1. 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 efficiently and to provide information to website owners. Similar technologies include web beacons, pixel tags, and local storage — we refer to all of these collectively as "cookies" in this policy.
2. How we use cookies
We use cookies to:
- Keep our website functioning correctly (strictly necessary cookies)
- Remember your preferences between visits
- Understand how visitors use our website so we can improve it
- Serve relevant content (no advertising or cross-site tracking)
We do not use cookies for:
- Targeted or behavioural advertising
- Selling or sharing data with ad networks
- Cross-site tracking across unrelated websites
3. Types of cookies we use
3.1 Strictly necessary cookies
These cookies are essential for the website to function. They cannot be switched off. They are usually set in response to actions you take, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, or filling in forms. No consent is required for these cookies.
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| __session | Firebase / Google | Maintains admin authentication state for the admin panel | Session | Necessary |
| mgl_prefs | minutegadgets.co.uk | Stores your cookie consent preference | 1 year | Necessary |
3.2 Functional cookies
These cookies enable enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services appear on our pages. Disabling them may affect site functionality.
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mgl_theme | minutegadgets.co.uk | Remembers display preferences (reserved for future use) | 1 year | Functional |
| firebase:authUser | Firebase / Google | Stores Firebase Auth token in localStorage for admin session persistence | Until sign-out | Functional |
3.3 Analytics cookies
These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting information anonymously. We use this data to improve our website's structure and content.
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Google Analytics | Distinguishes unique users for analytics reporting (if Google Analytics is enabled) | 2 years | Analytics |
| _ga_* | Google Analytics | Persists session state for Google Analytics | 2 years | Analytics |
Note: Analytics cookies are only set if we have enabled an analytics service. We anonymise IP addresses and do not share analytics data for advertising purposes.
4. Third-party cookies
Some cookies on our site are set by third-party services we use. These third parties have their own privacy and cookie policies:
- Google Firebase — authentication and database services. Google Privacy Policy
- Google Fonts — typography served from Google's CDN may set functional cookies. Google Privacy Policy
- jsDelivr CDN — serves JavaScript libraries; no tracking cookies are set by jsDelivr.
We do not use Facebook Pixel, Google Ads, or any advertising or retargeting cookies.
5. Cookie consent
When you first visit our website, we will ask for your consent to set non-essential cookies (functional and analytics). You can:
- Accept all — enables functional and analytics cookies in addition to strictly necessary ones.
- Reject non-essential — only strictly necessary cookies will be set.
- Customise — choose which categories to allow.
Your preference is stored in the mgl_prefs cookie for one year. You can change your preference at any time by clicking "Cookie Settings" in the website footer.
6. How to manage and delete cookies
You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. The links below provide instructions for the most popular browsers:
Please note that disabling strictly necessary cookies will affect the functionality of our website. Disabling analytics or functional cookies will not prevent you from using the site.
You can also opt out of Google Analytics across all websites using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
7. Cookies in our mobile applications
Our mobile applications (iOS and Android) do not use browser cookies. They may use similar local storage mechanisms (such as AsyncStorage on React Native or SharedPreferences on Android) for session management and user preferences. These are detailed in the privacy notice within each application.
8. Changes to this policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the cookies we use or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page when we do. We encourage you to revisit this policy periodically.
9. Contact us
If you have questions about our use of cookies or this policy, please contact us:
Minute Gadgets Limited
149 Belvue Close, Northolt, UB5 5HA, UK
Email: hello@minutegadgets.co.uk · Phone: +44 7845 789501