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Cookie Policy
What cookies we use and how to control them.
This page explains how thehairandbeautycollege.co.uk uses cookies and similar technologies. It works alongside our Privacy Statement — read both to see how your data is handled.
Last updated: 2026-09-01 (v2 — rewritten to match what’s actually live on the site)
1. What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files that websites place on your device (phone, tablet, laptop) when you visit. They let the site remember things — like whether you accepted a cookie banner, or what’s in your shopping basket.
2. How we use cookies
We split cookies into two categories:
| Category | What they do | When they load |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | Make the site work — security/anti-bot protection, remembering your cookie choice, and running our enquiry and booking forms. | Always — no consent needed |
| Analytics | Tell us how people use the site so we can improve it, and let us watch anonymised recordings of site visits to spot usability problems. | Only if you accept |
When you first visit the site, a banner asks you to Accept or Reject non-essential. You can change your mind any time — see Section 5. We don’t currently run any advertising/marketing cookies (Google Ads, Meta Pixel, etc.) — if that changes, this page and the banner will be updated first.
3. Cookies we use
3.1 Essential cookies — always on
| Cookie | Set by | Purpose | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|
hbc_consent |
This site | Remembers whether you accepted or rejected analytics cookies | 6 months |
__cf_bm |
Cloudflare | Bot-management check that keeps automated traffic off the site — part of the CDN/security layer in front of the site | 30 minutes |
wordpress_*, wp-settings-* |
This site | Keeps staff signed in to the site admin — visitors browsing the site never receive these | Session to 14 days |
| Gravity Forms session cookies | This site (Gravity Forms plugin) | Anti-spam and multi-step form state on our contact, enquiry and enrolment forms | Session |
3.2 Analytics cookies — only if you consent
These belong to Google Analytics 4 (vendor: Google Ireland Limited). They tell us aggregate things like “100 people visited the Brow Lamination page this week” — not who specifically.
| Cookie | Purpose | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|
_ga |
Distinguishes individual visitors | 2 years |
_ga_<container-id> |
Stores session state | 2 years |
_gid |
Distinguishes users for the day | 24 hours |
We also use Microsoft Clarity (vendor: Microsoft Corporation), which is a session-replay tool — it records anonymised recordings of how visitors move around and click on the site, and generates heatmaps, so we can spot pages that are confusing or hard to use. It does not capture anything you type into payment fields.
| Cookie | Purpose | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|
_clck |
Persists the Clarity user ID across visits | 1 year |
_clsk |
Connects multiple page views into a single session recording | 1 day |
CLID, ANONCHK, MR, MUID, SM |
Set by Microsoft’s underlying ad/analytics infrastructure that Clarity runs on | Varies, typically 1–13 months |
Neither Analytics nor Clarity load until you click Accept on the cookie banner.
4. We do not use these
For transparency, here’s what is not deployed on this site:
- Advertising/marketing cookies (Google Ads, Meta Pixel, retargeting) — not currently in use
- A/B testing tools (Optimizely, VWO) — no
- Live chat widgets (Tawk.to, Intercom) — no, we’d rather you call us
- Third-party advertising networks or cross-site tracking by data brokers
If we deploy anything new that needs consent, we’ll update this page and re-prompt for consent.
5. How to manage your cookie choices
On this site
You can change your mind at any time — click the button below to clear your saved choice and see the cookie banner again on your next page load.
Through your browser
Most browsers let you block or delete cookies in Settings:
- Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Cookies and other site data
- Safari: Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data
- Firefox: Preferences → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
- Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Cookies and site data
Blocking cookies entirely may break parts of the site — for example, you may not be able to submit forms if you block essential cookies.
Direct opt-outs
You can opt out at the source for these tools:
- Google Analytics: tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout — install the opt-out browser add-on
- Microsoft Clarity: clarity.microsoft.com/opt-out
6. Children
Our cookie banner appears for everyone, but if you’re under 13 you should ask a parent or guardian before agreeing to anything. We don’t direct any marketing at children.
7. Do Not Track
Some browsers send a “Do Not Track” (DNT) signal. If your browser sends it, we treat it the same as clicking “Reject non-essential” — the banner won’t even appear, and analytics/Clarity won’t load.
8. Changes to this policy
We update this page when we add, remove, or change a cookie. The current version always lives at this URL with the Last updated date at the top.
9. Questions
Email enrol@thehairandbeautycollege.co.uk or call 01925 747371.
For data-protection questions specifically, see the Privacy Statement.
The Hair and Beauty College · 78 Bridge Street, Warrington WA1 2RF · 01925 747371 · ICO registration C1756707
