Scored Cookie Policy

This Scored cookie policy explains, in plain language, what cookies are, why our site uses them, and how you can manage them in your browser. We want every visitor to understand what happens behind the scenes when they load a page with us, so this notice sits alongside our privacy policy and our terms as one of the documents that governs how we run this site.

We keep this policy focused on cookies specifically, rather than the wider handling of personal data, because the two questions are related but not identical. If you are looking for details on how we collect, store or share information you give us directly, that sits in our privacy policy instead. Here, we stick to the small text files a browser stores when you visit a website like ours.

What Cookies Are and Why We Use Them

A cookie is a small piece of text that a website asks your browser to store on your device. It does not run programs, and it cannot reach into your files or install anything by itself. Instead, it lets a site recognise your browser again the next time you visit, which is how many ordinary web features work at all.

We use cookies to keep our site working the way visitors expect it to. Some are needed simply to load pages correctly and to remember basic choices you make while browsing, such as a cookie notice you have already dismissed. Others help us understand, in general terms, which pages are visited and how our site performs, so we can keep improving it over time.

Session and Persistent Cookies

Cookies generally fall into two broad types based on how long they last. A session cookie exists only for the length of your visit and is cleared automatically once you close your browser. A persistent cookie remains stored for a set period afterwards, so that a returning visit can be recognised without starting from zero.

We do not ask visitors to memorise this distinction to use our site safely. It matters mainly if you want fine control over what stays stored on your device, since your browser settings usually let you clear session and persistent cookies separately, or treat them the same way if you would rather start fresh every visit.

The Categories of Cookies You May Encounter

Not every cookie serves the same purpose, and it helps to think of them in categories rather than as one single thing. Broadly, a modern website like ours may use cookies that are strictly necessary for the site to function, cookies that measure how pages are used, and cookies tied to preferences you set as you browse.

Strictly necessary cookies support core functions such as navigating between pages, keeping a session stable, and remembering that you have already seen certain notices. Without these, some parts of a site simply would not behave consistently, so they are treated as essential rather than optional in most cookie frameworks.

Performance and Preference Cookies

Performance-related cookies exist to help a site understand traffic patterns in aggregate, rather than to identify one individual. Preference cookies, meanwhile, remember small choices such as a display setting, so the site feels familiar the next time you return rather than resetting itself on every single visit.

Where any such cookies are used on our pages, we aim to keep their purpose narrow and understandable, and we encourage anyone with detailed questions about a specific browser or device to check that browser's own cookie documentation, since controls vary between them.

Managing and Controlling Cookies Yourself

You are in control of cookies through your own browser at all times. Every major browser includes settings that let you view, delete or block cookies, either for all sites or for specific ones you choose. These settings are usually found under privacy or security options within the browser's own menus.

If you block cookies entirely, some pages may not behave as smoothly as intended, since certain basic functions rely on a browser remembering small details between page loads. We would rather you understood that trade-off than assumed cookies were compulsory, so you can decide what suits how you like to browse.

Third-Party Content and External Links

Like most websites, ours may link out to other sites, and some embedded content can set its own cookies independently of us. We do not control what a third-party service does with cookies once you leave our pages or interact with content it provides directly within ours.

If you are concerned about a specific third party, the most reliable step is to check that provider's own cookie or privacy notice, since we cannot speak on their behalf. We only describe, in this document, the cookies connected to our own site rather than the practices of every service a link might lead to.

Keeping This Policy Current

We may update this cookie policy from time to time to reflect changes in how our site works or in the tools we rely on to run it. When we make a meaningful change, we intend for the updated text to appear on this page, so checking back occasionally is the simplest way to stay informed.

We do not send a separate notice for every minor wording change, since not all updates affect how cookies are actually used. Where a change is significant enough to affect your choices, we aim to make that clear within the text itself rather than burying it in a footnote.