Cookie policy

Cookie policy

What is a cookie?

Cookies are small text files placed on your computer, mobile or tablet by websites that you visit. They help improve the functionality and performance of websites and provide website owners with information about how the site is being used. Cookies recognise a computer or device when a user returns to a website it has visited previously.

How does the Friends use cookies?

We use cookies to improve the experience of visitors to our website. They allow us to understand how our website is being used and monitor the performance of our marketing efforts. This means that we can invest in the most effective ways of communicating about our work and providing services to the communities we serve.

By using our website and social media pages, you agree that unless you have set your device’s browser to reject them, we can place cookies on your device.

Different types of cookies

Session and persistent

Cookies are either ‘session’ or ‘persistent’ cookies. Session cookies are temporary files which are deleted when you close your browser. If you restart your browser and return to the site, the website will not recognise you. A new session cookie will be generated each time you revisit the site.

Persistent cookies files stay on your device when you close your browser. You can delete them manually or your browser deletes them based on the time specified in its cookies file. They are used to improve functionality and help us understand how visitors use our website. They are also used to tailor the advertising that you see.

First and third party cookies

Whether a cookie is first or third party depends where it comes from. First party cookies are set by the website that you visit.

Third party cookies are external. They are delivered by an external provider on behalf of the website operator. These cookies are most commonly used for analysing the performance of a website and marketing. Some of the third parties allow you to manage their cookies independently, for example social media platforms.

We use our own cookies and others from companies we work with such as social media, search engines, advertising networks and business partners.

How can you disable cookies?

You can change your web browser’s settings to change what cookies appear or disable them altogether. Blocking cookies may mean that some parts of our website will not perform as well for you and you may not be able to complete certain activities or forms online.

The “Help” menu in the toolbar of most web browsers will tell you how to change your cookies settings. For more information about changing your cookie settings, we suggest you visit https://www.aboutcookies.org/. The website tells you how to do this for different web browsers.

Tracking

We may also use several third and first party tracking technologies, such as pixel tags, on our website. These help us track and improve user experience, marketing emails and allow us to monitor the performance of our marketing activity. These are not cookies.

Contact us

If you have any questions or concerns, would like more information, or to change your communications preferences, please contact us by emailing info@fofhc.org.uk