1. What are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit. They are widely used in order to make websites work, or more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site. This notice explains the cookies we use and why.
Our website and Virtual Lucy Platform (Platform) use cookies to distinguish you from other users. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website or use the Platform and also allows us to make improvements.
These cookies remain stored on your device until such a time that the cookie expires or is manually deleted. This allows for the information stored within the cookie to be sent back as part of any subsequent interactions you have with the issuing website or Platform. This exchange of information allows our website and Platform to remember basic information about you, such as whether you have visited before or whether you are ‘logged in’.
2. What cookies do we use?
Different types of cookies are used to do different things:
- Strictly necessary cookies: These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website and Platform. These essential cookies are always enabled because our website or Platform won’t work properly without them. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas. You can switch off these cookies in your browser settings, but you may then not be able to access all or parts of our website.
- Analytical or performance cookies: These allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website and Platform when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website and Platform works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.
- Functional Cookies: These are used to recognise you when you return to our website or Platform. This enables us to personalise our content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences (for example, your choice of language or region).
- Advertisement Cookies: These cookies record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make our website, and the advertising displayed on it, more relevant to your interests.
3. Our cookie consent banner
We only use (and store) non-essential cookies on your computer’s browser or hard drive if you provide your consent.
You can find more information about the individual cookies we use and the purposes for which we us them in our cookie consent banners on our website and Platform. All cookie expiration periods are listed there.
You can opt-out of each cookie category (except strictly necessary cookies) via the cookie consent banner on your first visit to the website or Platform and you can update your preference at any time by clicking on the ‘cookie button’ labelled ‘consent preferences’ which appears on each website or Platform page.
You can also choose to “Reject All” cookies in the cookie banner.
You can also block some or all cookies by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. However, if you use your browser settings to block all cookies (including essential cookies) you may not be able to access all or parts of our website or Platform.
4. Third party cookies
Please note that the following third parties may also use cookies, over which we have no control. These named third parties may include, for example, advertising networks and providers of external services like embedded video. These third-party cookies are likely to be analytical cookies, performance cookies or advertisement cookies:
- YouTube
- Google Analytics
To deactivate the use of third-party advertising cookies, you may visit the relevant third-party consumer page to manage the use of these types of cookies.
We do not share the information collected by the cookies with any third partities.
If you have any questions or concerns about our use of cookies, please send us an email at compliance@hbsuk.co.uk.
