YOUR COOKIE DATA AND OTHER TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES
WHAT ARE COOKIES?
Cookies are useful because they allow a website to recognise a user’s device. Cookies are text files containing small amounts of information downloaded to your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. Cookies are then sent back to the originating website on each subsequent visit or to another website that recognises that cookie. You can find more information about cookies at:
www.allaboutcookies.org and www.youronlinechoices.eu
Cookies do many jobs, like letting you navigate between pages efficiently, remembering your preferences, and improving the user experience. They can also help ensure that the advertisements and other online content are more relevant to you and your interests. They can be set by the website you visit (known as first-party cookies) or by another entity, such as an advertising network (known as third-party cookies).
Cookies are safe to store on your computer, and almost all web browsers have cookie storing enabled as default. However, all browsers can disable cookies being stored on your computer if you wish to do this.
Please be aware that disabling cookies on your browser will reduce functionality across many websites. Learn how to change your browser’s cookie settings on our Cookie Control page.
Recent legislation from the European Union has meant that websites must provide transparent information about their use of cookies to their customers, something we at APF Business fully support. We want to ensure that you, as our valued customer, are fully aware of the use of cookies on our website, and we are proud of our reputation as a transparent and honest company that you can trust.
The cookies used on this website have been categorised based on the four categories found in the ICC UK Cookie guide. Below is a list of all the cookies used on this website by category. Within the four categories, cookies can either be session or persistent. Session cookies are temporary; once you close the browser window, they are deleted from your device. Persistent cookies remain on your device for longer and are used by the website to recognise your device when you return.
WHAT OTHER TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES DO APF BUSINESS USE?
We may also use web beacons (including conversion pixels) or other technologies for similar purposes, and we may include these on our sites, in marketing e-mail messages or in our newsletters to determine whether messages have been opened and links clicked on. Web beacons do not place information on your device but may work in conjunction with cookies to monitor website activity, and the information on cookies below also applies to web beacons and similar technologies.
WHAT IF I DO NOT WANT COOKIES?
Cookies should be enabled by default on your browser, so if you have not changed your settings, you should expect to be accepting cookies from websites you visit. By using our website, you agree that we can place cookies and similar technologies on your device, as explained below. If you want to remove existing cookies from your device, you can do this using your browser options. If you want to block future cookies from being placed on your device, you can change your browser settings to do this. For more information on managing cookies, see www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies
Please remember that deleting and blocking cookies will impact your user experience, as parts of the website may no longer work. Unless you have adjusted your browser settings to block cookies, our system will issue cookies as soon as you visit our website or click a link in a targeted email we have sent you, even if you have previously deleted our cookies.
You cannot remove or block web beacons or personalised URLs, as they form part of the content of web pages and emails rather than placing information on your device. However, as they work in conjunction with cookies, turning off cookies will also prevent web beacons from tracking your user activity on our site. The web beacon will still account for an anonymous visit, but your unique information will not be recorded.
WHAT TYPES OF COOKIES ARE THERE, AND WHICH ONES DOES THIS WEBSITE USE?
Strictly necessary cookies – These cookies are essential to enable you to move around the site and use its features, such as accessing secure website areas. Other websites use strictly necessary cookies to do things like provide users with services such as shopping baskets or e-billing. The services you have asked for cannot be provided without these cookies.
We categorise the following cookies as strictly necessary:
1. Registered Visitor Cookie – A unique identifier given to each registered user, used to recognise them through their visit and when they return to the website. (see also Functionality cookies below).
2. Performance cookies – These cookies collect information about how visitors use a website, for instance, which pages visitors go to most often, and if they get error messages from web pages. These cookies do not collect information that identifies a visitor. All information these cookies collect is anonymous and is only used to improve how a website works.
We categorise the following as performance cookies:
Referrer URL (internal page) – Used to store the URL of the previous page visited. Allows us to track how visitors navigate through our website.
Referrer URL (external page, including if you click on links on APF Business social media pages). We are used to storing the URL which refers a visitor to our website so we may understand what URLs are referring visitors to our website.
URL history – Used to store the page visited by a user before that user submits a form. Also, it is used to display recently viewed articles to each visitor.
Unregistered Visitor Cookie – A unique identifier given to each visitor to allow an analysis of how unregistered visitors use our website.
Session management cookies – These cookies allow us to follow the actions of a user during a browser session. A browser session starts when a user opens the browser window and finishes when they close it. Once you close your browser, our session management cookies are deleted. Our session management cookies are created temporarily.
Functionality cookies – We currently do not use Functionality Cookies on the apf-business.co.uk website.
On other websites, these cookies allow a website to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. For instance, a website may be able to provide you with local information or news by storing in a cookie the region in which you are currently located. These cookies can also be used to remember changes you have made to text size, font and other parts of web pages that you can customise. They may also be used to provide services you have asked for, such as watching a video or commenting on a blog. These cookies cannot track your browsing activity on other websites. They do not gather any information about you that could be used for advertising or remembering where you have been on the internet outside our website.
Targeting cookies – We currently do not use Targeting Cookies on the bio.uk.com website. Other websites use these cookies to deliver advertisements that are targeted to be relevant to you; limit the number of times you see an advertisement; help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaign, and understand people’s behaviour after they view an ad. They are usually placed by advertising networks with the website operator’s permission. They remember that you have visited a website, and this information is shared with other organisations, such as advertisers. They will often be linked to website functionality provided by the other organisation.
At APF Business, we do not have third-party advertising on our website, but these cookies may be used on third-party websites, and third parties may use them on our website as follows:
- Third-party social media websites may log information about you, for example, if you click an “Add This” or “Like” button for a social media website while on our website. We do not control such websites or their activities. You may find information about social media websites on the websites themselves. We recommend that you read the terms of use and privacy policy of such websites before using them.
- If you click on an APF Business advertisement on a non-APF Business website, a cookie may be used to log which website you are on, ensure our advertisements are served effectively and measure whether our advertisements are viewed.
- We may place third-party widgets on our website to enable users to share content from our website with others through social media websites, such as LinkedIn and Twitter. If you share via these networks, you may have cookies on your computer. These cookies are not something we control and are sent to you by the third-party site you share through – please check the relevant network’s policy on privacy and cookies for further information.
- We may use reputable third parties to gather and provide us with information about our website and advertising audiences and to deliver targeted advertisements on third-party sites. These third parties only use anonymous identifiers and have no way of associating these identifiers with identifiable users.
Use of cookies for marketing and analytics – We may use information collected from our cookies to identify user behaviour, serve content and offers based on your profile, and for the other purposes described below.
Some cookies we use don’t collect information identifying a visitor. For example:
- Performance cookies (see above)
- Targeting cookies (see above) where you are not a registered user
In other cases, we can associate cookie information (including information from cookies placed via our advertisements on third-party sites) with an identifiable individual. For example:
- If a user is a registered user (see Registered Visitor Cookie above)
- If we send you a targeted email, which includes web beacons, cookies or similar technologies, we will know whether you open, read, or delete the message.
- When you click a link in a marketing e-mail you receive from APF Business, we will also use a cookie to log what pages you view and what content you download from our websites, even if you are not registered or signed into our site.
Non-cookie tracking technologies – APF Business may also employ technologies that perform similar functions to cookies but may not respond to browser settings intended for cookies. These include personalised URLs (PURLs), web beacons, and other similar technologies.