What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files containing a string of characters that can be placed on your computer or mobile device that uniquely identify your browser or device. What are cookies used for?

Cookies allow a site or services to know if your computer or device has visited that site or service before. Cookies can then be used to help understand how the site or service is being used, help you navigate between pages efficiently, help remember your preferences, and generally improve your browsing experience. Cookies can also help ensure marketing you see online is more relevant to you and your interests.

What types of cookies does this site use?

Performance Cookies

These cookies collect information about how you have used the site so that less strain is placed on our backend infrastructure. These cookies may also be used to allow us to know that you have logged in so that we can serve you content that a user who has not logged in cannot see. We also use cookies to track site usage and experiment with new features and changes. The information collected is used to improve how the site works.

Local storage

This site stores your cookie permissions in the local browser storage. This is a different storage mechanism to cookies and the data collected remains within the browser.

How long will cookies stay on my device?

The length of time a cookie will stay on your computer or mobile device depends on whether it is a 'persistent' or 'session' cookie. Session cookies will only stay on your device until you stop browsing. Persistent cookies stay on your computer or mobile device until they expire or are deleted.

First and third party cookies

First-party cookies are cookies that belong to this site, third-party cookies are cookies that another party places on your device through our site. Third-party cookies may be placed on your device by someone providing a service for Whitstable Community Church, for example to help us understand how our site is being used. Third party cookies are currently set by:

How to control and delete cookies

If you want to delete cookies follow the instructions at https://www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies/clear-cookies-installed.html. You can find out more information cookie settings at third-party information sites, such as www.allaboutcookies.org.