Cookies Policy

This Cookies Policy explains how Spooky Paranormal Investigations Ltd (“SPI”, “we”, “us” or “our”) uses cookies and similar technologies on spookypi.co.uk and how visitors can control their choices.

Cookies and similar technologies may be used to operate the website, remember preferences, protect the site, understand how the website is used and, where permitted, measure advertising effectiveness.

Some technologies are necessary for the website to function. Others are only used where permitted by applicable law and, where required, after the visitor has made an appropriate consent choice.

1. WHAT THIS POLICY COVERS

This Cookies Policy explains:

what cookies and similar technologies are;
why SPI may use them;
the different categories of technologies which may be used;
when consent may be required;
how visitors can control their choices;
how third-party services may use these technologies; and
how SPI will update this Policy when its website technology changes.

This Policy should be read together with SPI’s Privacy Notice.

Nothing in this Policy removes or restricts rights available under applicable UK privacy or electronic-communications law.

2. WHAT ARE COOKIES?

Cookies are small pieces of information which may be stored on a computer, smartphone, tablet or other device when a person visits a website.

Cookies can perform a range of functions, for example:

keeping a website secure;
remembering a visitor’s choices;
maintaining a session;
enabling booking or checkout functions;
measuring how a website is used; or
supporting advertising or social-media functionality.

Cookies may be:

session cookies, which normally expire when the browser is closed; or
persistent cookies, which remain for a defined period unless deleted earlier.

They may also be:

first-party cookies, placed in connection with the website being visited; or
third-party cookies, placed or accessed by another organisation whose service is used on the website.

3. SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES

The rules which apply to cookies may also apply to other technologies which store information on, or access information from, a visitor’s device.

Depending on the systems in use, these may include:

local storage;
session storage;
pixels or tracking tags;
device identifiers;
embedded services;
scripts;
browser storage; and
similar tracking or storage technologies.

For simplicity, this Policy may refer collectively to these as “cookies and similar technologies”.

4. WHY SPI MAY USE COOKIES

SPI may use cookies and similar technologies for purposes including:

operating the website;
maintaining website security;
preventing fraud or abuse;
maintaining user sessions;
supporting booking or ticketing functionality;
remembering user choices;
improving website performance;
understanding how visitors use the website;
identifying technical problems;
measuring the effectiveness of advertising;
supporting embedded third-party services; and
complying with legal or regulatory requirements.

The particular technologies used will depend on the website configuration at the relevant time.

5. STRICTLY NECESSARY TECHNOLOGIES

Some cookies or similar technologies may be necessary for the website or a service requested by the visitor to operate properly.

Examples may include technologies necessary for:

website security;
network management;
fraud prevention;
maintaining a booking or checkout session;
remembering information entered during a transaction;
load balancing;
maintaining essential website functionality;
recording a visitor’s cookie-consent choices; or
providing another online service specifically requested by the visitor.

Where a technology falls within an applicable legal exemption, consent may not be required.

SPI will nevertheless aim to provide appropriate information about these technologies.

Blocking strictly necessary technologies may prevent parts of the website from working correctly.

6. FUNCTIONAL OR PREFERENCE TECHNOLOGIES

Some technologies may be used to remember choices or provide enhanced functionality.

Depending on the website configuration, examples may include:

language preferences;
display preferences;
remembered settings;
accessibility preferences; or
other optional website features.

Some technologies used solely to adapt the appearance or functionality of the website to a visitor’s preference may qualify for a statutory exception where all applicable conditions are met.

Whether consent is required will depend on the particular technology, its purpose and the applicable legal rules.

Where consent is required, the technology should not be activated before the visitor has made the relevant choice.

7. ANALYTICS TECHNOLOGIES

SPI uses Google Analytics 4 (“GA4”) to understand how visitors use the website, assess website performance and navigation, identify technical or usability issues and improve SPI’s website and services.

GA4 may process information such as pages visited, navigation between pages, referring pages, browser or device information, website interactions, traffic patterns and identifiers stored in cookies.

SPI’s current configuration treats GA4 as an optional Analytics service. GA4 is not activated until the visitor has allowed the Analytics category through SPI’s cookie-consent controls.

If the visitor rejects non-essential technologies or leaves Analytics disabled, SPI’s GA4 tag is not activated and GA4 analytics cookies are not set by SPI’s current configuration.

A statistical-purpose exception may be available in some circumstances where all applicable legal conditions are met. SPI is not currently relying on that exception for GA4 and instead requires the relevant visitor choice before activating GA4.

