Cookie Notice

Last updated 28 July 2022

 

1. How we use cookies

This notice explains how we, LADbible Group Limited of 20 Dale Street, Manchester, M1 1EZ and our affiliated companies LADbible Australia Pty Limited, LADbible New Zealand Limited and LADbible Ireland Limited trading as LADbible, SPORTbible, GAMINGbible, UNILAD, Tyla and other brands (collectively, “LADbible”, “we”, “us”, “our”) process cookies and similar technologies (“you”, “your”) when you use our website, app, content or other services.

Our use of cookies may include processing of your personal data and we therefore recommend you also read our Privacy Notice, which can be found here

2. Consent

We rely on consent for our use of cookies which is managed via our consent management tool. Our use of cookies is further described in section 8 “Types of cookies and how we use them”.

You have full control and may at any time change or withdraw your consent to our use of cookies – See section 9 below “ How you can change your cookie settings, including opting out”.

 3. What are cookies and similar technologies?

These are technologies that enable us to store information, or access information stored, on your device such as your computer or smartphone.

  • Cookies are small text files sent to or accessed by your web browser which will enable you to better navigate our online services and features but also enable us to measure and improve engagement with our audiences. Cookies dropped on your device are used, for example, to recognise returning users .
  • Pixels or tags are tiny graphics files that are downloaded when you interact with our services. This will then alert us that you have opened an email, clicked on content or another similar action. These are typically used to capture interaction information and measure the relevance of our content.
  • Tracking URLs are custom generated links that help us understand where web traffic comes from.
  • Local storage is used to more efficiently manage the temporary storage of information that allows you to access our services on your device.
  • Digital fingerprint is used to recognise your device based on your device & browser data without relying on cookies. For this purpose, our partners including LiveRamp may collect your IP address, monitor settings, type of browser and operating system to create a unique serial number which constitutes a digital “fingerprint”.

4. Why do we use cookies and similar technologies?

Like most organisations with an online presence, we use cookies and similar technologies to:

  • provide our online content to you, which is not possible without certain essential cookies;
  • remember your settings and preferences to improve your experience, speed up your searches and recognise you when you return to our website(s);
  • understand our online traffic through analytics tools;
  • personalise our marketing and advertising including data enrichment; and
  • connect you with our social media

To accomplish this, we will, in certain cases, also link information from cookies and similar technologies with personal data held about you.

5. Whose cookies and similar technologies are deployed in connection with my device?

We will deploy cookies and similar technologies ourselves. However, our websites may also use cookies and similar technologies deployed by third parties.

For example, third party cookies will enable providers to find out how you used our services and combine that information with other third party information. Advertising cookies deployed by third-party service providers remember your browsing activity and group together your interests which they know, observe or infer, in order to send you personalised ads. Such personalisation is only possible because of profiling carried out with information collected through cookies and similar technologies. This may include your preferences, characteristics, behaviour, and attitudes. We manage our ads through a variety of digital marketing networks and advertisement exchanges and use a range of advertising technologies.

6. What are session cookies vs.persistent cookies?

Session cookies only last as long as your online session. This means they will disappear from your computer or device when you close your browser, and therefore sometimes referred to as temporary cookies. Typically, session cookies are used to remember what a user put in their basket when browsing a commerce site (such as LADstore).

Persistent cookies, sometimes called permanent cookies, are different. They will stay on your computer or device after you close your browser. These types of cookies will expire according to the time specified in the cookie. You can see the specific duration of each persistent cookie as detailed in section 11.

7. What’s the difference between first-party and third-party cookies?

 First party cookies are cookies that are set by the site you are visiting and it’s only this site that can access and read these cookies.

Third party cookies are set by someone other than the owner of the site you’re visiting. As an example, some pages have content from other sites such as YouTube. YouTube may set their own cookies on your browser when you play the video from YouTube. Cookies set by other sites and companies (i.e., third parties) can be used to track you on other sites that use the same third-party service.

We may engage third parties to assist with maintenance, operation, creation or functionality of our sites, e.g, analytics providers and content partners. We grant these third parties access to selected information to perform specific tasks on our behalf.

We are, as a general rule, along with providers of third-party cookies, independent controllers for the collection of personal data via such cookies. The provider of third-party cookies is a data controller for the processing of that personal data that is received from us. You can read more about our partners and third-party cookies in our privacy notice here

Our partners are listed in the “Site Vendors” tab which is accessible by selecting the settings option within the ‘Cookie banner’

8. Types of cookies and how we use them

Strictly necessary cookies

Strictly necessary cookies are required for the basic functionality of our sites to work. We use necessary cookies to make it possible for you to make full use of our sites and ensures the content on them works correctly.

