Cookie Policy

1. What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files placed on your device (computer, tablet, or phone) when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently, to improve your experience, and to provide information to website owners.

This Cookie Policy explains what cookies we use on www.istdigitalmarketing.co.uk, why we use them, and how you can manage or remove them. It should be read alongside our Privacy Policy & Terms and Conditions.

2. Our legal basis for using cookies

We operate in the United Kingdom and comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR).

Under PECR, we must obtain your prior informed consent before setting any cookies that are not strictly necessary for the operation of our website. We request this consent through our cookie banner when you first visit. You can change or withdraw your consent at any time using the cookie settings button located in the bottom-left corner of every page.

Strictly necessary cookies do not require consent as they are essential to provide a service you have requested. We do not use strictly necessary cookies to track you or for marketing purposes.

3. Cookies we use

We group our cookies into the following categories:

3.1 Strictly Necessary

These cookies are required for the website to function and cannot be switched off. They are usually set in response to actions you take, such as setting your cookie preferences. They do not store any personally identifiable information.

3.2 Analytics

These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website — such as which pages are visited most, how long users spend on each page, and where they arrive from. We use this data solely to improve our website and services.

We implement Google Consent Mode v2. This means the Google Analytics script loads for all visitors but operates in one of two modes depending on your consent choice:

• If you decline analytics cookies: Google Analytics fires cookieless, anonymous pings only. No cookies are stored on your device and you are not identified. Google may use these pings for aggregate modelling purposes.
• If you accept analytics cookies: Full cookie-based tracking applies and the cookies listed below are stored on your device.

You may withdraw consent at any time using the cookie settings button at the bottom-left of any page.

Google Analytics data is processed by Google LLC and may be transferred to servers in the United States. Google LLC is certified under the UK–US Data Bridge. For more information, see Google's Privacy Policy.

3.3 Marketing & Advertising

Marketing cookies are used to track the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns and to show you relevant advertisements on Google and other platforms. These cookies may collect information about your browsing habits across different websites.

Marketing cookies are only set if you give your consent. You may withdraw consent at any time.

Marketing cookies are operated by Google LLC. Data may be processed in the United States under the UK–US Data Bridge framework. See Google Ads & Privacy for further information.

4. How to manage your cookie preferences

4.1 Our cookie banner

When you first visit our website, you will see a cookie banner at the bottom of the screen. You may:

• Accept All — allows all categories of cookie.
• Reject All — only strictly necessary cookies will be set.
• Manage Preferences — lets you choose which categories to allow individually.

After making a choice, a small cookie icon appears in the bottom-left corner of the page. Clicking it allows you to review and update your preferences at any time.

4.2 Browser settings

You can also manage cookies directly through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to:

• See which cookies have been set and delete them individually.
• Block third-party cookies.
• Block all cookies (note: this may break some website functionality).
• Set preferences for specific websites.

For guidance on managing cookies in your browser, visit:

• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Apple Safari
• Microsoft Edge

4.3 Opting out of Google Analytics

You can prevent Google Analytics from collecting your data across all websites by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.

4.4 Opting out of interest-based advertising

You can opt out of personalised advertising from Google at Google Ad Settings, or from multiple networks at Your Online Choices (youronlinechoices.com).

5. Third-party cookies

When you visit pages on our website, you may also receive cookies from third-party websites or domains. We have no direct control over the information collected by these cookies. The primary third party whose cookies may appear on our site is:

• Google LLC — for analytics (Google Analytics 4) and advertising (Google Ads).
  Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

6. Changes to this policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, legislation, or our business practices. We will update the date at the top of this page when we do so. We encourage you to review this page periodically. Where changes are material, we may also display a prominent notice on our website.

7. Contact us

If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us:

• IST Digital Marketing Ltd
• No1 Business Centre, 1 Alvin Street, Gloucester, GL1 3EJ
• Telephone: 0330 223 0847
• Email: via our contact form

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK's data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO): ico.org.uk  |  0303 123 1113