Cookies

1. Introduction

Our website uses cookies. Insofar as those cookies are not strictly necessary for the provision of our website, we will ask you to consent to our use of cookies when you first visit our website.

2. About Cookies

A cookie is a file containing an identifier (a string of letters and numbers) that is sent by a web server to a web browser and is stored by the browser. The identifier is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.

Cookies may be either “persistent” cookies or “session” cookies: a persistent cookie will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date; a session cookie, on the other hand, will expire at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed.

Cookies do not typically contain any information that personally identifies a user, but personal information that we store about you may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.

3. Cookies Used On This Site

(a) Google analytics: as I understand it under the GDPR, if you use Google Analytics, then Google is your Data Processor. Your organization is the Data Controller since you control which data is sent to Google Analytics but collecting Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is against the Google Analytics Terms & Conditions https://www.google.com/analytics/terms/us.html
We will need to check if your analytics account has the IP anonymization feature turned on but I think you will be on the right track with something like “To enable us to monitor the usage of our website we use Google Analytics, which uses a variety of cookies. These are used to track visitors and collect information about how visitors use our site.

We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the site. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the site, where visitors have come to the site from and the pages they visited.”

The specific cookies are:
 _ga – a persistant cookie that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website – set for 2 years
_gd a session cookie that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website – set for 2 years

_gat a session cooke used to throttle request rate

(b) We use the Jetpack Plugin to hook up your news feed to Twitter & Facebook and to provide sharing links. For Facebook this plugin sets a cookie, staticxx.facebook.com, that is linked to Facebook to faciliate this.Find out more about Facebook’s Cookies & other storage technologies here.
For Twitter the specific cookie is platform.twitter.com
(c) We use the Wordfence plugin for security & firewall support: Wordfence currently sets three cookies and we explain what each cookie does, who will have the cookie set, and why the cookie helps secure your site.

wfwaf-authcookie-(hash)

What it does: This cookie is used by the Wordfence firewall to perform a capability check of the current user before WordPress has been loaded.

Who gets this cookie: This is only set for users that are able to log into WordPress.

How this cookie helps: This cookie allows the Wordfence firewall to detect logged in users and allow them increased access. It also allows Wordfence to detect non-logged in users and restrict their access to secure areas. The cookie also lets the firewall know what level of access a visitor has to help the firewall make smart decisions about who to allow and who to block.

wf_loginalerted_(hash)

What it does: This cookie is used to notify the Wordfence admin when an administrator logs in from a new device or location.

Who gets this cookie: This is only set for administrators.

How this cookie helps: This cookie helps site owners know whether there has been an admin login from a new device or location.

4. Managing cookies

Most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies and to delete cookies. The methods for doing so vary from browser to browser, and from version to version. You can however obtain up-to-date information about blocking and deleting cookies via these links:

  • https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en (Chrome);
  • https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enable-and-disable-cookies-website-preferences (Firefox);
  • http://www.opera.com/help/tutorials/security/cookies/ (Opera);
  • https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/17442/windows-internet-explorer-delete-manage-cookies (Internet Explorer);
  • https://support.apple.com/kb/PH21411 (Safari); and
  • https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10-microsoft-edge-and-privacy (Edge).

Blocking all cookies will have a negative impact upon the usability of many websites. If you block cookies, you will not be able to use all the features on our website.