A cookie is a small text file which sits on your device or browser and assists with information flow and functionality. We use cookies to support our websites (including our mobile sites) and apps. For instance, some cookies help with site security or provide information to help us improve the site. Information contained in certain cookies may be used to personalise content. Each cookie stores certain data that allows for specified purposes to be fulfilled.
For instance, cookies may store information about how the site or app is used, which can be used for maintenance and improvement. They simply log numbers and provide grouped information about site or app navigation – this tells us if people can find what they want.
‘Session’ cookies, which are used for various reasons, and expire after your visit, remember for example, certain information as you navigate from one page to another so you don’t have to keep entering it.
Cookies which remember things for longer, from one session to the next, are called “persistent” cookies. Persistent cookies can do things like remember preferences and adjust content to suit you (personalisation).
Data collected informs personalised content such as advertisements
The data collected by cookies and similar technologies may be used (on the basis of our legitimate interests) to provide personalised promotional offers to you. For example we may do this in order to send you relevant offers and promotions by email (where you permit us to do so). We may also use this data to provide you with personalised promotional offers on selected partner websites (for example, you might see an advertisement for our products on a partner site such as Facebook and Google).
We also share some of your information with marketing service and ad technology providers and digital marketing networks, such as Facebook, Google, Adobe and Rocket Fuel, to present advertisements that might interest you. For example, we may transfer information about you to such providers. The providers may then recognise your devices and send you interest-based content and advertisements. We may send the providers information such as your name, email, device ID, or other identifier in encrypted form and they may process your information in hashed form. These providers may collect additional information from you, such as your IP address and your browser or operating system. Information may be combined with information from other companies in data sharing cooperatives, who may place or recognize their own unique cookie on your browser. These cookies may contain demographic or other data.
Further information on how we use your data, how you stop us sending you direct marketing communications such as emails and your other rights are set out in our Privacy Notice.