ℹ️ Your Privacy Matters

This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are, how we use them, and your choices regarding cookies. We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring transparency about the data we collect. For more information about how we handle your personal data, please see our Privacy Policy.

1. What Are Cookies

Definition

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

How Cookies Work

When you visit footyforecast.co.uk, our server sends a cookie to your browser. Your browser stores this cookie and sends it back to our server with each subsequent request. This allows us to recognize your device and remember your preferences.

Similar Technologies

In addition to cookies, we may use other similar technologies such as:

  • Web beacons — Small graphic images that allow us to monitor website traffic
  • Local storage — Stores data in your browser with no expiration date
  • Session storage — Stores data for the duration of your browsing session

2. How We Use Cookies

Purposes

We use cookies for the following purposes:

  • Essential functionality — To enable core website features like user authentication and preference storage
  • Performance and analytics — To understand how visitors interact with our website and identify areas for improvement
  • Personalization — To remember your settings and provide enhanced features
  • Security — To detect and prevent fraudulent activity and protect user accounts

Legal Basis

Under UK GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), we rely on the following legal bases for using cookies:

  • Legitimate interest for essential cookies necessary for website operation
  • Consent for non-essential cookies such as analytics and marketing

3. Types of Cookies We Use

Category Purpose Duration
Essential Required for the website to function properly. Enables basic features like page navigation and secure areas. Session – 1 year
Preferences Remember your settings and choices (like language or region) to provide a personalized experience. 1 year
Analytics Help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting information anonymously. 2 years
Marketing Used to track visitors across websites to display relevant advertisements. 1 year

Specific Cookies We Use

Google Analytics (_ga, _gid, _gat) — These cookies help us analyze website traffic and user behavior. They collect information in an anonymous form.

Session Cookie (PHPSESSID) — Maintains your session state as you navigate through the website.

Cookie Consent (cookieconsent_status) — Records your cookie preferences to avoid showing the consent banner repeatedly.

4. Managing Your Cookie Preferences

Browser Settings

You can control and/or delete cookies as you wish. You can delete all cookies that are already on your computer and you can set most browsers to prevent them from being placed. However, if you do this, you may have to manually adjust some preferences every time you visit a site, and some services and functionalities may not work.

How to Disable Cookies

  • Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Cookies and other site data
  • Firefox: Options → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
  • Safari: Preferences → Privacy → Cookies and website data
  • Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Manage and delete cookies

Our Cookie Consent Tool

When you first visit our website, you will see a cookie consent banner allowing you to:

  • Accept all cookies
  • Reject non-essential cookies
  • Customize your preferences by category

You can change your preferences at any time by clicking the “Cookie Settings” link in the footer.

5. Third-Party Cookies

Services We Use

We use third-party services that may set cookies on your device:

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors engage with our website. Google may use this data to contextualize and personalize ads on its own advertising network. You can opt-out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Social Media

If you use social media sharing buttons on our site, those platforms (X, LinkedIn, etc.) may set cookies. We do not control these cookies. Please refer to the respective privacy policies of these platforms for more information.

External Links

Our website may contain links to other websites. This Cookie Policy only applies to footyforecast.co.uk. If you click a link to another website, you should read their cookie policy.

6. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, legislation, or our data practices. When we make changes, we will 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. Your continued use of our website after any changes indicates your acceptance of the updated policy.

7. Contact Us

If you have any questions about our use of cookies or this Cookie Policy, please contact us:

Frequently Asked Questions

Are cookies dangerous to my device?

No. Cookies are small text files and cannot carry viruses or install malware on your computer. They are simply data stored by your browser to help websites remember your preferences and activity.

Can I use FootyForecast without accepting cookies?

Yes, you can use our website without accepting non-essential cookies. However, some features may not function optimally, and your experience may be less personalized. Essential cookies required for core functionality cannot be disabled.

How long do cookies stay on my device?

It depends on the type. Session cookies are deleted when you close your browser. Persistent cookies remain until they expire (ranging from a few days to several years) or until you manually delete them. You can see the duration for each category in our Types of Cookies table above.

Do you share cookie data with third parties?

We do not sell cookie data. However, third-party services we use (such as Google Analytics) may collect and process data via their own cookies. These providers operate under their own privacy policies. See our Third-Party Cookies section for details.