Cookie Policy

At Vanguard VA, we are committed to ensuring that your online experience is personalised and secure. Our website, located at [www.vanguard-va.co.uk], uses cookies to gather information about your general Internet usage. This policy explains how we use cookies and how you can control them.
What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer or device by a web server when you visit a website. These cookies are uniquely assigned to you and can only be read by the web server in the domain that issued the cookie. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer.
Cookies may be classified as either "essential" or "non-essential":
• Essential Cookies: These cookies are necessary for the website to function and are automatically placed on your computer or device when you access our website or take certain actions on our website.
• Non-Essential Cookies: These cookies are used to enhance your experience, such as personalisation or analytics, and are only placed on your computer or device if you have consented to their use. You consent to us placing non-essential cookies on your device by continuing to use our website with your browser settings set to accept cookies.
Types of Cookies We Use
Cookies can also be classified based on their duration:
• Persistent Cookies: These cookies are stored by your web browser and remain valid until their set expiry date, unless deleted by you before the expiry date.
• Session Cookies: These cookies expire at the end of your session when you close your web browser.
Cookies Used on Our Website
We use cookies for the following purposes:
• Authentication: To identify you when you visit our website and as you navigate through it.
• Status: To help us determine if you are logged into our website.
• Personalisation: To store information about your preferences and personalise your experience on our website.
• Security: As part of the security measures used to protect user accounts and prevent fraudulent use of login credentials.
• Advertising: To display relevant advertisements to you.
• Analysis: To analyse the use and performance of our website and services.
• Cookie Consent: To store your preferences in relation to the use of cookies.
Third-Party Cookies
Some of our service providers also use cookies that may be stored on your computer when you visit our website. These include:
• Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics to analyse the use of our website. Google Analytics gathers information through cookies to create reports on website usage. You can view Google’s privacy policy here: Google Privacy Policy.
The specific cookies used by our service providers on our website include:
• _ga (Analytics): Installed by Google Analytics to calculate visitor, session, and campaign data. This cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors. Duration: 2 years.
• _gid (Analytics): Installed by Google Analytics to store information on how visitors use the website and create analytics reports. Duration: 1 day.
• _gat_gtag_UA_XXXXXX_X (Analytics): Set by Google to distinguish users. Duration: 1 minute.
• crumb (Necessary): Set by websites using the SquareSpace platform to prevent cross-site request forgery (CSRF). Duration: session.
• _gat (Performance): Installed by Google Universal Analytics to throttle the request rate to limit data collection on high-traffic sites. Duration: 1 minute.
Managing Cookies
You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser settings to decline cookies if you prefer. Below are links with instructions on how to change your browser settings for some of the most commonly used web browsers:
• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Microsoft Internet Explorer
• Apple Safari
Please note that if you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of our website.
Contact Us
For any questions regarding our cookie policy, please contact us at:
Vanguard VA
Unit 3, 8 Park Parade,
Harrogate, HG1 5AF
Email: letstalk@vanguard-va.co.uk
For further information on how we handle personal information, please refer to our Privacy Policy.