Cookie Policy
Last updated: 8 October 2026
What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work, to improve efficiency, and to provide information to the site owner. Some cookies are stored only for the duration of your browser session and are deleted when you close your browser. Others persist on your device for a set period of time.
In addition to traditional cookies, we also use browser localStorage to store certain data on your device. This works similarly to cookies but is not transmitted to our servers with each page request.
Under the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) and UK GDPR, we are required to obtain your consent before placing non-essential cookies on your device, and to clearly explain how we use them.
Cookies We Use
The table below describes every cookie and local storage entry used on this website.
| Name | Type | Purpose | Storage | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
hf_cart |
Essential | Stores the contents of your shopping cart so items are not lost when you navigate between pages or return to the site. | localStorage | Until cleared by user |
hf-consent |
Essential | Remembers your cookie choice (Accept all or Essential only) so we do not ask you again on every visit. | localStorage | Until cleared by user |
_ga |
Analytics | Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Distinguishes unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. Used to calculate visitor, session and campaign data for site analytics reports. | Cookie | 2 years |
_ga_* |
Analytics | Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Maintains session state and records session-level data. The wildcard represents the GA4 measurement ID specific to this property. | Cookie | Session / 2 years |
_gcl_au |
Advertising | Google. May be set by Google's tag (the code that loads Google Analytics) when you allow advertising cookies, to record that you arrived from a Google advert. We do not currently run Google adverts. Only set if you choose Accept all. | Cookie | 90 days |
_fbp |
Advertising | Meta (Facebook and Instagram) Pixel. Identifies your browser so Meta can measure our adverts, match purchases on our site to them and show our adverts to people likely to be interested. Only set if you choose Accept all. | Cookie | 90 days |
_fbc |
Advertising | Meta (Facebook and Instagram). Stores the click identifier when you arrive from one of our Meta adverts, so a purchase can be matched to that advert. Only set if you choose Accept all. | Cookie | 90 days |
Advertising and Your Orders
If you choose Accept all and then place an order, the Meta Pixel on our order confirmation page tells Meta about the purchase so we can measure which of our adverts work. This includes your order number, the items and the order value, together with your email address, phone number, name, town or city, postcode and country. The Meta Pixel hashes these details (converts them into a scrambled code) in your browser before they are sent. A copy of each Meta Pixel event, including your IP address, browser type and the _fbp and _fbc values above, is also passed to Meta through Meta's Conversions API Gateway, a server-side service connected to our Meta account, so that purchases are still counted when a browser blocks the pixel. Google Analytics also records the purchase (order number, items and value, but not your contact details) if you allow analytics cookies.
If you choose Essential only, the Meta Pixel does not run and we do not share these details with Meta for advertising.
Managing Cookies
When you first visit our website, we will ask for your consent before placing any non-essential (analytics or advertising) cookies. Choose Accept all to allow both, or Essential only to allow neither.
You can change your choice at any time using the Cookie settings link at the bottom of every page, or the button below. If you switch to Essential only, we also delete the analytics and advertising cookies our website has already set. If you accepted cookies before 8 October 2026, we will ask you again, because we now also use advertising cookies.
You can also control and delete cookies directly through your browser settings. The links below explain how to do this in the most common browsers:
To opt out of Google Analytics tracking specifically, you can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
Please note that disabling or deleting essential cookies (such as hf_cart) may affect the functionality of the website, including your ability to add items to your cart.
If you have any questions about our use of cookies, please contact us at hello@hookandflanker.co.uk.