Cookies Policy

What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device when you visit a website. They're widely used to make websites work more efficiently and provide information to website owners.

Cookies can be "session" cookies, which are temporary and deleted when you close your browser, or "persistent" cookies, which remain on your device until they expire or you delete them.

How We Use Cookies

Shiny Symposium uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience, understand how our website is used, and improve our services. We believe in transparency about our cookie usage and give you control over non-essential cookies.

Types of Cookies We Use

Essential Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly. They enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. Without these cookies, certain features of our website cannot work.

Essential cookies we use include:

• Cookie consent status - remembers whether you've accepted our cookie policy
• Session management - maintains your browsing session
• Security - protects against cross-site request forgery and other security threats

You cannot opt out of essential cookies if you wish to use our website, but you can disable them through your browser settings. However, this may affect the functionality of the site.

Analytics Cookies

Analytics cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting information anonymously. This helps us improve the user experience and identify issues with our website.

We use analytics cookies to collect information about:

• Pages visited and time spent on each page
• How you arrived at our site
• What device and browser you're using
• General location information (country/city level only)
• User journey patterns through the site

The data collected through analytics cookies is aggregated and anonymised. We cannot identify individual visitors from this data.

You can opt out of analytics cookies through our cookie preference centre or your browser settings.

Functional Cookies

These cookies enable enhanced functionality and personalisation, such as remembering your preferences. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we've added to our pages.

If you disable these cookies, some features may not work as intended, but the core functionality of the website will remain available.

Third-Party Cookies

In some cases, we use cookies provided by trusted third parties. These help us provide better services and understand website usage.

Third-party cookies on our site may include analytics providers or service providers that help us deliver content. We carefully select third parties and ensure they handle data responsibly, but we don't control these cookies directly.

We recommend reviewing the privacy policies of these third parties to understand how they use cookies and your data.

How Long Do Cookies Last?

The duration cookies remain on your device varies depending on their type:

Session Cookies

These temporary cookies expire when you close your browser. They're primarily used for essential functions like maintaining your session as you navigate between pages.

Persistent Cookies

These cookies remain on your device for a set period or until you delete them. Our persistent cookies typically last:

• Cookie consent preferences: 12 months
• Analytics cookies: 24 months
• Functional cookies: varies, typically 3-12 months

Managing Your Cookie Preferences

You have several options for managing cookies:

Our Cookie Preference Centre

When you first visit our website, you'll see a cookie banner that allows you to accept all cookies or customise your preferences. You can change your preferences at any time by accessing the cookie settings from our website.

Browser Settings

Most web browsers allow you to manage cookies through their settings. You can typically:

• View what cookies are stored and delete them individually
• Block third-party cookies
• Block all cookies
• Delete all cookies when you close your browser

Each browser handles cookies differently. Check your browser's help menu for specific instructions on managing cookies.

Opt-Out Tools

For analytics cookies specifically, many providers offer opt-out tools or browser extensions that prevent data collection across all websites using their services.

Impact of Disabling Cookies

While you're free to disable cookies, doing so may affect your experience on our website:

• You may need to re-enter information or preferences each time you visit
• Some features may not function correctly
• We may not be able to remember your cookie preferences

Essential cookies are necessary for basic website functionality, so blocking them will significantly limit what you can do on our site.

Cookies and Personal Data

Some cookies may collect or use personal data. Where this is the case, such processing is covered by our Privacy Policy in addition to this Cookies Policy. We recommend reading both documents to fully understand how we handle your information.

We process cookie data in accordance with UK GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).

Do Not Track Signals

Some browsers have a "Do Not Track" feature that signals to websites that you don't want your online activity tracked. Currently, there's no industry standard for how to respond to these signals. Our website doesn't specifically respond to Do Not Track signals, but you can use our cookie preference centre to limit tracking.

Updates to This Policy

We may update this Cookies Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our cookie usage or legal requirements. When we make significant changes, we'll update the "last updated" date at the top of this page.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we use cookies.

Detailed Cookie List

Below is a list of specific cookies our website uses:

Essential Cookies

Cookie Name	Purpose	Duration
cookie_consent	Stores your cookie preference choices	12 months
session_id	Maintains your browsing session	Session

Analytics Cookies

Cookie Name	Purpose	Duration
_analytics_session	Tracks page visits and user journey	24 months
_analytics_user	Distinguishes unique visitors	24 months

More Information

If you have questions about our use of cookies that aren't answered in this policy, please contact us:

Email: [email protected]
Postal Address: 142 Colmore Row, Birmingham, B3 3AP, United Kingdom

Useful Resources

For more information about cookies and how to manage them, you may find these resources helpful:

• Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) guidance on cookies: ico.org.uk
• All About Cookies: allaboutcookies.org
• Your Online Choices (for opting out of behavioural advertising): youronlinechoices.com