Cookie policy
Draft for legal review. The cookie names and retention periods below need confirming against the tags actually installed at launch. Anything not yet live is marked as such.
1. What cookies are
Cookies are small text files a site stores on your device. Some are needed for the site to function. Others record how the site is used, or help measure advertising. The same rules apply to similar technologies such as pixels, tags and local storage, and this policy covers those too.
2. How consent works here
Nothing beyond the essentials loads until you choose. On your first visit a banner appears with three options: accept everything, essential only, or manage each category yourself. Your choice is stored in your browser and remembered for 12 months, or until you change it.
We do not use cookie walls, we do not treat scrolling as consent, and rejecting non-essential cookies does not limit anything on the site.
3. The categories we use
| Category | What it does | Consent |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | Delivers pages, keeps the site secure, and remembers your cookie choice | Always on — no consent required |
| Analytics | Counts visits and shows which pages are read, in aggregate | Only with your consent |
| Advertising | Lets Meta, Google and LinkedIn tell us which ads brought visitors here | Only with your consent |
4. The cookies themselves
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
mm-consent |
McLeod Media | Stores your cookie choice so we stop asking | 12 months |
_ga, _ga_* |
Google Analytics 4 | Distinguishes visitors and sessions for aggregate reporting | Up to 24 months |
_fbp |
Meta | Attributes a visit to a Meta ad campaign | 3 months |
_gcl_au |
Conversion measurement for Google advertising | 3 months | |
bcookie, li_sugr, UserMatchHistory |
LinkedIn Insight Tag | Conversion measurement and audience matching for LinkedIn advertising | Up to 12 months |
| Kit (ConvertKit) | Kit | Records a newsletter signup and prevents duplicate submissions | Session and up to 12 months |
Third-party cookies are set by those providers under their own policies. Where a provider changes its cookie names or durations, this table follows at the next review.
5. Change your choice
You can change your cookie preferences at any time, for any reason, without giving one.
Withdrawing consent stops further collection. It does not delete data already collected — for that, see your rights in the privacy policy.
6. Browser controls
Your browser can block or delete cookies independently of the choice you make here. Blocking all cookies will break parts of most websites, including this one. Instructions live in each browser’s help pages — search for “cookies” in Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Edge settings.
You can also opt out of Google Analytics across all sites using Google’s browser add-on, and adjust ad personalisation in your Google, Meta and LinkedIn account settings.
7. Changes
When we add or remove a tag, this page is updated and the version number at the top changes. If the change is material, you will be asked for consent again.
Questions about any of this: support@mcleodmedia.co.uk.