We also use necessary cookies to help with ensuring you are given the option to accept or reject cookies, block non-necessary cookies from working until you give consent and remember your cookie settings and choices. The cookies also help keep track of, if, and when, you gave consent to analytical cookies, T&Cs and email marketing.

It’s not a requirement to accept nor is it possible to reject the use of strictly necessary cookies as they are core for the functionality of our sites.

For details of necessary cookies we use, what we use them for, the specific cookies providers and each cookie’s duration, please refer to the ‘Change Privacy Settings’ link at the bottom of our sites.

Analytical cookies

Analytical cookies gather statistics. We use this information to make our sites even better. The information collected via the analytical cookies track how you use our site during your visit. It helps us understand visitor usage patterns, identify, and diagnose problems or errors you may encounter and make better strategic decisions in improving the website experience.

We will only set analytical cookies on your device if you give us your consent.

For details of the analytical cookies we use, what we use them for, the specific cookie providers and each cookie’s duration, please refer to the ‘Change Privacy Settings’ link at the bottom of our sites.

Functionality cookies 

Functionality cookies collect information about your device and any settings you may configure, for the purpose of remembering these settings when you visit our sites (such as language and timezone settings or favourite content). With this information, sites can provide you with customised, enhanced or optimised content and services. Without these cookies, you will still be able to use our sites, however you may not receive the most optimised service.

We will only set functionality preference cookies on your device if you give us your consent.

For details of the functionality cookies we use, what we use them for, the specific cookie providers and each cookie’s duration, please refer to the ‘Change Privacy Settings’ link at the bottom of our sites.

Targeting cookies for marketing and advertising 

Targeting/advertising cookies are used to determine what promotional content is more relevant and appropriate to you and your interests. Sites may use them to deliver targeted advertising or to limit the number of times you see an advertisement (frequency capping). This helps companies improve the effectiveness of their campaigns and the quality of content presented to you.

These cookies may be set by our sites (first party) or by third-parties. Targeting/advertising cookies set by a third-parties may be used to track you on other sites that use the same third-party vendor.

We will only set advertising/targeting cookies on your device if you give us your consent.

For details of the advertising/targeting cookies we use, what we use them for, the specific cookie providers and each cookie’s duration, please refer to the ‘Change Privacy Settings’ link at the bottom of our sites.

9. How you can change your cookie settings, including opting out

 We always ask for your consent before placing cookies and similar technologies on your device, except for strictly necessary cookies.

Non-essential cookies  will be set if you accept cookies and similar technologies by selecting your choices in our consent management platform, accessible by the ‘Change Privacy Settings’ link at the bottom of our sites. As already mentioned, some cookies are set by third parties and your acceptance of cookies will extend to such third parties.

This means, for example, that if you chose to accept “Analytics” cookies we will feel encouraged to use Google Analytics and it will constitute consent for Google to deploy its cookies which collect statistical information about how users interact with our sites and content.

We also always give you the option to change your consent. Even if you consented to non-essential cookies at one point in time, you can always change your consent settings by accessing the ‘Change Privacy Settings’ accessible at the bottom of our sites.

It is also possible to configure your browser to refuse cookies from our sites. Most browsers are configured to accept cookies by default, but you can update these settings to either refuse cookies altogether, or to notify you when a site is trying to set or update a cookie. If you use multiple browsers and wish to block cookies or change or withdraw your consent, you’ll need to remember to do this in all browsers. You may also need to update your settings on each of your devices.

Although some cookies can be blocked with little impact on your experience of a site, blocking all cookies may mean you are unable to access certain features and content on that site.

While we try to ensure that your choices are fully respected, this may not always be possible, particularly where third parties are involved. For example, if you do not agree to “Social Media” cookies but you still interact with our Instagram plugins on our sites, Meta may set certain essential and non-essential cookies outside our control. As discussed below, you should read Meta’s privacy notice for more detail.

For this reason, aside from relying on our cookie settings, please also consider:

10. How long are cookies used?

The lifespan of each cookie may differ. We use both session and persistent cookies. Session cookies only last until you close your browser. Persistent cookies aren’t automatically deleted when you close your browser and they recognise returning users.

11. How often will we update this cookie notice?

We may update this cookie notice from time to time in order to reflect, for example, changes to the cookies we use or for other operational, legal or regulatory reasons. Please therefore re-visit this cookie notice regularly to stay informed about our use of cookies and similar technologies. The date at the start of this cookie notice indicates when it was last updated.

12. How can you contact us?

If you have any questions regarding the use of cookies on our sites, you can contact our Data Protection Officer at [email protected]