Cookie Policy

How we use cookies on spectrumthreadz.co.uk

Last updated: 8 November 2026

This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are, which cookies we use on spectrumthreadz.co.uk, why we use them, and how you can control them. Please read it with our Privacy Policy. When you first visit our site, you will see a cookie banner where you can accept all cookies, reject non-essential cookies, or choose your preferences.

1. What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. They help the site remember you, keep you logged in, remember what is in your cart, and understand how the site is used.

We also use similar technologies, such as local storage and pixels, for the same purposes. In this policy, we call them all cookies for simplicity.

Cookies can be first-party cookies, set by spectrumthreadz.co.uk, or third-party cookies, set by a provider we use, such as Stripe for payments or our email provider for newsletter tracking.

2. How we use cookies

We use cookies to:

Make the site work, including checkout, cart, login, and downloads.
Remember your preferences, such as your My Library view and your cookie choices.
Keep the site secure and prevent fraud and spam.
Understand which pages and books are popular, so we can improve the site.
Measure whether our emails led to a visit, if you have accepted marketing cookies.

We do not use cookies to build detailed profiles of you, and we do not sell your personal data.

3. Types of cookies we use

We group cookies into four types. You can control the last three via the cookie banner and Cookie Settings link in the footer.

Type	What it does	Needs consent?
Strictly Necessary	Keeps you logged in, remembers your cart, keeps checkout secure, remembers your cookie choices. The site will not work without these.	No
Functional / Preferences	Remembers your preferences, such as your account view. Improves your experience but the site still works without them.	Yes
Analytics	Counts visits and shows which pages are popular in aggregated form. Helps us improve the site. IP addresses are anonymised where possible.	Yes
Marketing	Measures whether an email or ad led to a visit. Only used if you accept them.	Yes

4. Cookies we use in detail

The exact cookies may change when we update WordPress, WooCommerce, or our providers. The table below lists the main cookies you will see. Your browser will show the exact list for your visit.

Strictly Necessary Cookies:

WordPress login: wordpress_logged_in, wordpress_sec, wordpress_test_cookie: Keep you logged in to My Account and check your browser accepts cookies. Session or up to 14 days if you tick Remember Me.
WordPress settings: wp-settings, wp-settings-time: Remember your WordPress display preferences. Up to 1 year.
WooCommerce cart: woocommerce_cart_hash, woocommerce_items_in_cart, wp_woocommerce_session: Remember what is in your cart and your checkout session. Session or up to 2 days.
WooCommerce viewed: woocommerce_recently_viewed: Remembers books you recently viewed, so we can show them to you. Up to 30 days.
Cookie banner: cookie_consent, cookie_preferences: Remember your cookie choices from the banner. Up to 12 months.
Stripe: __stripe_mid, __stripe_sid, m: Used by Stripe to process payments securely and prevent fraud. Up to 1 year. Stripe sets these only on checkout pages.
Cloudflare security: cf_clearance, __cf_bm: Used by Cloudflare to protect the site from bots and attacks and to keep it fast. Up to 30 minutes to 1 year.

Functional Cookies:

Preferences: Remember your My Library view and other display preferences. Up to 12 months.

Analytics Cookies (only if you accept them):

Analytics: If analytics is enabled, we use Google Analytics or a privacy-friendly alternative to count visits and see which pages are useful. Cookies such as _ga, _ga_*, _gid are used. _ga up to 2 years, _gid up to 24 hours. IP addresses are anonymised where possible and data is aggregated.

Marketing Cookies (only if you accept them):

Email tracking: Used to measure whether an email led to a visit. For example, our email provider may add a tracking pixel to newsletter emails to count opens and clicks. You can turn off image loading in your email to block pixel tracking.

We do not set advertising cookies for third-party ad networks.

5. Third-party cookies

Some cookies are set by third parties who help us run the site:

Payments: Stripe: Sets cookies on checkout to process payments securely and prevent fraud. See Stripe Privacy Policy.
Security: Cloudflare: Sets security cookies to protect the site from bots and attacks.
Email: Email provider, FluentCRM or Mailchimp: May set cookies or pixels in emails to count opens and clicks if you accept marketing cookies.
Analytics: Analytics provider, if enabled: Sets analytics cookies as described above.

Those third parties have their own privacy and cookie policies. We do not control their cookies, but we only use providers who comply with UK data protection law.

6. How to control cookies

You have several options:

Cookie banner: Use the Cookie Settings link in the footer of spectrumthreadz.co.uk to change your choices at any time. Your choices are saved so we remember them.
Browser settings: Use your browser settings to block, delete, or allow cookies. Each browser is different. Look for Privacy, Cookies, or Site Settings in your browser menu.
Mobile: Use your device settings to control cookies on mobile browsers.
Email tracking: Turn off automatic image loading in your email app to block email tracking pixels.

If you block strictly necessary cookies, parts of the site will not work, including cart, checkout, login, and downloads. If you block analytics or marketing cookies, the site will still work normally.

7. Changes to this policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time, for example if we add a new provider or feature. The Last updated date at the top will change when we do. The current version will always be at https://spectrumthreadz.co.uk/cookie-policy/.

8. Contact us

If you have questions about cookies, contact us:

Via the Contact page: https://spectrumthreadz.co.uk/contact/
By email: [email protected]

For more on how we handle personal data, see our Privacy Policy at https://spectrumthreadz.co.uk/privacy-policy/.