Overview
This page explains what cookies and similar tracking technologies we use on walkinourshoes.org.uk, why we use them, and how you can control them.
The short version is: we do not use tracking cookies, advertising cookies, or analytics cookies. We use one essential storage token, which is described below. That is it.
What are cookies?
A cookie is a small text file that a website stores on your device when you visit. Cookies can be used for many purposes — remembering login sessions, tracking behaviour across sites, delivering targeted advertising, running analytics — but they can also be used for very simple, essential purposes such as remembering that you have dismissed a notice on the current page.
Modern websites also use similar technologies — browser local storage, session storage, and IndexedDB — for equivalent purposes. For simplicity, we use "cookie" in this policy to cover all of these, and we describe what we actually use below.
What we use
The only storage this site uses is a single local-storage token called wios_cookie_ack, which records whether you have dismissed the cookie notice that appears in the bottom of the page on your first visit. The token contains a single value — either present or absent. It does not identify you, does not record your IP address, and is not shared with any third party.
If you dismiss the cookie notice, the token is stored. On subsequent visits, we check for the token; if it is present, we do not show the cookie notice again. If you clear your browser's local storage, the token is removed and the notice will appear again on your next visit.
What we do not use
We do not use Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Meta Pixel, LinkedIn Insight, or any other third-party analytics or advertising platform. We do not use A/B testing tools or heatmap tools. We do not use cross-site tracking of any kind. We do not embed third-party social-media widgets that would set cookies on your device.
Our web server records standard access logs (IP address, timestamp, requested URL) for security and debugging purposes; these logs are retained for 30 days and then deleted, as set out in our Privacy Policy. Access logs are not cookies, but they are the only form of visitor data we retain at all.
Controlling cookies
Because we use only the essential cookie described above, and because that cookie does not identify you or track your behaviour, there is very little to control. If you would prefer that even this essential cookie is not stored, most browsers allow you to block local storage entirely for a given site. The specific steps depend on your browser — the settings can be found under "Privacy", "Cookies and site data", or a similarly named section in your browser's preferences.
If you block local storage, the cookie notice will re-appear on every visit, but the site will function normally in every other respect.
Third-party font hosting
This site loads web fonts from Google Fonts (fonts.googleapis.com and fonts.gstatic.com). Google's font-hosting service may set its own technical cookies as part of its operation. Please refer to Google's cookie policy at policies.google.com for details of what those may include. We use Google Fonts because it delivers fonts efficiently across the world, but we understand that some readers prefer to avoid it. If you use a browser extension that blocks Google Fonts, the site will fall back to your system's default serif and sans-serif fonts and remain fully readable.
Updates
We will update this cookie policy if our practice changes. As of the review date at the foot of this page, our practice is as described above: one essential local-storage token, no tracking, no advertising, no analytics, no cross-site tracking of any kind.
For any questions about this policy, please contact [email protected].