Cookie policy

This page explains what we store on your device when you use our website, and how to control it.

The short version: we set one necessary cookie to remember your cookie choice. If you accept analytics, Google Analytics sets two additional first-party cookies. If you reject or ignore the banner, those analytics cookies are not set.

What a cookie is

A cookie is a small file a website asks your browser to keep. It might remember that you are logged in, what you put in a basket, or a preference you have set. Some are set by the site you are visiting; others by other companies whose content appears on the page.

The rules that apply here are the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 — usually called PECR — together with the UK GDPR. In plain terms, PECR says a site must ask your permission before storing anything on your device, unless that thing is strictly necessary for a service you have asked for.

What our site is like

Our site is a set of static pages. There is no account, no login and no portal. It does not build a profile of you, and it does not follow you around the internet.

The forms on the site send what you type to our email inbox. They do not store anything on your device.

The cookie we set

There is one.

It sounds circular to store a cookie to record your view on cookies, but it is the only way to remember your answer. Without it we would have to ask you the same question on every page. The ICO treats a cookie that records a consent choice as exempt from the consent requirement, which is why we set it without asking.

It contains no identifier, nothing about you, and nothing that could be used to recognise you anywhere else.

Analytics

We use Google Analytics 4 to understand which pages are useful and how visitors find the site. It is configured with measurement ID G-3NVBP9MXVS and works as follows:

• A banner will appear asking whether you agree.
• Accept and Reject will be two buttons of the same size and the same prominence. Rejecting will be exactly as easy as accepting. There will be no pre-ticked box, no hidden “manage preferences” maze, and scrolling the page will not be treated as agreement.
• Nothing loads until you accept. The analytics code is not on the page beforehand, waiting. It is only created after you press Accept.
• If you reject, or ignore the banner, no analytics cookie is ever set.

If you accept, Google Analytics may set these first-party cookies:

Google documents these as the two cookies used by the standard GA4 JavaScript tag. Browser privacy controls can shorten their actual lifetime. We do not use Google Ads cookies or advertising tags.

Analytics data goes to Google, which involves a transfer to the United States. Our privacy policy explains how that transfer is protected.

The booking calendar — only if you press the button

On our booking page we offer an optional calendar, provided by Google Calendar, so you can pick a slot yourself instead of filling in the form. The form is always there, and you never have to use the calendar.

Nothing is fetched from Google Calendar when the page loads. There is no hidden connection and nothing is stored. The page shows a button that says “Load the calendar”, and a line explaining what happens if you press it.

If you press it — and only then:

• your browser connects to Google and downloads the calendar
• that shares your IP address and basic browser details with them
• Google may set its own cookies or store data on your device

Pressing the button is how you agree to that. If you would rather not, use the form instead. It gets to the same place, and it tells the tutor more.

Google is the same provider that already handles our email, our lessons and our homework, so this adds no new company to the list rather than adding one.

The storage and cookies used by the Google Calendar embed must be checked against the live calendar periodically. If Google changes what the embed stores, we will update this policy and the information shown before the calendar loads.

Our hosting

The site is hosted by Cloudflare. We have not configured Cloudflare Bot Management, session affinity or a waiting room, so those features do not ordinarily set cookies here. If Cloudflare has to present a security challenge, it may set a cf_clearance cookie to remember that the challenge was passed. That cookie is strictly necessary to provide the site securely and lasts for the challenge-passage period configured by Cloudflare. We will check the live site after deployment and update this page if the hosting configuration sets anything else.

What we do not do

• We do not use advertising or marketing cookies.
• We do not use social media tracking pixels.
• We have no Facebook pixel, no LinkedIn tag and no advertising tags of any kind.
• We do not sell or share anything about your browsing.
• We do not track you across other websites.

Changing your mind

If analytics is switched on and you have made a choice, you can change it at any time. A button on this page — “Change my cookie choice” — clears your saved answer and brings the banner back so you can answer again.

PECR requires that withdrawing permission is as easy as giving it, and that button is how we do it.

You can also manage cookies in your browser. Every browser lets you see what is stored, delete it, and block cookies in future. The instructions differ by browser and are in its help pages. Blocking all cookies may stop some websites working properly — though not ours, which needs only the one.

Questions

Email enquiries@toptutorsscotland.co.uk or call 07950 415740.

If you are unhappy with how we handle this, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at www.ico.org.uk. Our privacy policy has the full contact details.

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