When we provide services, we want to make them easy, useful and reliable. Where services are delivered on the internet, this sometimes involves placing small amounts of information on your device, for example, computer or mobile phone. These include small files known as cookies. They cannot be used to identify you personally.
What are cookies?
These pieces of information are used to improve services for you through, for example:
Analysing anonymised data to help us understand how people interact with our services so we can make them better
First-party cookies (cookies set by us)
These are cookies set by the Grounds Management Association (GMA) web domain known as ‘first-party’ cookies. Some are necessary to the functionality of the site, others provide information to us that we analyse to monitor and improve the site.
These first-party cookies do not store or collect any personal information or anything that make you personally identifiable to us. Typically, the cookies generate a random, unique number to store information about a user.
Cookies for measuring website usage
Data stored by cookies:
Where it is used: all pages of the Grounds Management Toolkit website
Third-party cookies (cookies set by other websites through our pages)
Social media cookies
Some cookies are served by an external service when you use a page on our site, known as ‘third-party’ cookies.
For example, on a number of pages we use ‘plug ins’ or embedded media such as YouTube videos. These cookies are specific to the third-party site domain – the data stored in them can be seen and managed by the third party, not by us.
Although we can control whether we use the third-party services within our websites we do not have control over the cookies themselves. It is not always possible to identify precisely the information that the cookies store.
Follow us, Share (Add this) Facebook cookies: reg_ext_ref, reg_fb_gate, reg_fb_ref
Purpose
To allow you to subscribe to the GMA’s social media channels or share GMA content via Facebook. These cookies track registration effectiveness by recording how the user came to Facebook and are set when the browser is either not a Facebook user or is not logged in to Facebook.
Data stored by cookies:
Duration of cookies:
Where it is used: news stories and blog posts on the GMA website
Impact on user’s experience of the site: none
Google Maps: NID, SNID
Google Maps: PREF
Purpose: to set preferences for various services on Google
Data stored by the cookie: a unique identifier that allows visitor analysis
Duration of cookie: expires after two years
Where it is used: on web pages with embedded google services
Impact on user’s experience of the site: none
YouTube cookies:
GEO, VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE, use_hitbox, PREF, recently_watched_video_id_list
Purpose: to track visitor views of YouTube videos embedded in the GMA web pages and usage of its services
Data stored by cookies: unique identifier that allow visitor analysis, data is only used in aggregate.
Duration of cookie: GEO expires after seven months
Impact on user’s experience of the site: none
Flash cookie (Local Shared Object)
Flash cookies are small pieces of information set and accessed by Adobe Flash the browser application that lets you play or display Flash media files such as YouTube and Vimeo videos. The cookies are stored in a different location on your hard drive than standard cookies. More information about this cookie and how to remove it is available Adobe Macromedia’s Flash Player Help.
Purpose: stores information between sessions of using embedded Flash content
Data stored by cookies: a unique ID, tracking information, some configuration information about the computer running the movie.
Duration of cookie: no expiration date
Where it is used: on web pages with embedded flash content
Impact on user’s experience of the site: none
How to control and delete cookies
We will not use cookies to collect personally identifiable information about you. However, if you wish to restrict or block the cookies which are set by our websites, or indeed any other website, you can do this through your browser settings. The ‘Help’ function within your browser should tell you how.
Alternatively, you may wish to visit the About Cookies website, which contains comprehensive information on how to do this on a wide variety of browsers. You will also find details on how to delete cookies from your machine as well as more general information about cookies.
Please be aware that restricting cookies may have an impact upon the functionality of our website.
If you wish to view your cookie code, just click on a cookie to open it. You’ll see a short string of text and numbers. The numbers are your identification card, which can only be seen by the server that gave you the cookie.
For information on how to do this on the browser of your mobile phone you will need to refer to your handset manual. To opt-out of third-parties collecting any data regarding your interaction on our website, please refer to their websites for further information.
