Cookie policy
Updated 29 September 2020
What are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files (letters and numbers) that are stored on your browser or the hard drive of your computer, if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer’s hard drive. They are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to us about the people who use our sites.
How do we use them?
Our websites use cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website and to provide you with a good experience when you browse our websites.
What types of Cookies do we use?
We use the following cookies:
- Strictly necessary cookies: these cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.
- Performance cookies: these cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
- Targeting cookies: these cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
The table below shows the cookies we use and their function:
| Name | Duration | Set by | Type | details |
| _ga | PERSISTENT (730 days) | opml.co.uk | Performance Cookies | This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics - which is a significant update to Google's more commonly used analytics service. This cookie is used to distinguish unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. It is included in each page request in a site and used to calculate visitor, session and campaign data for the sites analytics reports. By default it is set to expire after 2 years, although this is customisable by website owners. |
| _gat_UA-nnnnnnn-nn | PERSISTENT (zero days) | opml.co.uk | Performance Cookies | This is a pattern type cookie set by Google Analytics, where the pattern element on the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to. It appears to be a variation of the _gat cookie which is used to limit the amount of data recorded by Google on high traffic volume websites. |
| _gid | PERSISTENT (one day) | opml.co.uk | Performance Cookies | This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics. This appears to be a new cookie and as of Spring 2017 no information is available from Google. It appears to store and update a unique value for each page visited. |
| __cfduid | PERSISTENT (30 days) | opml.co.uk | Strictly Necessary Cookies | Cookie associated with sites using CloudFlare, used to speed up page load times. According to CloudFlare it is used to override any security restrictions based on the IP address the visitor is coming from. It does not contain any user identification information. |
| OptanonAlertBoxClosed | PERSISTENT (365 days) | opml.co.uk | Strictly Necessary Cookies | This cookie is set by websites using certain versions of the cookie law compliance solution from OneTrust. It is set after visitors have seen a cookie information notice and in some cases only when they actively close the notice down. It enables the website not to show the message more than once to a user. The cookie has a one year lifespan and contains no personal information. |
| OptanonConsent | PERSISTENT (365 days) | opml.co.uk | Strictly Necessary Cookies | This cookie is set by the cookie compliance solution from OneTrust. It stores information about the categories of cookies the site uses and whether visitors have given or withdrawn consent for the use of each category. This enables site owners to prevent cookies in each category from being set in the users browser, when consent is not given. The cookie has a normal lifespan of one year, so that returning visitors to the site will have their preferences remembered. It contains no information that can identify the site visitor. |
| bcookie | PERSISTENT (730 days) | linkedin.com | Targeting Cookies | This domain is owned by LinkedIn, the business networking platform. It typically acts as a third party host where website owners have placed one of its content sharing buttons in their pages, although its content and services can be embedded in other ways. Although such buttons add functionality to the website they are on, cookies are set regardless of whether or not the visitor has an active Linkedin profile, or agreed to their terms and conditions. For this reason it is classified as a primarily tracking/targeting domain. |
| bscookie | PERSISTENT (730 days) | www.linkedin.com | Targeting Cookies | This domain is owned by LinkedIn, the business networking platform. It typically acts as a third party host where website owners have placed one of its content sharing buttons in their pages, although its content and services can be embedded in other ways. Although such buttons add functionality to the website they are on, cookies are set regardless of whether or not the visitor has an active Linkedin profile, or agreed to their terms and conditions. For this reason it is classified as a primarily tracking/targeting domain. |
| GPS | PERSISTENT (zero days) | youtube.com | Targeting Cookies | YouTube is a Google owned platform for hosting and sharing videos. YouTube collects user data through videos embedded in websites, which is aggregated with profile data from other Google services in order to display targeted advertising to web visitors across a broad range of their own and other websites. |
| IDE | PERSISTENT (390 days) | doubleclick.net | Targeting Cookies | This domain is owned by Doubleclick (Google). Doubleclick is Google's real-time bidding advertising exchange. |
| lang | SESSION | linkedin.com | Targeting Cookies | This domain is owned by LinkedIn, the business networking platform. It typically acts as a third party host where website owners have placed one of its content sharing buttons in their pages, although its content and services can be embedded in other ways. Although such buttons add functionality to the website they are on, cookies are set regardless of whether or not the visitor has an active Linkedin profile, or agreed to their terms and conditions. For this reason it is classified as a primarily tracking/targeting domain. |
You will need to either accept or decline the cookies we use. To enrich our content, we may embed video content from websites such as YouTube, and audio content from sites such as Soundcloud. As a result, when you view content embedded from these sites, they may set a cookie.
Embedded 'share' buttons enable users of the site to easily share articles with their friends through a number of popular social networks, for example, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. These sites may set a cookie when you are also logged in to their service.
OPM does not control the dissemination of these cookies and you should check the relevant third-party website for more information about these.
How do I change my cookie settings?
When you first visit our site, you will be given the option to accept cookies, or to view more details. If you choose the latter option, you’ll be give options to accept or refuse performance or targeting cookies – your choice will be recorded by a strictly necessary cookie, which will record your choice for 365 days, after which you will again be given the option to set your preferences.
You can also block cookies by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. The Help function within your browser should tell you how to do this. Alternatively, you may wish to visit www.aboutcookies.org which contains comprehensive information on how to do this on a wide variety of browsers. You will also find details on how to delete cookies from your device as well as more general information about cookies.
Please be aware that restricting cookies may impact on the functionality and your experience of websites.
Changes to Our Cookie Policy
Any changes to our Cookie Policy will be posted on our website.
For more information on how your personal data is used whilst visiting out site please see our website privacy policy.
Contact
Any queries or concerns about the use of cookies on this website should be sent by email to @email