Cookie Policy
Last updated 1 August 2026
We use one analytics tool on this site and nothing else. It doesn’t run unless you say yes, and you can change your mind whenever you like. Here’s the detail.
The Short Version
- We use Google Analytics to understand how this site is used, so we can make it better.
- It only runs if you agree to it in the banner. Say no and it never loads — nothing is tracked.
- We don’t advertise to you, we don’t track you across other websites, and there’s no Facebook or social media tracking on this site.
- You can change your choice at any time using the “Cookie settings” link in the footer of any page.
If that’s all you needed, that’s genuinely all of it. The rest of this page is the detail.
What Cookies Are
A cookie is a small text file a website asks your browser to store on your device. Some are needed just to make a site work. Others — like the ones we’re asking about — are used to count visits and see how people move around a site. The same rules cover similar technologies that read or write information on your device, whatever they’re called.
The Cookies We Use
Cookies that don’t need your permission
These are set regardless, because without them the site can’t do what you’ve asked. They don’t track you.
| Name | Who sets it | What it does | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
cc_cookie | Above (this site) | Remembers whether you said yes or no to analytics cookies, so we don’t ask you again on every page | 6 months |
cc_cookie
Above (this site)
Remembers whether you said yes or no to analytics cookies, so we don’t ask you again on every page
6 months
Our website host may also set short-lived technical cookies needed to keep the site secure and working properly.
Cookies we only set if you agree
These are the Google Analytics cookies. Decline, and none of them are set.
| Name | Who sets it | What it does | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga | Google Analytics | Tells one visitor apart from another, so repeat visits aren’t counted as new people | Up to 2 years — in practice most browsers shorten this, to around 13 months in Chrome, Edge and Firefox, and as little as 7 days in Safari |
_ga_* | Google Analytics | Keeps track of the current visit — when it started, and whether you’re still in it | Same as above |
_ga
Google Analytics
Tells one visitor apart from another, so repeat visits aren’t counted as new people
Up to 2 years — in practice most browsers shorten this, to around 13 months in Chrome, Edge and Firefox, and as little as 7 days in Safari
_ga_*
Google Analytics
Keeps track of the current visit — when it started, and whether you’re still in it
Same as above
That’s the full list. If we ever add anything else, this page gets updated before it goes live.
What We Do With the Analytics
If you agree, Google Analytics tells us things like how many people visited, which pages they looked at, roughly how long they stayed, whether they were on a phone or a computer, and roughly where in the country they were. It’s reported to us as numbers and patterns, not as individuals — we can’t look at it and tell that it was you.
We use it for one thing: working out what’s useful on this site and what isn’t, so we can improve it. We don’t use it to advertise to you, we haven’t switched on Google’s advertising features, and we don’t combine it with your enquiry or your customer record.
Google collects this information on our behalf and reports it back to us, and under Google’s own terms Google may also use it for its own purposes — which is the reason we ask your permission rather than assuming it. Some of the information is transferred to and handled by Google outside the UK, including in the United States. Our Privacy Policy explains the safeguards that covers, and how to get a copy of them.
Google holds the detailed, visit-level information for 2 months and then deletes it. The overall totals in our reports are aggregated numbers that can’t be traced back to anyone, and those stay.
Why We Ask, When Some Sites Don’t
The rules changed in February 2026. Some analytics no longer need consent — where a site is counting visits purely to improve itself, and nobody else gets to use the data.
Google Analytics doesn’t fall into that. It’s a third-party service, and Google’s own terms let Google use the information for its own purposes as well as ours, so it sits outside the exemption. That’s why we ask, and why nothing loads until you’ve answered. We’d rather ask and be straight about it than take the benefit of a rule that doesn’t apply to us.
Changing Your Mind
You can change your choice at any time using the “Cookie settings” link in the footer of any page. It’s free and it takes one click. Turning analytics off stops any further information being collected.
You can also clear or block cookies in your browser directly — every major browser lets you do this, usually under Settings, then Privacy. Blocking all cookies may stop parts of some websites working properly, though it won’t break this one.
If you’d like the analytics cookies you’ve already got removed, clearing cookies for this site in your browser will do it.
Changes to This Policy
If the cookies on this site change, we’ll update this page — and if anything new needs your permission, we’ll ask again rather than assume.
Last updated: 1 August 2026
Questions about any of this: aboveplumbingandheating@hotmail.com.