What a cookie is

A cookie is a small text file your browser stores when you visit a site. Cookies help a site remember your preferences, measure usage, and, in an advertising context, decide which adverts to show.

Besides cookies, similar technologies such as browser local storage and tracking pixels can serve the same purposes. In this policy, the term "cookie" covers those technologies too.

Categories of cookie we use

This site uses as few cookies as possible, but because we show adverts, third-party markers are placed in your browser. The details are below.

1. Necessary cookies

Required for the site to work, for example, to remember display preferences. These cannot be switched off from within the site, because the pages cannot run without them.

2. Analytics cookies

These help us understand which pages get read and how visitors move around the site. What we see is aggregated, we do not try to identify individual visitors.

3. Advertising cookies

Used. Advertising space on this site is auctioned automatically, and the partners taking part in that auction may place cookies in your browser.

The partners involved fall into two categories:

  • Auction operators. They run the auction for advertising space and connect it to buyers. The cookies they place are used to recognise the same browser across auctions and to stop the same advert appearing repeatedly.
  • Buyers of advertising space. Advertisers and their intermediaries, who decide which advert is shown and what it is worth to them.

To run the auction, your IP address, device type, and the address of the page you are viewing are sent to those partners. We do not send your name, email address, or anything you enter into the contact form to any advertising partner.

You can request the current list of partners through our contact page. The same list also appears in the ads.txt file at the root of this domain, an open file intended precisely for that purpose.

If you choose "No personalisation" on the cookie banner, the advertising auction is not run at all during your visit. No advertising partner cookies are placed, and the ad slots are left empty. The site's content remains fully readable.

Controlling cookies

Through your browser settings

Every modern browser lets you block or delete cookies. Be aware that blocking all cookies can affect how some sites work. Official instructions are available in the help pages for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.

Through your device settings

Android and iOS both offer options to limit tracking at the operating-system level, which applies to every app and site you open on that device.

What happens if you refuse cookies

Refusing non-essential cookies does not block your access to the content. What changes is:

  • We receive no analytics data from your visit.
  • Some display preferences may not persist between visits.
  • Adverts are not shown, because the auction is not run without your agreement.

Your choice is stored in this browser only. You can change it at any time through the cookie settings link, or by clearing this site's data from your browser.

Updates

The list of cookies may change as the partners and technologies we use change. We review this page periodically and show the date of the last update at the top.

Questions about our use of cookies can be sent through the contact form.