Cookie Policy

About cookies and similar technologies Cookies and similar browser storage can be used to keep a website working, remember settings, measure how the service is used and, where permitted, support advertising. Your choices on Swindon Now Swindon Now provides a cookie preference panel when you first visit the website. You can choose Accept All , Reject Non-Essential , or Manage Preferences . You can reopen the same controls later using Cookie Settings in the website footer. Your choice is normally remembered for up to six months. Clearing your browser storage may reset it and cause the preference panel to appear again. Essential storage Essential storage is required for security, authentication, core website operation, consent storage and features you explicitly request. It is always enabled because the website cannot provide those functions reliably without it. Essential storage is not used by Swindon Now to build an advertising profile. Analytics Analytics is optional and is switched off unless you choose to enable it. When Analytics is enabled, Swindon Now uses first-party measurement to understand public page views, article views, sessions, daily unique visitors, device type, broad traffic source and popular pages so that we can improve the service and understand our audience. The reporting system stores aggregated counts rather than a raw browsing history linked to a named visitor. Swindon Now does not store a visitor's raw IP address, name or email address in these audience-reporting tables. Daily unique-visitor and session counting uses first-party browser storage only after Analytics consent has been given. The main Swindon Now news service does not depend on analytics consent. Audience figures shown in our internal reporting therefore represent measured activity from visitors who permit Analytics rather than a claim that every visitor is individually identifiable. Direct advertising measurement For advertisements sold directly by Swindon Now, we may count operational delivery information such as whether an advert achieved a viewable impression, whether its link was clicked and which Swindon Now advertising position displayed it. This is used to administer campaigns and provide advertisers with performance reports. A direct-ad impression is counted by our current system when at least half of the advert is visible on screen for at least one second. Basic impression and click counting does not require Swindon Now to build a cross-site advertising profile. Where Analytics consent has been given, we may additionally calculate first-party daily unique reach for a campaign. Advertising Advertising technologies are optional and are switched off unless you choose to enable them. This category may allow advertising services such as Google AdSense to load where advertising has been enabled on the website. Direct Swindon Now house advertisements and direct client advertisements do not require advertising cookies merely to be displayed. If you withdraw advertising consent after optional advertising technology has already loaded, Swindon Now may reload the page so that it can return without those optional advertising scripts. Google AdSense and certified consent Google AdSense support has been prepared on the website. Swindon Now's own cookie preference panel controls whether optional advertising code may load, but it does not claim to replace any Google-certified consent management platform that Google requires for advertising in the UK, EEA or Switzerland. Before Google advertising is enabled where such requirements apply, Swindon Now will also configure the appropriate Google-certified CMP / Transparency and Consent Framework integration required by Google. Google and participating advertising technology providers may use cookies, device identifiers or similar technologies for purposes such as delivering ads, limiting ad frequency, measuring performance, preventing fraud and, where valid consent has been given, personalising advertising. Changing your choice Use Cookie Settings in the Swindon Now footer at any time to review or change your Analytics and Advertising choices. Essential storage cannot be disabled through that panel. You can also remove cookies and browser storage through your browser settings, although doing so may reset website preferences and sign-in state. For information about Google's advertising controls, see Google's ad privacy controls https://myadcenter.google.com/ . More information See our Privacy Policy /legal/privacy-policy for information about personal data and your rights. --- Last reviewed: September 2026.