Legal · Document 03
Cookie Policy
A complete inventory of the cookies and browser storage keys this publication sets, and how to refuse them.
1. What we mean by cookies
“Cookies” here covers small files placed on your device by a website, together with equivalent technologies such as localStorage, sessionStorage and pixel requests. We use very few of them. This publication carries no advertising, no retargeting pixels, no social media trackers and no data-broker tags, and we do not intend to add any.
Strictly necessary storage is set without consent because the site cannot function securely without it — this is permitted under regulation 6(4) of the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. Everything else is set only after you have given an affirmative choice through the cookie notice.
2. Cookie inventory
The table below lists every item set by this site as at the last audit date. Third-party names are given where a processor is involved.
| Name | Type | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| vhb_cookie_consent | localStorage | Records your consent choice and notice version so the banner is not shown again | 12 months |
| vhb_session | Cookie (first-party) | Maintains a secure session for subscriber sign-in and form submission | Session |
| vhb_csrf | Cookie (first-party) | Cross-site request forgery token protecting the contact form | Session |
| __cf_edge | Cookie (CDN) | Edge routing, rate limiting and bot mitigation at the network layer | 30 minutes |
| Name | Type | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| vhb_pv | localStorage | De-duplicates page views from the same browser within a day | 24 hours |
| vhb_depth | sessionStorage | Records how far through an article a reader scrolls, in aggregate | Session |
| vhb_ref | Cookie (first-party) | Stores the referring source so we can report traffic mix | 30 days |
| Name | Type | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| vhb_textsize | localStorage | Remembers your preferred reading text size | 12 months |
| vhb_dismissed | localStorage | Remembers which in-article notices you have dismissed | 6 months |
| vhb_locale | Cookie (first-party) | Stores your preferred date and currency formatting | 12 months |
3. Changing your mind
You can change your choice at any time. Clearing this site’s data in your browser removes the stored consent record, after which the notice will appear again on your next visit and you can choose differently. Rejecting non-essential cookies does not degrade access to any article — nothing on this site is gated behind analytics consent.
4. Browser-level controls
Every major browser lets you block or delete cookies for individual sites or globally. Blocking all cookies will break sign-in and form submission on most websites, including this one.
- Google Chrome — Settings › Privacy and security › Third-party cookies, and “See all site data and permissions” to remove data for a single site. Guidance: support.google.com/chrome.
- Mozilla Firefox — Settings › Privacy & Security › Cookies and Site Data, with Standard, Strict and Custom protection levels. Guidance: support.mozilla.org.
- Apple Safari — Settings › Privacy, with Prevent cross-site tracking enabled by default, plus “Manage Website Data”. Guidance: support.apple.com.
- Microsoft Edge — Settings › Cookies and site permissions › Manage and delete cookies and site data. Guidance: support.microsoft.com.
You may also send a Global Privacy Control signal from a supporting browser or extension. We honour GPC as a valid opt-out from analytics and functional storage, and you will not see a banner request that contradicts it.
5. Do Not Track and international readers
Legacy Do Not Track headers are inconsistently defined and widely ignored across the industry; we treat a DNT:1 signal as an opt-out from non-essential storage in the same way as GPC. Readers in California may exercise CCPA and CPRA rights as described in our Privacy Policy; we do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined in that legislation.
6. Audits and questions
We audit this inventory quarterly and after any change to our front-end build. If you find a cookie on this site that is not listed above, we would genuinely like to know — that is a defect on our side. Write to [email protected] or to the data protection officer at the registered office and we will investigate and publish a correction to this page.