What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files placed on a users device when they visit a website. They allow a website to do things like transfer information between pages of the site, remembering settings from previous visits and analyse how users interact with a site to help improve their experience.
How we use cookies
We use cookies for several reasons including:
- to make the site work in a more convenient way to you (such as saving your shortlist between browser sessions)
- to help us know if we’re connecting the right people to the right cottage through analytics; and
- to let you be sociable in your browsing with Facebook, Instagram, Google Plus, Twitter and Pinterest.
Types of cookies
There are two types of cookies:
PERSISTENT COOKIES
These cookies stay on a users device between browsing sessions but have an expiration date set in the cookie. Each time a user visits the site where they were set, the browser sends the cookie to the website.
SESSION COOKIES
These cookies only stay on a user’s device while they are browsing a website, when the user closes their browser, they are deleted.
We use two categories of cookies:
CORE SITE COOKIES
These cookies are essential to the functioning of the website. They do not collect any personally identifiable information about you.
PHPSESSID (Session cookie) – Allows our site to anonymously identify users and transfer their requests for information between pages of the site in a secure manner.
ShortlistId (Persistent cookie) – Created only when you add a cottage to a shortlist or visit the ‘Your Shortlist’ page. This allows users who return to our site in the same web browser on the same device (computer/phone/tablet) to view their last shortlist without having to save it.
wwhc_cookies (Persistent cookie) – This is where your cookie permissions are stored.
PERFORMANCE COOKIES
Google Analytics (Persistent cookie) – This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses cookies to help analyse how users use the site. The anonymous information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) is transmitted to Google. Your IP address is anonymised before it is stored by Google. This information is then processed to compile reports on website activity for West Wales Holiday Cottages Ltd. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf.
You can opt-out of Google Analytics tracking by using the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.
We use advertising services from the following companies: Google, Bing, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. We use conversion tracking features of these services to help us understand the effectiveness of our marketing on those sites and services.
We use Hotjar in order to better understand our users’ needs and to optimize this service and experience. Hotjar is a technology service that helps us better understand our users’ experience (e.g. how much time they spend on which pages, which links they choose to click, what users do and don’t like, etc.) and this enables us to build and maintain our service with user feedback. Hotjar uses cookies and other technologies to collect data on our users’ behavior and their devices. This includes a device’s IP address (processed during your session and stored in a de-identified form), device screen size, device type (unique device identifiers), browser information, geographic location (country only), and the preferred language used to display our website. Hotjar stores this information on our behalf in a pseudonymized user profile. Hotjar is contractually forbidden to sell any of the data collected on our behalf.
For further details, please see the ‘about Hotjar’ section of Hotjar’s support site.
Managing cookies
It is possible to accept or reject certain types of cookies using the settings available in your web browser. If you delete cookies or set your browser to reject all cookies you may be unable to use core functions of some sites, including this one.
You can choose whether to allow performance cookies on our website below.
In most cases we will need your consent in order to use cookies on this website. The exception is where the cookie is essential in order for us to provide you with a service you have requested (eg to enable you to use our check-out process).
There is a notice on our home page which describes how we use cookies and which also provides a link to our website privacy and cookie policy. If you use this website after this notification has been displayed to you, we will assume that you consent to our use of cookies for the purposes described in this website cookie policy and our website privacy policy.
Please note, however, that if you delete cookies or refuse to accept them, you might not be able to use all of the features we offer, you may not be able to store your preferences, and some of our pages might not display properly.
Where can you find more information about cookies
You can learn more about cookies and the following third-party websites:
AllAboutCookies: http://www.allaboutcookies.org
Network Advertising Initiative: http://www.networkadvertising.org