Cookie Policy
Our cookie policy explains what cookies are, what kinds of cookies there are, how they are being used across the site, and how you can control them.
What are cookies?
A cookie is a small file containing letters and numbers that is downloaded to your browser when visiting a website. Cookies are used by most websites and can help a website do lots of different things such as remember personal preferences, keep you logged in to a site, or count the number of people looking at a website.
What kinds of cookies are there?
There are two kinds of cookies to be aware of: first-party and third-party cookies. First party cookies are cookies created by the website you're visiting. These kinds of cookies are usually used to help the website to function. For example, if you were to log into a site, the site would use a first party cookie to remember that you were logged in to a site next time you visit.
Third party cookies are cookies created by companies outside of the website you're visiting. These kinds of cookies are usually used to track how a user has used a website (i.e., what pages they've visited/what links they've clicked on). The owners of the website use this information to make improvements to the site.
When is a cookie used?
Some first party cookies can be used as soon as a user visits a site. Usually, cookies like these are used straight away because the website can't function without them. However, in most cases, cookies aren't used until a user has given a website permission to use cookies. You may have seen this in action when you've visited a site and a pop up appears asking you to accept cookies. If a site uses third party cookies, it's a legal requirement for the site to wait until the user has given permission to use cookies before the third-party cookies can be implemented.
In most cases, a cookie does have an expiry date in which it will be removed from the user's browser. Once a cookie expires, it is no longer used and is removed from the user's browser. A cookie is also not used if it is removed from the user's browser.
How does our site use cookies?
First-party cookies
Our site uses two first-party cookies to remember your preferences. These cookies are:
- gatsby-gdpr-google-analytics
- gatsby-gdpr-hotjar
- gatsby-gdpr-facebook-pixel
These cookies are only set when a user chooses to accept cookies. They tell the site that it is ok to use the script for Google Analytics, Hotjar and Facebook Pixel. All of these cookies last 365 days.
Third-party cookies
Google Analytics
Google Analytics uses cookies to understand how a user interacts with a website. Google Analytics sets up the following cookies when a user accepts cookies:
- _ga - This cookie lasts 2 years and is used to distinguish users.
- _gid - This cookie lasts 24 hours and is used to distinguish users.
- _ga_<container-id> - This cookie lasts 2 years and is used to persist session state.
- _gac_gb_<container-id> - This cookie lasts 90 days and contains campaign related information for Google Ads.
These cookies are specific to an individual website (in other words, they can't be used to track a user across different websites). More information about the cookies Google uses can be found here:
How Google uses cookies
Google Analytics cookie usage on websites
Facebook uses cookies to understand how users who have clicked on a Facebook ad interact with the site.
- _fbp - Used to identify users across pages where Facebook pixel is installed. The pixel saves a unique identifier to a cookie if one does not already exist. This cookie lasts for 3 months.
- _fbc - Used to identify the link users initially clicked across pages where Facebook pixel is installed. The link ad on Facebook sometimes includes "fbclid" and a unique value in the URL. When the user goes to the site via a Facebook ad, this fbclid value is saved to a cookie. This cookie lasts for 3 months.
Google Recaptcha
Recaptcha uses cookies to help confirm a user is not a bot, which in turn helps Rightio prevent bots from filling in forms so our agents can focus on genuine customers and reduce dealing with spam as much as possible. The following cookies are set up in relation to a user:
- _GRECAPTCHA - Set when a user presses the "I am not a robot" button on a form for the purpose of providing its risk analysis.
More information about the cookies recaptcha uses can be found here:
Google Recaptcha Frequently Asked Questions
Hotjar
Hotjar uses cookies to understand how a user interacts with a web page. The following cookies are set up in relation to a user:
- _hjSessionUser_{site_id} - Set when a user first lands on a page and gives the user a unique ID for the site they're on. This cookie lasts for 365 days.
- _hjid - The same information as _hjSessionUser_{site_id} in a UUID data format instead of a JSON data format. This cookie lasts for 365 days.
- _hjFirstSeen - Identifies a user's first session. This cookie lasts for the duration of a session (i.e., until a user leaves the website).
- _hjUserAttributesHash - Stores a hash of the user attributes. This cookie lasts for the duration of a session.
- _hjCachedUserAttributes - Stores user attributes for use with the hotjar feedback tool. This cookie lasts for the duration of a session.
- _hjViewportId - User's screen size and dimensions. This cookie lasts for the duration of a session.
- _hjSession_{site_id} - Holds the current session data and lasts 30 minutes.
- _hjSessionTooLarge - Causes hotjar to stop collecting data if a session becomes too large. This cookie lasts for the duration of a session.
- _hjSessionRejected - Set when hotjar has rejected the session due to overload. This cookie lasts for the duration of a session.
- _hjSessionResumed - Set when a session/recording is reconnected to hotjar after a break in connection. This cookie lasts for the duration of a session.
- _hjLocalStorageTest - Checks if local storage can be used, is removed as soon as it is created.
- _hjIncludedInPageviewSample - Used to determine if a user's session hits the pageview limit. This cookie lasts for 30 minutes.
- _hjIncludedInSessionSample - Used to determine if a user's session hits the daily session limit. This cookie lasts for 30 minutes.
- _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress - Used to detect the first pageview session of a user. This cookie lasts for 30 minutes.
- _hjTLDTest - Used to share session data across subdomains (where applicable). This cookie lasts for the duration of a session.
More information about the cookies Hotjar uses can be found here:
Cookies set by the Hotjar tracking code
How can I control my cookies?
You can use your browser to delete, block, or allow cookies. You can also set up your browser to block all third-party cookies and clear all cookies when you close the browser. If necessary, you can open a 'private browsing' or 'incognito' window which allows you to browse the web without recording your browsing history or storing cookies (though this can have its limitations).
How to control cookies in a browser
Different browsers have their cookie settings in different areas. Each of the links below will give you an idea of how to control cookies in your browser:
Other useful information
You can learn more about cookie from AboutCookies.org and AllAboutCookies.org. It may also be worth noting that Google has developed a browser add-on which lets uses opt-out of Google Analytics across any sites that use it. This is available to download from the Chrome web store.