When you visit our websites, read, click or download information, and receive emailed information from us (e.g. brochures) in response to your requests, we will obtain some information via automated means from or about your device, and about how you use our website. We may also use pixel-tags and cookies that may transfer to the cookie file of your device, depending on the nature of your device. More information about these is set out below. This information helps us so we can improve our site for all our visitors and helps us make ongoing improvements so that the information on our pages can be updated and remains relevant and useful to you.
Device Data that our websites collect include:
- Technical information, your internet domain name (this might be your internet service provider, for example, BT, Sky, TalkTalk or your place of work), and Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your device to the internet, your login information, browser type and version, (e.g. Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox), [your device type], time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system (e.g. Windows 10, macOS) and platform;
- Information about your visit (including the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL) clickstream to, through and from our websites (including date and time); products you viewed or searched for; page response times; download errors; length of visits to certain pages, How many and which pages you visit during a ‘session’ on our site and how long you were on the site, and page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks and mouse-overs).
- We may receive information about you if you use any of the other websites we operate or services we provide. We work with third parties (including for example business partners, sub-contractors in technical, payment and delivery services, fraud and authentication support service providers, advertising networks, analytics providers and search information providers, credit reference agencies), and may receive information about you from them
We may use “pixel tags,” which are small graphic files that allow us to monitor the use of our websites. A pixel tag can collect information such as the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the computer that downloaded the page on which the tag appears; the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the page on which the pixel tag appears; the time the page containing the pixel tag was viewed; the type of browser that fetched the pixel tag; and the identification number of any cookie on the computer previously placed by that server. When corresponding with you via HTML capable e-mail, we may use “format sensing” technology, which allows pixel tags to let us know whether you received and opened our e-mail.
Cookies
A cookie is a text-only string of information that a website transfers to the cookie file of the browser on your computer’s hard disk so that the website can remember who you are. Cookies can help a website to arrange content to match your preferred interests more quickly – most major websites use cookies. Cookies alone cannot be used to identify you.
A cookie will typically contain the name of the domain from which the cookie has come; the “lifetime” of the cookie; and a value, usually a randomly generated unique number.
Two types of cookies may be used on this website:
- Session Cookies, which are temporary cookies that remain in the cookie file of your browser until you leave the site.
- Persistent Cookies, which remain in the cookie file of your browser for much longer (though how long will depend on the lifetime of the specific cookie).
How cookies are used on this site and what information is collected.
Session Cookies are used:
- To allow you to carry information across pages of our site and avoid having to re-enter information.
- Within registration to allow you to access stored information.
Persistent Cookies are used:
- To help us recognise you as a unique visitor (using a number, you cannot be identified personally) when you return to our website.
- To allow us to tailor content or advertisements to match your preferred interests or to avoid showing you the same adverts repeatedly.
- To compile anonymous, aggregated statistics that allow us to understand how users use our site and to help us improve the structure of our website. We cannot identify you personally in this way.
To learn more about cookies in general and how to manage them, visit www.aboutcookies.org