The analytics configuration has been tested on SPI’s live spookypi.co.uk website to confirm that GA4 remains inactive before Analytics consent, does not activate when non-essential technologies are rejected, and activates when Analytics consent is given.

8. ADVERTISING AND MARKETING TECHNOLOGIES

SPI uses the Meta Pixel to help measure the effectiveness of Facebook and Instagram advertising, understand advertising-related website activity and support campaign attribution.

Depending on the visitor’s interactions and Meta’s systems, the Meta Pixel may process information such as browser or device identifiers, pages visited, referral information, advertising interactions and website events such as page views.

SPI’s current configuration treats the Meta Pixel as a Marketing technology. It is not activated until the visitor has allowed the Marketing category through SPI’s cookie-consent controls.

If the visitor rejects non-essential technologies or leaves Marketing disabled, SPI’s Meta Pixel tag is not activated and Meta marketing storage is not created by SPI’s current configuration.

SPI has currently disabled Meta’s automatic advanced matching, automatic events and automatic detailed page and product information features. SPI is not currently using the Meta Conversions API as part of this website configuration.

The Meta Pixel configuration has been tested on SPI’s live spookypi.co.uk website to confirm that it remains inactive before Marketing consent, does not activate when non-essential technologies are rejected, and activates when Marketing consent is given.

The SPI website may include links to, or content embedded from, third-party platforms such as social-media or video services.

Embedded content or features may allow the provider to use cookies or similar technologies through the SPI page when the content loads or a visitor interacts with it. Where that use is non-essential and requires consent, the embedded technology should not activate before the visitor makes the required choice.

A link to another website does not by itself mean that the third party sets a cookie through SPI’s website. Once a visitor follows the link and uses the provider’s own website, that provider may use technologies under its own privacy and cookie information.

SPI does not control the independent processing carried out by third-party platforms.

10. TICKET TAILOR AND BOOKING SERVICES

SPI uses Ticket Tailor in connection with event ticketing and booking administration.

Ticket Tailor and services used through the booking process may use cookies or similar technologies for purposes such as:

maintaining booking sessions;
operating the checkout;
security;
fraud prevention;
remembering booking information;
processing payment-related functions; or
providing optional features.

Some technologies used within Ticket Tailor or another external booking or payment service may be controlled by the relevant provider.

Visitors should also review the privacy and cookie information presented by the relevant third party where appropriate.

11. PAYMENT PROVIDERS

Electronic payments may be handled through third-party payment providers such as Stripe, PayPal or another payment option made available during checkout.

Those providers may use cookies or similar technologies for purposes including:

processing payments;
authentication;
security;
fraud detection;
remembering payment preferences; or
complying with legal obligations.

These providers may act independently in relation to some of their processing.

Their own privacy and cookie information may therefore also apply.

SPI uses Complianz to provide website cookie and technology consent controls.

Where UK law requires consent for a cookie or similar technology, SPI’s current configuration is designed so that the relevant non-essential technology is not activated before the visitor has made the appropriate choice.

Consent requires a clear affirmative action. Simply continuing to browse the website is not treated as consent to non-essential Analytics or Marketing technologies.

Visitors can accept all optional technologies, reject non-essential technologies or manage individual categories at any time through the website’s Cookie Settings control.

13. ACCEPTING OR REJECTING NON-ESSENTIAL TECHNOLOGIES

SPI’s cookie-consent controls allow visitors to:

accept all optional technologies;
reject non-essential technologies;
allow or refuse the Analytics category;
allow or refuse the Marketing category; and
save their selected preferences.

Necessary technologies remain available where required to operate the website or remember the visitor’s privacy choices.

SPI has tested the current configuration so that rejecting non-essential technologies does not activate GA4 or the Meta Pixel. Allowing Analytics activates GA4 without requiring Marketing consent, while the Meta Pixel remains disabled unless Marketing is allowed.

Visitors can reopen the website’s Cookie Settings at any time and change or withdraw a previous choice. The Cookie Settings control is available on both desktop and mobile versions of the website.

When a visitor withdraws Analytics or Marketing consent, SPI’s current configuration stops the relevant GA4 or Meta Pixel activity from continuing on subsequent page loads.

SPI’s current website configuration also removes the identified first-party Google Analytics and Meta cookies associated with those categories, together with identified Meta local-storage values used by the Meta Pixel, when the relevant consent is withdrawn.

