Cookies are small, often encrypted text files, used by web developers to help users navigate their websites efficiently and perform certain functions.
The problem with cookies is both one of privacy - what is being registered? - and one of transparency - who is tracking you, for what purpose, where does the data go, and for how long does it stay?
Cookiesare widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, aswell as to provide information to the owners of the site, such as the number ofvisitors. They also help us to:
You can learn more about all the cookies we use below.
Essential and non-essential cookies?
Essential cookies are cookies that are likely to be deemed essential are those used forthe shopping basket and checkout, those that provide security for online banking services and those that help ensure that your page loads quickly by distributing the workload.
Non-essential cookies are any cookies used for analytical purposes to count the number of visitors to a website, any cookies used by first party or third-party advertisers, including affiliates, and cookies used to recognise the user when they return to a website, so they receive a tailored greeting or optimised landing page.
Session and persistent cookies?
Web pages have no memories. A user going from page to page will be treated by the website as a completely new visitor. Session cookies enable the website you are visiting to keep track of your movement from page to page, so you don't getasked for the same information you've already given to the site.
Persistent cookies - these remain on your hard drive until you erase them, or they expire. How long a cookie remains on your browser depends on how long the visited website has programmed the cookie to last. Persistent cookies help websites remember your information and settings when you visit them in the future. Other website features made possible by persistent cookies include: language selection, theme selection, menu preferences, internal site bookmarks or favourites, among many others.
First and third-party cookies?
Cookies can be set by the website you have browsed, i.e. the website displayed in the uniform resource locator (URL) window. These are called first party cookies. Third party cookies are set by a website other than the one you are browsing. Advertising networks are the most common begetters of third-party cookies; they use them to track a user across multiple websites, activity which they can then use to tailor their ads.
Cookies used on our website
Statistics
Marketing
If the settings on your software that you are using to view this website (your browser) are adjusted to accept cookies we take this, and your continued use of our website, to mean that you are fine with this. Should you wish to remove or not use cookies from our site you can learn how to do this below, however doing so will likely mean that our site will not work as you would expect.
You can usually switch cookies off by adjusting your browser settings to stop it from accepting cookies (Learn how here). Doing so however will likely limit the functionality of our's and a large proportion of the world's websites as cookies are a standard part of most modern websites
It may be that your concerns around cookies relate to so called "spyware". Rather than switching off cookies in your browser you may find that anti-spyware software achieves the same objective by automatically deleting cookies considered to be invasive. Learn more about managing cookies with antispyware software.
SMART Support for Business Limited
Registered in England and Wales with registration number 8439613.
Registered office: 17 Basegreen Avenue, Gleadless, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S12 3FA
