This statement was last updated on 30 May 2018

What are cookies?
“Cookies” are small text files that are stored on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website.

They allow the website to recognise your device and remember if you have been to the website before. Cookies are widely used in order to make websites work more efficiently, as well as providing information to the owners of websites on site usage and performance.

There are different types of cookies. Necessary cookies enable a site’s core functionality – a website cannot function properly without these cookies. You can disable necessary cookies by changing your browser preferences. Analytical cookies measure the pages a customer visits on a website – website owners collect this information to make site improvements and report on site usage. Third party cookies can be used for advertising purposes. At this present time, no advertising is done.

How are cookies used on independentmercia.org?

Some of the cookies we use are essential for site functionality.

Other cookies help us to improve your website experience, including the content and technical performance of independentmercia.org, by providing insights into how the site is used. For example, they allow us to count the number of visitors to specific pages, and to analyse website usage patterns and trends.

The information we collect does not enable us to identify any website visitor personally. No individual data or personal information is stored in our cookies.

Measuring website usage (Google Analytics)

We use Google Analytics software to collect information about how you use independentmercia.org. We do this to help make sure the site is meeting the needs of its users and to help us make improvements, for example improving site search.

Google Analytics stores information about:

  • the pages you visit on independentmercia.org
  • how long you spend on independentmercia.org
  • how you got to the site
  • what you click on while you’re visiting the site

We do not collect or store your personal information (eg your name or address). We do not allow Google to use or share our analytics data.

Google Analytics sets the following cookies:

Universal analytics

Cookie name Purpose of the cookie Expires
_ga This helps us count how many people visit independentmercia.org by tracking if you’ve visited before 2 years
_gid This helps us count how many people visit independentmercia.org by tracking if you’ve visited before 24 hours
_gat Used to manage the rate at which page view requests are made 1 minute

JavaScript detection
We measure how many people visiting independentmercia.org are using JavaScript.

Cookie name Purpose of the cookie Expires
has_js This tells us if you are browsing independentmercia.org while running JavaScript Session cookie (when browser is closed)

Our introductory message
You may see a pop-up welcome message when you first visit independentmercia.org. We will store a cookie so that your computer knows you’ve seen it and knows not to show it again.

Cookie name Purpose of the cookie Expires
cookie-agreed Saves a message to let us know that you’ve seen our cookie message 4 months

Advertising
At this present time, no advertising is carried out so we do not collect cookies information from third party websites.