1. What cookies are
A cookie is a small text file that a website stores on your device so that it can recognise your browser on later requests. Local storage works in a similar way but is held by the browser rather than sent with every request. Both are covered by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 in the United Kingdom, which require consent for any storage that is not strictly necessary to provide a service you have asked for.
2. How consent works on this site
When you first visit, a banner offers three choices. "Accept All" allows every category below. "Reject Non-Essential" allows only the essential category. "Preferences" opens a panel where you can allow analytics and functional cookies separately and save your selection. Your choice is stored in your browser's local storage under the key bddy-cookie-choice so that the banner does not reappear on every page. Analytics and functional cookies are set only after you have allowed them; until you make a choice, only essential storage is used. To change your choice, clear the site's data in your browser and the banner will appear again on your next visit.
3. The cookies we use
| Category | Name or type | Purpose | Duration | Consent needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | bddy-cookie-choice (local storage) | Records which cookie categories you have allowed so the banner is not shown again. | Until you clear your browser storage | No |
| Essential | Hosting provider security cookies | Set by our hosting provider to protect the site from abuse and to balance load between servers. | Session, or up to 12 months | No |
| Analytics | Analytics measurement cookies | Count page views, distinguish returning from new visitors, and record how visitors arrive at and move around the site, in aggregated form. | Up to 26 months | Yes |
| Functional | Form and preference storage | Remember details you have entered in the contact form and any display preferences, so that you do not need to re-enter them. | Up to 12 months | Yes |
If we add a cookie that does not fit the categories above, we will update this table before it is set.
4. Analytics in more detail
Analytics cookies, when allowed, tell us which guides are read most, how long visitors spend on them and which pages lead to others. We use the results to decide which sheets to expand or correct. The data is aggregated and we do not use it to identify individuals or to build advertising profiles. If you reject analytics, the site works identically; we simply see less about how it is used.
5. Blocking cookies in your browser
Every mainstream browser lets you view, delete and block cookies and site data. In Chrome, Edge and other Chromium-based browsers, look under Settings, then Privacy and security, then Cookies and other site data. In Firefox, under Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Cookies and Site Data. In Safari on a Mac, under Settings, then Privacy; on iPhone and iPad, under Settings, then Safari. Blocking all cookies may mean the banner appears on every visit, because the site cannot remember your choice; the guides themselves will still load.
6. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control
Some browsers send a Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control signal. Because we do not set analytics or functional cookies without your explicit choice in the banner, these signals do not change how the site behaves, but we do not use them to override a choice you have made.
7. Contact
Questions about this policy can be sent to [email protected] or by post to Northlight Notebook Publishing Ltd, Second Floor, Corbel Works, 27 Marlpit Street, Ancoats, Manchester M4 6HJ, United Kingdom.