UK Tech News, a leading technology news platform based in London, has released an updated Cookie Policy effective from 4 June 2025. The policy applies to all citizens and legal permanent residents of the United Kingdom and reflects the latest changes in data protection regulations, particularly under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).
What Are Cookies and Why Do They Matter?
Cookies are small text files stored on a user's device by a website. They play a crucial role in ensuring websites function properly, remembering user preferences, and providing relevant advertising. However, concerns over privacy and data tracking have led to stricter regulations worldwide. The UK's departure from the EU has introduced its own set of rules, which UK Tech News must adhere to.
The updated policy defines cookies, scripts, and web beacons. A script is a piece of program code that makes the website interactive, while a web beacon (or pixel tag) is an invisible image used to monitor traffic and user behaviour. These technologies together form the foundation of modern web analytics and personalisation.
Types of Cookies Used
The policy breaks down cookies into several categories:
- Technical or functional cookies – Essential for the website to work, such as remembering login status or shopping cart items. These do not require user consent.
- Statistics cookies – Used to analyse how visitors use the site, helping optimise the user experience. UK Tech News now asks for permission before placing these.
- Advertising cookies – Personalise adverts based on browsing behaviour. They create a profile linked to a unique ID to limit ad repetition. Consent is required.
- Marketing/Tracking cookies – Broader tracking across sites for marketing purposes. Again, user permission is mandatory.
- Social media cookies – Embedded content from Facebook, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter) can place cookies that may process data for personalised advertising. These third parties are based in the United States.
Third-Party Services and Their Cookies
The policy lists numerous third-party services that set cookies on the UK Tech News website. Each service has its own purpose and data-sharing practices.
Google Various Services
Google provides both functional cookies (e.g., google_auto_fc_cmp_setting for consent preferences) and marketing cookies (e.g., __gpi for ad targeting). Google's privacy statement is linked for further details.
CloudFlare
CloudFlare serves as a content distribution network (CDN) and sets functional cookies like mirage_cache_manifest and __cf_bm (to filter bot traffic). No explicit consent is needed for these strictly functional cookies.
Criteo
Criteo is used for remarketing and places marketing cookies such as cto_bundle (13-month duration) and several cookies pending investigation. Users must consent to these.
Google Analytics
A widely used analytics service, Google Analytics sets Statistics cookies including _ga (2 years), _ga_ (1 year), _gid (1 day), and _gat_gtag_UA_ (1 minute). These track page views and store a unique user ID. UK Tech News now asks for explicit permission before enabling these.
PHP
PHP, a server-side scripting language, places functional cookies like exp to provide cross-page functions. Data is not shared with third parties.
Complianz
Complianz handles cookie consent management and sets a wide range of functional cookies (all with 365-day expiration) that store preferences, banner status, and detected cookie information. This ensures users' consent choices are remembered.
One Signal
For push notifications, One Signal uses marketing cookies (isPushNotificationsEnabled, isOptedOut) and purpose-pending cookies like onesignal-notification-prompt. Consent is required.
Google reCAPTCHA
Used for spam prevention, reCAPTCHA sets functional (_grecaptcha) and marketing cookies (rc::a, rc::b, rc::c) that read and filter bot requests.
WordPress
As the underlying CMS, WordPress sets multiple functional cookies for user preferences, logged-in status, and language settings. These do not require consent.
Stripe
For payment processing, Stripe sets the functional cookie __stripe_mid (1 year) for fraud prevention.
HubSpot
HubSpot combines marketing, statistics, and functional cookies. Marketing cookies (__hstc, hubspotutk) store visit time and visitor identity, while functional (__hssc) anonymises statistics. Several cookies are pending investigation.
Hotjar
Hotjar provides heat maps and session recordings via functional (_hjSession_) and statistics cookies (_hjSessionUser_).
Facebook sets marketing cookies (e.g., _fbp for cross-site tracking, fr for ad delivery) and functional cookies (e.g., wd for screen resolution). Users must consent to these tracking cookies.
Google Fonts
Google Fonts sets a marketing cookie that reads the user's IP address when rendering web fonts. The cookie expires immediately after the request.
Twitter (X)
Twitter sets functional (local_storage_support_test) and marketing cookies (metrics_token) for embedded content.
LinkedIn uses multiple cookie categories: functional (e.g., sdsc for load balancing), marketing (lms_ads, li-oatml), statistics (lms_analytics), and preferences (bcookie, lidc).
Google Ads Optimization & Google Ads
These services place marketing cookies for ad delivery and remarketing, such as 1p_jar and ads/ga-audiences.
Snowplow
Snowplow analytics uses statistics cookies (_sp_id with 2-year duration) and several purpose-pending cookies.
Elementor
Elementor, a page builder, sets an anonymous statistics cookie (elementor) to store performed actions. No consent is needed for anonymous data.
Miscellaneous
A long list of cookies under "Miscellaneous" are marked as purpose pending investigation. These include cookies from various third-party scripts and integrations, and their functions are yet to be fully classified.
Consent and User Rights
Upon first visiting, users see a pop-up where they can select which categories of cookies to allow. By clicking "Save preferences
Source: UKTN News