A technology which has already loaded earlier in a consented browser session cannot necessarily be retrospectively unloaded from a page which is already open. A page refresh may therefore be required for all previously loaded scripts to disappear from that page, but the visitor’s updated consent choice is respected for subsequent loading and processing.

Browser or device settings provide additional controls, but do not replace SPI’s responsibility to provide appropriate consent controls where legally required.

Changing or withdrawing consent does not make processing which occurred lawfully before that change unlawful.

SPI uses Complianz consent-management cookies to remember a visitor’s cookie choices and help ensure those choices continue to be respected.

These may record information such as:

whether the cookie banner has been dismissed;
whether Necessary, Analytics or Marketing categories are allowed or denied;
the policy or consent version associated with the choice; and
information about consented services.

These consent-management technologies are used for the purpose of recording and respecting the visitor’s privacy preferences rather than for advertising or behavioural analytics.

16. BROWSER CONTROLS

Most browsers allow visitors to view, delete or block cookies and change site-specific permissions. The available controls depend on the browser and device.

These are additional controls and are not a substitute for SPI providing appropriate consent controls where legally required. Blocking all cookies may affect functions that genuinely depend on strictly necessary technologies.

17. PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY REGISTER

The following technologies have been verified on SPI’s live spookypi.co.uk website. This register reflects the website configuration observed during production testing and will be reviewed periodically and when relevant website technologies or providers change.

Necessary and consent-management technologies

cmplz_banner-status
Provider: Complianz / SPI
Purpose: Remembers whether the cookie banner has been dismissed.
Category: Necessary
Storage: First-party cookie
Duration: 1 year
Consent required: No

cmplz_consented_services
Provider: Complianz / SPI
Purpose: Stores information about services for which consent has been recorded.
Category: Necessary
Storage: First-party cookie
Duration: 1 year
Consent required: No

cmplz_functional
Provider: Complianz / SPI
Purpose: Stores the visitor’s Necessary or functional consent status.
Category: Necessary
Storage: First-party cookie
Duration: 1 year
Consent required: No

cmplz_preferences
Provider: Complianz / SPI
Purpose: Stores the visitor’s preference-category consent choice.
Category: Necessary
Storage: First-party cookie
Duration: 1 year
Consent required: No

cmplz_statistics
Provider: Complianz / SPI
Purpose: Stores whether the visitor has allowed or denied Analytics technologies.
Category: Necessary
Storage: First-party cookie
Duration: 1 year
Consent required: No

cmplz_marketing
Provider: Complianz / SPI
Purpose: Stores whether the visitor has allowed or denied Marketing technologies.
Category: Necessary
Storage: First-party cookie
Duration: 1 year
Consent required: No

cmplz_policy_id
Provider: Complianz / SPI
Purpose: Records the cookie-policy or consent version associated with the visitor’s choice.
Category: Necessary
Storage: First-party cookie
Duration: 1 year
Consent required: No

Analytics technologies

_ga
Provider: Google Analytics
Purpose: Helps distinguish visitors for website analytics and measurement.
Category: Analytics
Storage: First-party cookie
Duration: Up to approximately 400 days, unless removed earlier when Analytics consent is withdrawn
Consent required: Yes – Analytics

_ga_0KLTPPC1KS
Provider: Google Analytics
Purpose: Maintains GA4 session and measurement information for SPI’s Google Analytics property.
Category: Analytics
Storage: First-party cookie
Duration: Up to approximately 400 days, unless removed earlier when Analytics consent is withdrawn
Consent required: Yes – Analytics

Marketing technologies

_fbp
Provider: Meta
Purpose: Supports Meta Pixel advertising measurement, attribution and identification of browser activity for Meta advertising purposes.
Category: Marketing
Storage: First-party cookie
Duration: Approximately 90 days, unless removed earlier when Marketing consent is withdrawn
Consent required: Yes – Marketing

lastExternalReferrer
Provider: Meta
Purpose: Stores referral information used by the Meta Pixel when Marketing technologies are allowed.
Category: Marketing
Storage: Local storage
Duration: Persistent while present, and removed by SPI when Marketing consent is withdrawn
Consent required: Yes – Marketing

lastExternalReferrerTime
Provider: Meta
Purpose: Stores timing information associated with Meta Pixel referral information.
Category: Marketing
Storage: Local storage
Duration: Persistent while present, and removed by SPI when Marketing consent is withdrawn
Consent required: Yes – Marketing

Google Tag Manager

SPI uses Google Tag Manager to manage website tags. The Tag Manager container itself is used to deliver and control tags and was not observed setting analytics or advertising cookies during SPI’s live production testing.

