Cookie Policy

This policy explains how this website uses cookies and similar technologies such as local storage. It should be read alongside our Privacy Policy.

1. What cookies are

A cookie is a small text file that a website asks your browser to store on your device. Cookies can be used to remember your preferences, to keep you logged in, or to follow your activity across sites for advertising. Similar technologies — local storage and session storage — let a site keep data in your browser without sending it back with every request.

2. Cookies this website uses

Category	Used on this site?
Strictly necessary	No cookies. The site is a set of static pages. It does not need cookies to work, and it sets none.
Preferences and functionality	None. Your bike and kit selections are held in the page address and in the page itself while you are on it. They are not stored in your browser and are not remembered after you leave.
Analytics and performance	None. We do not run Google Analytics, and we do not use any other analytics or heat-mapping service.
Advertising, remarketing and profiling	None. We do not run advertising pixels or share your activity with advertising networks.
Social media	None. We do not embed social feeds, share buttons or comment widgets that would set third-party cookies.
Local and session storage	None set by us. We do not write to your browser's storage. The live chat may do so once you click it — see the row below.
Live chat (third party, tawk.to)	Only after you click Chat. The chat service is not loaded when a page loads. It loads when you click the Chat button, and from then on tawk.to may set its own cookies and browser storage so your conversation survives a page change and so you are recognised on a later visit. Until you click, none of that exists.

You can confirm this yourself: open your browser's developer tools, go to the Application or Storage tab, and look at the cookies and local storage for this site. Before you touch the chat button you will find nothing set by us; after you have used the chat you will also see entries from tawk.to, which provides it.

3. Third-party services these pages load

Even without setting cookies, a web page can ask another company's server for a file. When that happens, that company sees your IP address and basic browser information as part of serving the request.

• Google Fonts — the typefaces used on this site are requested from Google's font delivery service (fonts.googleapis.com and fonts.gstatic.com). Google states that this font delivery service does not set cookies and is not used for advertising or profiling. Google's own privacy policy and Fonts privacy FAQ set out how it handles those requests.
• Our website host — the pages themselves are served by Netlify. Serving a static page does not set a cookie. Like any host, Netlify records standard server logs, which include IP addresses, for security and operational purposes. These logs are a server record, not a cookie.
• Live chat — tawk.to — if you click the Chat button, your browser loads the chat service from embed.tawk.to. It is not loaded at any other time. Once running, tawk.to acts as our processor for the conversation and may set its own cookies and storage, so the chat survives a page change and so you are recognised on a return visit. It is not used for advertising or profiling. tawk.to's own privacy policy sets out how it handles that data.

4. How to control cookies in your browser

Even though we set nothing, you can control cookies and storage generally through your browser settings. All major browsers let you block all cookies, block third-party cookies, or delete existing ones. Look for the privacy or security section of your browser's settings, or the help pages for:

• Chrome — Settings → Privacy and security → Third-party cookies
• Safari — Settings → Privacy
• Firefox — Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
• Edge — Settings → Cookies and site permissions

Blocking cookies will not affect browsing or ordering — nothing on this site depends on them. The only feature that would stop working is the live chat.

5. If this changes

The live chat described above is the one change since this policy was first written, and it is set up to load only when you click it — so nothing is stored beforehand and no consent banner is needed. If we ever add something that does set cookies on page load — analytics, an embedded payment provider, or chat that loads automatically — we will update this policy, add it to the table above, and add a consent banner that asks you first. Nothing non-essential will be set without your agreement.

6. Contact

Any question about this policy? Email orders@brakehard.co.uk or call 0800 654 6845. See the Privacy Policy for how to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.