Introduction
Cookies
Cookies are small data or text files sent by a website’s server to a web browser, processor memory or hard drive and stored there. They can be used for a range of different purposes and for storing usage information.
We may update both our Cookie and our Privacy Policies from time to time and when we do we will communicate any changes to you and publish the updated Policy on our website. We would encourage you to visit our website regularly to stay informed of the purposes for which we process your information and your rights to control how we process it.
Policy Contents
Cookie Policy (GDPR 2018)
What is a cookie?
Cookies are small data or text files containing small amounts of information which are downloaded to your personal computer, mobile or other device when you visit a website. Cookies are then sent back to the originating website on each subsequent visit, or to another website that recognises that cookie. Cookies are useful because they allow a website to recognise a user's device and can be used for a range of different purposes such as customising a website for a particular user, helping a user navigate a website, improving that user's website experience and storing that user's preferences and login information.
How long are cookies stored for?
Cookies are usually classified as either 'session' or as 'persistent' depending on how long the cookie lasts, after it is stored (placed within your browser). Therefore the time each cookie lasts for can vary:
Session cookies:
session cookies last for as long as you keep your browser open. They expire when you close your browser.
Persistent cookies:
persistent cookies expire at a fixed point in time or if you manually delete them from your browser, whichever occurs first.
Essential and non-essential cookies
Cookies can be classed as either 'essential' or 'non-essential' depending on their exact use, function and purpose. Typically our website (as with most others) use both types of cookie in order to make your overall experience on our website more enjoyable.
Essential cookies:
sometimes called 'strictly necessary' cookies, these are cookies that are either used solely to carry out or facilitate the transmission of communications over a network; or strictly necessary to provide an online service (e.g. our website or a service on our website) which you have requested (for instance registering a new account or posting a reply to the forum area).
Non-essential cookies:
sometimes called 'performance and functionality' cookies, these are any other cookies that do not fall within the definition of essential cookies, such as cookies used to analyse your behaviour on our website ('analytical' cookies) or cookies used to display advertisements to you ('advertising' cookies).
First and third party cookies
Cookies are usually classified as either 'first party' or as 'third party' depending on who owns the cookie. All cookies have an owner which tells you who the cookie belongs to. The owner is always the domain specified in the cookie.
First party cookies:
these are cookies placed on your device by our website domain. These cookies allow us to gather anonymous demographic data about your overall experience with us. Because we own the cookies we control them and the data collected is restricted in line with our Privacy Policy. The data collected is never shared external to our company. Disabling first party cookies could have an adverse effect on your browsing experience such as not being able to login, post replies to the forum or purchase from the website.
Third party cookies:
these are cookies placed on your device by third party website domains. These cookies allow third parties to track the success of their application or customise the application for you. Because of how cookies work we cannot access these cookies, nor can the third parties access the data in cookies used on our site. You should check the relevant third party website for more information about their cookies and how to manage them. Disabling any third party cookie will have no adverse effect on your browsing experience as we only use third party cookies to advertise, for social sharing and for Google analytics.
Cookies used on our website
At AAD, we use cookies for a variety of reasons, such as to determine preferences, let users post topics, replies and navigate between pages efficiently, verify the user and carry out other essential security checks. Some of the functions that cookies perform can also be achieved using similar technologies. This policy refers to 'cookies' throughout, however it also covers these alternate mechanisms.
A list of the cookies used on the various pages throughout the AAD Consumer Forum is shown below:
| Cookie Name | Cookie Details |
|---|---|
| skimSESS, skimORIGIN, skimGUID, skimCSP | Owner: skimresources.com Type: Third Party / Non-essential Cookies Skimlinks is a content-to-commerce platform that help us, as a publisher, monetise our editorial content. We do this by placing discreet links into certain shopping items throughout the website. If you make a purchase using our link then we are paid a small commission. You can manage and control your cookie settings by utilising the Skimlinks Optimization Cookie. To check your rights please refer to the End-user Privacy Policy. |
| _ga, _gat, _gid | Owner: analytics.google.com Type: Third Party / Non-essential Cookies Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic through the AAD Consumer Forum. The information is anonymised and is only used to help us see what pages are popular and which pages are being clicked away from along with basic demographic information such as your browser details. You can learn more about how Google uses this information by reading their Privacy Policy. |
| __utma, __utmz, _ga, ads_prefs, auth_token, csrf_same_site_set, dnt, eu_cn, guest_id, kdt, mbox, personalization_id, remember_checked_on, tfw_exp, twid, lang | Owner: twitter.com Type: Third Party / Non-essential Cookies We use the twitter widget on certain pages throughout the website. These Tweets are ours and we use cookies to show certain Tweets to logged in members and provide other specific information to members of AAD. When you use Twitter, even if you’re just looking at Tweets, they may receive some personal information about you like the type of device you’re using and your IP address. You can control what information is shared with Twitter, if any by visiting their Privacy Policy and learning more. |
| PHPSESSID, bbcontentlist_perpage, bbcpsession, bbdiscussion_view, bbnp_notices_displayed, bbpassword, bbsessionhash, bbsitebuilder_active, bbuserid, bblastvisit, bblastactivity, bbforum_view, bbthread_lastview | Owner: all-about-debt.co.uk Type: First Party / Essential Cookies These are our cookies that are strictly necessary to provide an online service (e.g. our website or a service on our website) which you have requested (for instance registering a new account or replying to threads on the forum). Disabling these 'necessary' (first party) cookies will have an adverse effect on your browsing experience and you will not be able to login, read certain threads, reply to threads or start new topics on the forum or website. For full details read our Privacy Policy. |
Accept or reject cookies
There are a number of different ways in which you can accept or reject some or all cookies. Some of the main methods of doing so are described below. You are welcome to block the use of some or all of the cookies we use on our website however please be aware that doing so will impair our website and its functionality or may even render some or all of it unusable.
You should also be aware that clearing all cookies from your browser will also delete any cookies that are storing your preferences, for example, whether you have accepted cookies on a website or any cookies that are blocking other cookies.
You can find more detailed information about cookies and adjusting your browser settings by visiting www.allaboutcookies.org and www.youronlinechoices.eu.
Changing your browser settings:
You can accept or reject some or all cookies (for example, blocking all third party cookies) by adjusting your browser settings. If you do not know how to do this, the links below set out information about how to change your browser settings for some of the most commonly used web browsers:
Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on:
You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on which is available here.
Clear existing cookies:
To clear cookies that have previously been placed on your browser, you should select the option to clear your browsing history and ensure that the option to delete or clear cookies is included when you do so.
Some browsers, such as Chrome and Firefox, allow you to change your settings to browse in 'incognito' mode, limiting the amount of data placed on your machine and automatically deleting any persistent cookies placed on your device when you finish your browsing session. There are also many third party applications which you can add to your browser to block or manage cookies.
Policy Updated: May 2018
Site Information
Contact Information
If you'd like to discuss this policy or query anything in it, please send us a message using our Online Contact Form or contact us using the details below:
Data Protection
We are registered with the ICO as a data controller because we collect and store varying pieces of information when you use our website or contact us. Full details are available in our Privacy Policy.
Our Data Protection Registration Number is: Z3513615.