Cookie Policy

1. What are cookies?

A cookie is a small text file placed on your device by a website you visit. Cookies are widely used to make websites work, or work more efficiently, and to provide information to the site operator and to third-party services used by the site (for example, analytics and advertising).

Cookies set directly by the website you are visiting are called first-party cookies. Cookies set by other domains (for example, an embedded analytics or advertising service) are called third-party cookies. Both types can be either session cookies (deleted when you close your browser) or persistent cookies (stored for a defined period).

2. Categories of cookies we use

a) Strictly necessary

These cookies are required for the basic operation of the site — for example, to remember that you have dismissed a notice, to maintain a session, or to help protect the site against abuse. They do not track you across sites and are not used for advertising. You cannot turn these off without breaking parts of the site; most browsers allow you to block them, but the site may not function correctly.

b) Analytics (performance)

The site uses Google Analytics to understand how visitors find and use the site in aggregate. Google Analytics cookies typically include identifiers such as _ga and _ga_<property-id>, set by the domain google-analytics.com. We configure Google Analytics to anonymise IP addresses where supported. Analytics data is used to inform editorial and technical improvements. You can opt out of Google Analytics across the web by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

c) Advertising (including Google AdSense)

The site may display advertisements served by Google AdSense and its advertising partners. Those services use cookies and similar identifiers to:

• Serve ads based on your visits to this site and other sites on the Internet (behavioural advertising).
• Measure ad delivery and performance.
• Limit how often you see the same ad (frequency capping).
• Detect and prevent invalid traffic and fraud.

You can manage personalised advertising through Google Ad Settings and the industry opt-out pages listed below.

d) Functional

Where the site offers interactive features (such as remembering a preference for dark mode or for a specific chart view), functional cookies or local-storage entries may be used. These are only placed to support features you have used and are not shared with advertising networks.

3. Third parties that may place cookies on your device

• Google Analytics (Google LLC) — performance and usage measurement. See Google's cookies and similar technologies page.
• Google AdSense and its ad-serving partners (Google LLC, when enabled) — ad selection, delivery, and measurement. See Google's advertising policies.
• Content delivery or hosting providers — may set cookies related to security and performance (for example, to distribute traffic across servers or to identify bots).

4. How to control cookies

In your browser

All mainstream browsers let you see, block, or delete cookies. Look for "Privacy," "Privacy and security," or "Site settings" in your browser's preferences. You can also set the browser to reject third-party cookies specifically; this will disable most advertising tracking without breaking site functionality. Private-browsing modes typically discard cookies at the end of the session.

Industry opt-out tools

• Google Ads Settings — manage personalised advertising across Google services: adssettings.google.com.
• YourOnlineChoices (EU) — opt out of behavioural advertising from participating companies: youronlinechoices.com.
• Digital Advertising Alliance (US) — opt out of participating advertisers: aboutads.info/choices.
• Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada — youradchoices.ca/choices.

Consent and withdrawal

Where our cookie consent tool is displayed (typically in European jurisdictions that require it), you can accept, reject, or adjust your preferences at any time using the tool itself. Declining non-essential cookies will not prevent you from reading the site's content; it may reduce the relevance of any advertising you see.

5. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control

Some browsers transmit "Do Not Track" (DNT) or Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals. Because there is no single industry standard for DNT, we do not rely on it alone; where we are required to honour GPC (for example, under certain U.S. state privacy laws), we do so for supported categories of data sharing.

6. Changes to this policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time. When we do, the "Effective" date at the top of this page will change. Material changes — such as adding a new category of cookies or a new third-party service — will be signalled on the home page or in a site-wide notice.

7. Contact

Questions about cookies and tracking: [email protected].