Due to GDPR regulations on cookies and other similar technologies, all external facing digital assets will have a cookie consent manager installed on them allowing individuals to decide what cookies are stored on their devices. To find out more about the regulations please visit the ICO website here.
Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer, mobile devices or in your browser. They help us to monitor how visitors use our sites. Cookies will usually contain some anonymous information such as a unique identifier, the site name and some digits and numbers. It allows a website to remember things like who you are and your preferences. The core regulations regarding cookies and similar technologies, is as below:
- tell people the cookies are there;
- explain what the cookies are doing and why; and
- get the person’s consent to store a cookie on their device
Only required cookies that are needed for the functionality of your site will load when a new user visits your site. All other cookies will not be loaded until consent is given. Cookies will be bucketed into three categories, two of which users can either allow or reject the use of. These are:
- Automatically opted in to:
– Required - Users can turn these buckets on or off:
– Functional – analytic and performance tracking
– Advertising – advertising tracking
This update will have some effects on our ability to track users across our web estate, effecting online tools such as, Google Analytics. For instance, if a user rejects functional cookies, your Google Analytics pixel will not trigger and therefore this visitor will not show in your Google Analytics platform.
This is a requirement that all websites within the EU will have to adhere to as a part of GDPR. Any sites not within the St. James’s Place estate will require this to be implemented. If you own a bespoke, externally built website, you will need to get a cookie consent manager added to the site.
What are cookies and what do they do?
Cookies are text files with small pieces of data — like a username and password — that are used to identify your computer as you use a computer network. Specific cookies known as HTTP cookies are used to identify specific users and improve your web browsing experience.
Data stored in a cookie is created by the server upon your connection. This data is labelled with an ID unique to you and your computer. When the cookie is exchanged between your computer and the network server, the server reads the ID and knows what information to specifically serve to you. They can be used for the following:
- Store passwords
- Store personalisations based on previous visits
- Speed up website load speeds
- Activities carried out on site i.e. link clicks, pages viewed
- Aid website performance analysis i.e. Google Analytics
- Targeting individuals in paid marketing activities
Different types of cookies?
- Session cookies – only used when a person is actively navigating a website, once they leave the session cookie disappears
- Tracking cookies – may be used to create long-term records of multiple visits to the same website.
- Authentication cookies – tracker whether a user is logged in and if so under what name, etc?
Are cookies safe?
Under normal circumstances cookies do not contain any form of malware of virus to affect a person’s machine.
What has changed and how will it affect me?
We have always used cookies to provide a secure and efficient website experience for our customers. As part of a change in legislation, all websites in Europe are now required to provide additional information on what cookies are, and how and why they are used.
We must now provide individuals with the ability to:
- Understand what cookies your site sets and what they are used for
- Provide their consent via a third-party plug-in (i.e. OneTrust, TrustArc). They need to have control over what is placed on their PC – they need to opt-in rather than opt-out
This means that your website tracking could and is likely to reduce as users decide what they do or don’t want recorded about their online behaviour. Some providers will be able to provide you with a report on how many people have accessed your website and have not accepted the cookies.
What’s next?
If you have opted for an SJP Partner website, you will notice a cookie consent manager will be added to your site. There is no further action required from yourselves. If a user needs to amend their cookie preferences at any time, they can do so by clicking on the ‘cookie preferences’ link in the bottom left-hand corner of the site.
If you have a bespoke website, there are a large range of companies that can provide a third-party plug-in to support the new cookie policy. Please make sure any web developer you use for your bespoke site is knowledgeable about this and can ensure you a compliant solution as part of your website build and management. We would encourage you to get a cookie consent manager uploaded as soon as possible as the ICO are starting to fine companies are not adhering to regulations.
Please note – this is a legal requirement and cannot be removed.