Cookie Policy

Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website.  They help us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allow us to improve our site. Here we outline our policy relating to cookies.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files stored on your computer when you visit certain web pages. Using our website, involves placing cookies on your device, for example, your computer or mobile phone.

Cookies can either be “session-based” – which means they are deleted when you leave our website, or “persistent” – which means it will stay on your device after you leave: this allows the website to remember you when you come back.  You can always adjust your browser settings so that these cookies are removed when you close your session.

Cookies are used in other ways to improve your experience of our website, by (for example):
•    enabling us to recognise your device - so you don't have to give the same information several times during one task;
•    providing relevant content and advertising; and
•    measuring how many people are using services, so they can be made easier to use and there's enough capacity to ensure they are fast.

Our use of cookies

Some of the cookies we use are essential for our website to function properly. Without them, your experience of the sites won’t be complete. Others are to improve the performance of the websites, and a some are provided by third parties advertising on our website.
If you would like a full list of the cookies we use, please contact us via our DPM.

Your privacy is important to us

The law states that we can store cookies on your machine if they are essential to the operation of our website), but that for all others we need your permission to do so.

The cookies we use can't harm your computer. We don't store personally identifiable information such as your name or address in cookies we create, but we do use encrypted information gathered from them to help improve your experience of our website. For example, they help us to identify and resolve errors. We do not use cookies to identify you personally.

Cookies used include:

(1) Analytics or performance cookies that anonymously remember your device when you visit our website. They keep track of browsing patterns and help us to understand how visitors use our website. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily and to serve advertisements that we think might be of particular interest to you on our website. Your browser may use similar cookies for similar purposes and to serve advertisements for others.

(2) Functionality cookies.  These help us remember your devices so that we can provide the appropriate website experience. For example, remembering your settings preferences and customise how we present our services according to the screen size of that device.

(3) Third party cookies. Please note that the following third parties may also use cookies, over which we have no control:
Content Ignite, Primis, GumGum, Disqus, Seedtag, Show Heroes, Hoopla, and Quantcast 

These named third parties may include, for example, advertising networks and providers of external services like web traffic analysis services. These third party cookies are likely to be analytical cookies or performance cookies or targeting cookies.

To deactivate the use of third party advertising cookies, you may visit the consumer page to manage the use of these types of cookies http://aboutads.info/choices

We have no access to third party cookies and third party organisations have no access to ours. The third party organisations that place cookies, including your browser (such as Firefox, MS Edge and Google) and the third party companies who pay for advertising and analytics services using this information, will have their own privacy policies.

When you share stories using social media, for example Facebook, the social media company will load a cookie and identifiers to track this.
Restricting, blocking or deleting cookies

However, if you'd prefer to restrict, block or delete cookies from our website (or any other website), you can use your internet browser to do so. Each browser is different, so check the 'Help' menu of your particular browser (or your mobile phone's handset manual) to learn how to change your cookie preferences.  If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of our website may become inaccessible or not function properly.

For more information, including how to control and delete cookies, you can visit www.allaboutcookies.org, www.aboutcookies.org and you can adjust your cookie preferences at http://youronlinechoices.com/

The Official Charts Company Privacy Policy can be found HERE.