What are cookies?

A cookie is a small file which is placed on your computer by the websites you visit. They typically consist of letters and numbers, and are widely used for a better browsing experience and to provide information to the website owners.

Cookies are therefore useful because they allow a website to recognise and distinguish between different users. But it’s important to note that cookies do not identify people, but rather they are defined themselves by a combination of a computer, a user account, and a browser.

Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org

Cookies and the law

The use of cookies and similar technologies is commonplace and important for the provision of many online services. Their use is not prohibited by The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations (the “Cookie Law”) introduced in May 2011. However, the new regulations do require that users are told about cookies when they visit websites which use them, and are given a choice as to which of their online activities are monitored.

For more information about the new EU cookie law (e-Privacy Directive), please visit the website for theInformation Commissioner’s Office at www.ico.gov.uk. This website includes a 31-page downloadable ICO cookies guidance PDF document.

Cookies on our website

Name Description Expiration
__utma This cookie is typically written to the browser upon the first visit to your site from that web browser. If the cookie has been deleted by the browser operator, and the browser subsequently visits your site, a new __utma cookie is written with a different unique ID. This cookie is used to determine unique visitors to your site and it is updated with each page view. Additionally, this cookie is provided with a unique ID that Google Analytics uses to ensure both the validity and accessibility of the cookie as an extra security measure. 2 years from set/update.
__utmb This cookie is used to establish and continue a user session with your site. When a user views a page on your site, the Google Analytics code attempts to update this cookie. If it does not find the cookie, a new one is written and a new session is established. Each time a user visits a different page on your site, this cookie is updated to expire in 30 minutes, thus continuing a single session for as long as user activity continues within 30-minute intervals. This cookie expires when a user pauses on a page on your site for longer than 30 minutes. You can modify the default length of a user session with the _setSessionCookieTimeout() method. 30 minutes from set/update.
__utmc This cookie operates in conjunction with the __utmb cookie to determine whether or not to establish a new session for the user. At the end of your browser session
__utmz This cookie stores the type of referral used by the visitor to reach your site, whether via a direct method, a referring link, a website search, or a campaign such as an ad or an email link. It is used to calculate search engine traffic, ad campaigns and page navigation within your own site. The cookie is updated with each page view to your site. 6 months from set/update.

www.meadpropman.co.uk uses Google Analytics tracking to provide meaningful data about our site visitors. Whilst Google Analytics uses cookies for tracking, it does not collect personal data about website visitors.

If you would like more information about Google Analytics and its use of cookies, please use the following links:

To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites please visit http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout