Privacy Policy
INTRODUCTION:
The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) requires website operators to provide information about the cookies that it uses on its website(s) and in some instances to obtain the consent of website users to the use of those cookies. Like many other web site operators Amanda Walker Ltd. uses cookies for a variety of purposes and it is our intention to use cookies in a fair and reasonable manner, and in such a way as to be un-intrusive with regard to your privacy. The purpose of this policy is to provide clear and comprehensive information to web site users about the types of cookies we use, the steps that we have taken to comply with the law, and the impact of the cookies that we use on your privacy.
WHAT ARE COOKIES?
Cookies are small text files that a website places on the hard disk of a website user’s computer. The cookie file contains a small amount of information set by the web page server. Cookies are used for a variety of purposes such as remembering settings that personalise your web browsing experience. For example, you may want a website to remember you so that you do not have to log in every time you visit it. This functionality is achieved by the website placing a cookie on your computer containing some data that the website recognises as your settings or preferences when your computer visits it.
Cookies are not computer programs, they cannot be used to disseminate viruses they cannot be executed as code and they have no intelligence – they are simply small pieces of text containing information which allows the web site to identify a user’s computer.
WHY ARE COOKIES USED?
Cookies essentially fulfil four main purposes. It is possible for a single cookie to fulfil more than one purpose. These purposes are:
Cookies that are necessary to provide a service requested by the user (e.g. a cookie that is set to enable a shopping basket to be compiled in a web shop) called “strictly necessary cookies”;
Cookies which are designed to improve how a website works by collecting anonymous data about topics like how visitors use a website (e.g. which pages visitors go to most often) called “performance cookies”;
Cookies that remember the choices you make when you visit a webpage such as language, name, location, and font size to enhance website functionality called “functionality cookies”;
Cookies that store information about a user’s browsing behaviour and are then used to tailor content which are called “targeting or advertising cookies”. These types of cookies can be used to target users with banner advertising that the web site operator thinks may be of interest to the user based on the user’s browsing habits recorded in the cookie. These cookies are often placed by advertising networks and often share information with third parties such as advertisers.
What types of cookies do we use? Examples of the cookies that we use on our website are shown in the table below. The precise cookies may vary from time to time.
STRICTLY NECESSARY COOKIES
The cookies below allow our website to function correctly. With each cookie is a description of its function and its expiry.
| Cookie(s) | Purpose | Expiry |
|
wc_cart_created
wc_cart_hash_# woocommerce_cart_hash woocommerce_items_in_cart
|
Necessary for the shopping cart functionality on the website to remember the chosen products. This allows the website to promote related products to the visitor, based on the content of the shopping cart. | Session |
| wp_woocommerce_session_# | Contains a unique code for each customer so that it knows where to find the cart data in the database for each customer. | 1 Day |
|
wc_fragments_#
|
Stores a visitor’s login information so they do not need to keep logging in if the browser is closed. | Session |
| PHPSESSID | A PHP session cookie stores user information on the server for later use (i.e. shopping items, etc). However, session information is temporary and will be deleted after the user has left the website. | Session |
| DYNSRV | This cookie is used for load balancing to manage server traffic demand. | Session |
FIRST PARTY PERFORMANCE, TARGETING OR ADVERTISING COOKIES
We use these types of cookies for collecting information about visitors to the website, in order to make decisions to improve website performance and to increase traffic volumes.
We use some Google Analytics and Hotjar cookies. These cookies help us to improve the way our website works, for example by making sure visitors are finding what they need easily.
Read Google’s privacy statement here. Hotjar’s statement can be found here.
| Cookie(s) | Purpose | Expiry |
|
Google Analytics
_ga,
|
Used to distinguish users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. | 2 years |
| _gid | Performance cookie to store and update a unique value for each page visited. | 1 Day |
| _gat | Used to throttle request rate. If Google Analytics is deployed via Google Tag Manager, this cookie will be named _dc_gtm_<property-id>. | 1 Minute |
|
Hotjar
_hjClosedSurveyInvites |
This cookie is set once a visitor interacts with a Survey invitation modal popup. It is used to ensure that the same invite does not re-appear if it has already been shown. | 365 Days |
| _hjDonePolls | This cookie is set once a visitor completes a poll using the Feedback Poll widget. It is used to ensure that the same poll does not re-appear if it has already been filled in. | 365 Days |
| _hjMinimizedPolls | This cookie is set once a visitor minimises a Feedback Poll widget. It is used to ensure that the widget stays minimises when the visitor navigates through your site. | 365 days |
| _hjDoneTestersWidgets | This cookie is set once a visitor submits their information in the Recruit User Testers widget. It is used to ensure that the same form does not re-appear if it has already been filled in. | 365 Days |
| _hjMinimizedTestersWidgets | This cookie is set once a visitor minimises a Recruit User Testers widget. It is used to ensure that the widget stays minimizes when the visitor navigates through your site. | 365 Days |
| _hjIncludedInSample | This session cookie is set to let Hotjar know whether that visitor is included in the sample which is used to generate funnels. | 365 Days |
| _hjShownFeedbackMessage | This cookie is set when a visitor minimises or completes Incoming Feedback. This is done so that the Incoming Feedback will load as minimised immediately if they navigate to another page where it is set to show. | 365 Days |
MANAGING COOKIES VIA YOUR BROWSER
The majority of web browsers (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari etc.) will allow you to manage the cookies you accept via your browser settings.
Depending on your browser, further information can be obtained via the following links:
Firefox – http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Cookies
Edge – https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/insider/forum/insider_internet-insider_spartan/how-to-view-and-manage-cookies-in-microsoft-edge/67b3a495-554e-4f1d-995e-93d0ea6882a6
Google Chrome – http://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=95647
Safari – https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/safari/manage-cookies-and-website-data-sfri11471/mac
Mobile phone users may have to refer to their handset manual for details on how to manage cookies using their mobile browser.
FURTHER INFORMATION
For more information about our website, privacy or cookies please contact:
Mark Walker
(e) mark@amandawalker.co.uk
Amanda Walker Limited
Unit 4
Hatton Rock Business Park
Stratford-on-Avon
CV37 0BX