GA4 and Meta Pixel tags within the container are configured to activate only after the relevant Complianz consent event.

Production consent testing

SPI tested the current configuration using fresh browser sessions, browser storage inspection, network requests and Google Tag Manager behaviour.

Before a visitor makes a choice, GA4 and Meta Pixel storage was not observed.
After “Reject non-essential”, GA4 and Meta Pixel did not activate.
With Analytics allowed and Marketing denied, GA4 can operate independently of the Meta Pixel.
With all optional categories allowed, both GA4 and Meta Pixel activated.
When Analytics and Marketing consent were subsequently withdrawn, GA4 and Meta Pixel network activity stopped on the following page load.
Identified first-party Google Analytics and Meta cookies were removed after withdrawal of the relevant consent.
Identified Meta local-storage values used by the Meta Pixel were removed after Marketing consent was withdrawn.
The Cookie Settings control was verified as available on both desktop and mobile layouts so visitors can revisit their choices.

This register records technologies verified in SPI’s own website environment. Third-party booking and payment providers may use additional technologies when a visitor uses their own websites or checkout services, as explained elsewhere in this Policy.

18. THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS

Depending on the website services which are configured, cookies or similar technologies may be associated with third-party providers.

These may include providers of:

website hosting;
ticketing;
payment processing;
analytics;
advertising;
embedded media;
security;
consent management;
social media; or
other website services.

A third-party provider may act as SPI’s processor, an independent controller, or in another legally recognised capacity depending on the service and circumstances.

Where appropriate, visitors should also review the relevant provider’s own privacy and cookie information.

19. PERSONAL INFORMATION AND COOKIES

Information collected through cookies or similar technologies may be personal information. Where it is, SPI will process it in accordance with applicable UK data-protection law and our Privacy Notice.

The lawful basis depends on the technology, its purpose, whether consent is legally required, the nature of the information and the circumstances of the processing.

20. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

Some third-party technology providers may process information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, the transfer will be handled in accordance with applicable UK data-protection requirements.

Further information about international transfers is contained in SPI’s Privacy Notice.

21. RETENTION

Cookie and browser-storage retention periods vary depending on the technology and its purpose.

Some technologies may last only for the duration of a browser session.

Others may remain for a defined period or until they are cleared or replaced.

Where SPI’s current consent-cleanup configuration applies, identified Analytics or Marketing storage may be removed earlier when the relevant consent is withdrawn.

SPI will seek to ensure that retention periods are proportionate to their intended purposes.

The verified technology register identifies the observed or applicable duration where relevant.

22. SECURITY

SPI will take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect information collected through its website.

Third-party providers may also apply their own security measures to technologies operated by them.

No internet-based system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

23. CHANGES TO WEBSITE TECHNOLOGIES

SPI may add, remove or change website technologies as the website, booking services, security requirements, providers, law or business needs change.

SPI reviews its website technologies so that public information and consent controls reflect actual behaviour.

Before a new non-essential technology is enabled, SPI should assess its purpose, the information involved, whether consent is required, and whether the consent controls, technology register, this Policy or the Privacy Notice need updating.

SPI may need to ask visitors to make a new cookie choice where:

new purposes are introduced;
materially different technologies are introduced;
an existing consent is no longer sufficiently specific;
legal requirements change; or
another circumstance means existing consent should not reasonably continue to be relied upon.

25. CHANGES TO THIS COOKIES POLICY

SPI may update this Cookies Policy from time to time.

Changes may be made to reflect:

new technologies;
changes to providers;
changes to website functionality;
changes to analytics or advertising systems;
changes to consent arrangements;
changes in law or regulatory guidance; or
improvements to the information provided.

The current version and latest revision date will be published on the website.

26. RELATIONSHIP WITH SPI’S PRIVACY NOTICE

SPI’s Privacy Notice explains how personal information connected with website technologies is handled, including lawful bases, sharing, international transfers, retention, security, individual rights and privacy contact routes.

27. CONTACT SPI

For questions about this Cookies Policy or SPI’s use of cookies and similar technologies, contact Spooky Paranormal Investigations Ltd at hello@spookypi.co.uk.

Full company and privacy contact details are provided in our Privacy Notice.

Cookies at a Glance