Cookies are used by nearly all websites and do not harm your system.
There is a minimal use of cookies on this site.
A cookie is a piece of information that is stored on your computer’s hard drive and which records how you move your way around a website so that, when you revisit that website, it can present tailored options based on the information stored about your last visit. Cookies can also be used to analyse traffic.
If you want to check or change what types of cookies you accept, this can usually be altered within your browser settings. You can block cookies at any time by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. However, if you use your browser settings to block all cookies (including essential cookies) you may not be able to access all or parts of this site.
How are cookies used?
Cookies track the use of this website. This enables me to understand how the site is used. This helps me to develop and improve the website.
Cookies are either:
Session cookies: these are only stored on your computer during your web session and are automatically deleted when you close your browser – they usually store an anonymous session ID allowing you to browse a website without having to log in to each page, but they do not collect any personal data from your computer; or
Persistent cookies: a persistent cookie is stored as a file on your computer and it remains there when you close your web browser. The cookie can be read by the website that created it when you visit that website again. [I use persistent cookies for Google Analytics.]
Cookies can also be categorised as follows:
Strictly necessary cookies: These cookies are essential to enable you to use the website effectively. Without these cookies, the services available to you on the website cannot be provided. These cookies do not gather information about you that could be used for marketing or remembering where you have been on the internet.
Performance cookies: These cookies enable me to monitor and improve the performance of the website. For example, they allow me to count visits and see which parts of the site are most popular.
Functionality cookies: These cookies allow the website to remember choices you make and provide enhanced features. For instance, they may be used to provide services you have requested such as viewing a video or commenting on a story. The information these cookies collect is usually anonymised.
