Cookie Policy

Last updated: 22 September 2026

This cookie policy explains what cookies are, how VPNews Ltd ("we", "us", "our") uses them on our website at vpnews.co.uk (the "Site"), and how you can manage your cookie preferences. This policy complies with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).

1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer, tablet, or mobile device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently, provide a better user experience, and give information to the site owners. Cookies can be "persistent" (remaining on your device until they expire or are deleted) or "session" cookies (deleted when you close your browser).

2. Essential Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary for the Site to function properly. They enable core functionality such as security, session management, and accessibility. Under PECR, these cookies do not require your consent as they are essential for the service you have requested.

• Session cookies: maintain your session as you navigate the Site
• Security cookies: protect against cross-site request forgery (CSRF) and other security threats
• Load balancing cookies: ensure the Site performs reliably
• Cookie consent cookie: remembers your cookie preference choice (vpnews-cookie-consent)

3. Analytics Cookies

These cookies help us understand how visitors use the Site so we can improve its performance and content. They require your consent under PECR.

• Google Analytics 4: if you accept analytics cookies, Google sets the cookies _ga and _ga_* (kept for up to two years) to recognise your browser across visits and measure page views, session duration, traffic sources and how visitors use the Site. Data is processed by Google LLC and may be transferred outside the UK under Google's standard contractual safeguards.
• Microsoft Clarity: records how visitors move around a page — clicks, scrolling and taps — so we can improve layout and readability. It runs only if you accept analytics cookies, when it sets _clck, _clsk and CLID (kept for up to a year); Microsoft may also set MUID on its own domain. Text you type into forms is masked in recordings. Data is processed by Microsoft Corporation and may be transferred outside the UK under Microsoft's standard safeguards.

Until you make a choice, and if you choose "Essential Only", no analytics cookies are set and nothing is stored on your device. In that case the Site sends Google a limited, cookieless signal (the page address, referrer, time and your consent state) that cannot identify you and is used only for aggregate modelling. This is Google's Consent Mode.

4. Preference Cookies

These cookies remember your settings and preferences to enhance your experience on future visits. These cookies require your consent under PECR.

• Language and layout preferences
• Content display settings
• Cookie consent preference (stored in localStorage)

Alerts and the app: if you turn alerts on, your browser creates a push subscription — a delivery address issued by your browser's maker (Google, Apple or Mozilla) plus the keys needed to encrypt messages to it — and we keep it on our server, with the topics you chose, for as long as alerts are on. No account is created and nothing else is stored; turning alerts off in the Alerts menu deletes it, and a subscription your browser has cancelled is removed the next time we try to use it. Your chosen topics, the articles you have opened recently and any articles you save are kept in your browser's local storage, and the site's service worker keeps copies of recently opened pages and images on your device so they can be read offline. Clearing the site's data in your browser removes all of it.

5. Advertising Cookies

We use Google AdSense to show advertising that supports our journalism. Advertising cookies require your consent under PECR.

If you accept advertising cookies, Google and its certified partners may set cookies (for example __gads, __gpi and _gcl_au) to personalise adverts, limit how often you see the same one and measure their performance. Google's use of advertising data is described at policies.google.com/technologies/ads.

If you choose "Essential Only", or switch Advertising off, you will still see adverts, but they are non-personalised, no advertising cookies are set, and Google's ad-personalisation signals are switched off for your visit.

6. Third-Party Cookies

Some cookies on our Site are set by third-party services. These include:

• Social media embeds: when we embed content from X (Twitter), YouTube, Facebook, or other platforms, these services may set their own cookies. These are subject to the respective platform's cookie and privacy policies.
• Analytics services: Google Analytics cookies as described above.

We do not control third-party cookies. We encourage you to review the privacy and cookie policies of these third-party services.

7. How to Manage Cookies

You can manage your cookie preferences in the following ways:

Cookie consent banner: when you first visit the Site you can Accept All, choose Essential Only, or Customise analytics and advertising separately. You can change or withdraw your choice at any time using the cookie-settings button at the bottom-left of every page.

Browser settings: You can also control cookies through your browser settings. Instructions for common browsers:

• Google Chrome: Settings → Privacy and Security → Cookies and other site data
• Mozilla Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
• Apple Safari: Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data
• Microsoft Edge: Settings → Cookies and Site Permissions → Manage and delete cookies and site data

Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the Site. Essential cookies cannot be disabled as they are required for the Site to operate.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this cookie policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, legislation, or our practices. When we make changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

9. Cookie Consent

Under PECR we obtain your consent before setting non-essential cookies. When you first visit the Site, our cookie banner lets you:

• Accept All: enables analytics and advertising cookies (essential cookies are always active)
• Essential Only: enables only the cookies strictly necessary for the Site to function
• Customise: choose analytics and advertising separately

Your choice is stored in your browser's local settings (not in a cookie) so we do not ask on every visit. You can change or withdraw your consent at any time using the cookie-settings button at the bottom-left of every page. Withdrawing consent switches that category off immediately and deletes the Google cookies it had set.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions about our use of cookies or this policy, please contact:

Email: [email protected]

VPNews Ltd

London, United Kingdom