Cookie Policy

1. About this policy

Cookies are small files a site stores in your browser. Local storage works similarly but is not sent back to the server with each request. This policy covers both, for this website and the Fish Planet London customer portal. It sits alongside our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

2. Cookies on this website

This marketing site sets no cookies unless you accept analytics. If you accept, Google Analytics 4 sets two first-party analytics cookies:

• _ga — analytics cookie. Assigns your browser a random ID so repeat visits are counted as the same visitor rather than a new one. Expires after 2 years.
• _ga_9LT97HDG0R — analytics cookie. Keeps track of the current visit (session) so pages viewed together are grouped. Expires after 2 years.

They are only set after you click “Accept”, are never used for advertising, and are deleted if you later choose “Reject” from “Cookie settings” in the footer. The site also keeps one item in your browser's local storage, which is not a cookie:

• cookie-consent — remembers whether you accepted or rejected analytics cookies, so you are not asked on every page. It contains only "granted" or "denied", is never sent to our server, and stays until you change your choice or clear your browser storage. Because it only records your choice, it does not itself need consent.

Our hosting provider sets no cookies on this website. The enquiry and newsletter forms send what you type directly to our own server and do not rely on any cookie.

3. Cookies in the customer portal

The customer portal sets two first-party cookies. Both are necessary for it to work; neither is used for advertising or cross-site tracking.

• Sign-in session cookie (name begins sb-) — keeps you signed in and holds your session token. It cannot be read by scripts in the page, is restricted to our own domain, is sent only over HTTPS in production, and expires after 30 days. It is deleted when you sign out.
• fp_world — remembers which section of the portal you last viewed (for example aquatics or terrariums) so the right one opens next time. It holds only that preference, is readable by scripts in the page because the interface needs it, and expires after one year.

Purpose classification: both are strictly necessary or preference cookies. The portal sets no analytics, performance or advertising cookies; the only analytics cookies are the optional ones on this website described in section 2 — see the Analytics section of the Privacy Policy.

4. Third-party storage

The portal embeds two third-party components in pages where they are needed: the payment provider's card fields at checkout, and a bot-protection challenge on the sign-in and sign-up forms. These run in the provider's own frame and may set their own cookies or storage for security and fraud prevention. We do not control those and cannot read them; the provider's own privacy and cookie notices apply. This website itself embeds no third-party content apart from Google Analytics, and that only after you accept.

5. Consent

On your first visit this website asks whether you accept analytics cookies. “Accept” and “Reject” are equally prominent, and until you choose, Google Analytics is not loaded at all — no request is made to Google and no cookie is set. Ignoring the banner is treated as not accepting. You can change your choice at any time with “Cookie settings” in the footer; rejecting after accepting stops measurement immediately and deletes the analytics cookies. The customer portal has no consent banner because it sets no analytics or advertising storage.

6. How to control cookies and storage

You can delete or block cookies and clear local storage in your browser settings, and most browsers let you do this per site. Blocking the sign-in session cookie will prevent you from staying signed in to the portal. Clearing local storage on this site will simply ask you about analytics cookies again.

For analytics specifically, use “Cookie settings” in the footer of any page to accept or reject at any time.

7. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. The version in force is the one published on this page.

8. Contact us

Email contact@fishplanetlondon.co.uk or call +44 2046259881.