and also allows us to improve our Website.
1.2 Cookies are small text files that are downloaded to your device (e.g. your computer or smartphone). Cookies contain uniquely generated references which are used to distinguish you from other users. They allow information gathered on one webpage to be stored until it is needed for use on another, allowing our Website to provide you with a personalised experience (like remembering your favourites) and provide us with statistics about how you interact with our (and sometimes third party) Website.
1.3 Cookies are not harmful to your devices (like a virus or malicious code) but some individuals prefer not to share their information (for example, to avoid targeted advertising).
2 DIFFERENT TYPES OF COOKIES
2.1 Session vs. persistent cookies: cookies have a limited lifespan. Cookies which only last a short time or end when you close your browser are called session cookies. Cookies which remain on your device for longer are called persistent cookies (these are the type of cookies that allow websites to remember your details when you log back onto them).
2.2 First party vs. third party cookies: cookies placed on your device by the website owner are called first party cookies. When the website owner uses other businesses’ technology to help them manage and monitor their website, the cookies added by the other business are called third party cookies.
2.3 Categories of cookies: cookies can be grouped by what they help the website or website owner do:
- Necessary cookies are cookies which help the website to run properly (when they are strictly necessary cookies it means their only function is to help the website work);
- Performance / functionality cookies help a website owner understand and analyse how a user uses a website, in order to personalise content and remember user preferences;
- Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, etc.
3 WHAT DO WE USE COOKIES FOR?
3.1 We use cookies:
- to track how visitors use our Website;
- to record whether you have seen specific messages we display on our Website;
- to keep you signed into our Website if you use a login username and password
- where we post content and links to content, we use cookies to capture and analyse information such as number of views and shares.
- where we send you newsletters, with or without weblinks in them, we use cookies and tracking codes to see if you have read the newsletter and clicked any links in the newsletter.
4 WHAT COOKIES DO WE USE?
4.1 The cookies we use on our Website are:
4.2 We can only use cookies with your permission (you will be prompted by a message when you first visit our Website, also known as a cookie banner, where you can choose to accept or decline our cookies).
4.3 You can update your cookies settings and permissions on our Website.
4.4 You can choose to decline cookies but if you turn off necessary cookies, some pages and functions on our Website may not work as expected. You can also manage cookies through your browser settings or device settings (your user manual should contain additional information). You may wish to visit https://allaboutcookies.org/how-to-manage-cookies to find out how to disable cookies on different browsers.
4.5 You can also delete cookies and opt-out of being tracked by certain cookies directly with the relevant third-parties (for example, you can disable Google Analytics on their website).
4.6 If you have any questions about our cookies, or how we otherwise use your personal data, please visit our Privacy Notice https://solsticeprog.uk/privacy-notice.