1What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device (computer, smartphone, or tablet) when you visit a website. They are widely used by websites to make them work more efficiently, provide a better user experience, and give website owners information about how their site is being used.
Cookies are set either by the website you are visiting (first-party cookies) or by third-party services that the website uses, such as analytics or advertising platforms (third-party cookies). Cookies can be:
- Session cookies - temporary cookies that are deleted when you close your browser;
- Persistent cookies - cookies that remain on your device for a set period of time or until you delete them.
In addition to cookies, we may also use similar tracking technologies such as web beacons (small transparent image files), pixel tags, and local storage (including localStorage in your browser). Where this Policy refers to "cookies", it covers all such similar technologies unless the context indicates otherwise.
The UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 ("PECR") require us to obtain your consent before placing non-essential cookies on your device. We do this via our cookie consent banner, which you can access and update at any time using the "Cookie preferences" link in the footer of every page.
2Why We Use Cookies
Affly uses cookies for the following purposes:
- Essential operation: To ensure the website and application function correctly - including managing your login session, keeping you secure, and remembering your preferences (such as your cookie consent choices);
- Analytics: To understand how visitors use our website - which pages are most popular, where traffic comes from, and how users navigate through the site - so that we can improve the Platform;
- Marketing measurement: To measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns on platforms such as Meta (Facebook/Instagram) and TikTok, and to enable those platforms to show relevant ads to people who have visited our site.
We do not use cookies to collect sensitive personal information, to track your browsing on other websites without your consent (beyond what is permitted by the third-party platforms listed in Section 4), or to sell your data to third parties.
3Cookie Categories
We categorise the cookies we use into three groups, as described below. You can manage your preferences for non-essential categories using our consent tool.
4Third-Party Cookies - Full Reference Table
The table below provides a comprehensive reference of all third-party cookies and tracking technologies used on the Affly website, their providers, purposes, and retention periods.
| Cookie name | Provider | Category | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
affly_consent |
Affly (localStorage) | Strictly necessary | Stores your cookie consent preferences (categories accepted/declined, version, and timestamp). Used to prevent the consent banner from reappearing unnecessarily and to apply your choices on each page load. | 365 days (localStorage) |
affly_session |
Affly | Strictly necessary | Maintains your authenticated session when logged into the Affly Platform (app.affly.co.uk). Keeps you logged in as you navigate the dashboard. | Session (expires on browser close or after inactivity) |
affly_csrf |
Affly | Strictly necessary | A security token included in form submissions to prevent cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks on the Platform. | Session |
_ga |
Google (Analytics) | Analytics | The primary Google Analytics cookie. Used to distinguish unique visitors by assigning a randomly generated client ID. Enables measurement of sessions and pageviews. | 2 years |
_gid |
Google (Analytics) | Analytics | Used by Google Analytics to distinguish users during a shorter time window. Helps separate sessions on the same day. | 24 hours |
_gat / _gat_UA-* |
Google (Analytics) | Analytics | Used to throttle the rate at which data is sent to Google's servers, preventing excessive requests during high-traffic periods. | 1 minute |
_ga_[MEASUREMENT_ID] |
Google (GA4) | Analytics | GA4-specific cookie that persists session-level state for Google Analytics 4 measurement. Tracks pageviews and events across a session. | 2 years |
_fbp |
Meta (Facebook Pixel) | Marketing | Set by Meta's Pixel to identify browsers for the purposes of ad measurement, frequency capping, and building custom and lookalike audiences on Facebook and Instagram. | 3 months |
_fbc |
Meta (Facebook Click ID) | Marketing | Stores the click identifier (fbclid) when a user arrives at the Affly website via a Meta advertisement. Used to attribute ad clicks to subsequent on-site actions. | 3 months |
_ttp |
TikTok (Pixel) | Marketing | Used by TikTok's Pixel to identify browsers and measure the effectiveness of TikTok advertising campaigns. Enables TikTok to attribute ad clicks and views to on-site events. | 13 months |
_tt_enable_cookie |
TikTok | Marketing | A check cookie set by TikTok to verify that the browser supports cookie setting. Used to confirm tracking is possible before the main TikTok tracking cookie is set. | Session |
5How to Manage Your Cookie Preferences
You have several options for controlling and managing cookies. These are described below.
5.1 Our Cookie Consent Tool
The easiest way to manage your preferences for non-essential cookies on the Affly website is to use our cookie consent tool. When you first visit our site, you will see a cookie banner at the bottom of the page. You can:
- Click "Accept all" to consent to all cookie categories (necessary, analytics, and marketing);
- Click "Manage preferences" to see individual category toggles and choose which types of cookies you are happy with;
- In the manage panel, select "Necessary only" to decline all non-essential cookies.
Your choices are saved in your browser's localStorage (under the key affly_consent) for 365 days, so you are not prompted again on every visit. You can change your preferences at any time by clicking the button below or using the "Cookie preferences" link in the footer of any page.
5.2 Browser Settings
Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can typically find cookie controls in your browser's Privacy, Security, or Settings menu. Common options include:
- Viewing and deleting individual cookies stored on your device;
- Blocking all cookies (note: this may prevent some parts of our website from functioning correctly);
- Blocking third-party cookies specifically (this prevents marketing cookies while usually allowing essential first-party cookies);
- Setting your browser to alert you before accepting any cookies.
Instructions for managing cookies in common browsers:
Please be aware that restricting cookies may impact your experience of our website and some features may not function as intended.
5.3 Opt-Out Tools Provided by Third Parties
You can also manage tracking preferences directly with the third-party platforms that set marketing cookies:
- Google Analytics opt-out: Install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on to prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics across all websites.
- Meta ad preferences: Manage your Meta advertising preferences at facebook.com/ads/preferences.
- TikTok ad preferences: Manage your TikTok advertising preferences in the TikTok app under Settings > Privacy > Ads.
- Your Online Choices: Visit youronlinechoices.com to opt out of interest-based advertising from participating companies.
5.4 Effect of Withdrawing Consent
If you withdraw consent to analytics or marketing cookies, those cookies will no longer be set on future page loads. However, cookies that were already placed on your device before you withdrew consent may remain until they expire or are deleted via your browser settings. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out prior to withdrawal.
6Changes to This Cookie Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the cookies we use, changes in the law, or updates to our third-party service providers. When we make material changes, we will:
- Update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page;
- Display an updated cookie banner on the website where your consent is needed again (for example, if we add a new category of cookie or a new third-party provider);
- Where we add new non-essential cookies, we will increment the consent version number to prompt a fresh consent from all users.
We encourage you to revisit this page periodically to stay informed about how we use cookies.
7Contact Us
If you have any questions about how we use cookies, or if you would like to exercise any rights under UK data protection law in connection with cookie-related processing, please contact us:
- Email: [email protected]
- Post: AFFLY LTD, 8 Poplar Street, Mayfield, Dalkeith, Scotland, EH22 5LW
For broader privacy and data protection enquiries, please see our Privacy Policy. For our full Terms of Service, visit affly.co.uk/terms.