01 — What Are Cookies
What Are Cookies
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device — computer, tablet, or mobile — when you visit a website. They are widely used by website operators to make websites function effectively, to gather anonymous usage information, and to remember your preferences.
Cookies do not contain executable code and cannot be used to access files on your device beyond what you have permitted. They are simply data stored in text form by your browser at the request of the websites you visit.
Cookies can be "session cookies", which are deleted when you close your browser, or "persistent cookies", which remain on your device for a defined period or until you delete them manually. This policy explains both types as used on sorel.info.
02 — Why We Use Them
Why Sorel Field Notes Uses Cookies
Sorel Field Notes is an independent editorial publication. We use a limited number of cookies for three purposes: to keep the Publication functioning correctly, to understand in aggregate how readers navigate our content, and to remember your preferences such as cookie consent status.
We do not use cookies to build personal profiles of individual readers, to serve targeted advertising, or to track your activity across other websites. Our approach is minimal and purposeful.
Under the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) and UK GDPR, we are required to obtain your consent before placing non-essential cookies on your device. You are presented with a consent banner on your first visit, and you can update your preferences at any time via "Cookie Settings" in the footer.
03 — Essential Cookies
Essential Cookies
These cookies are strictly necessary for the Publication to function. They do not collect any personal information and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are set in response to actions you take, such as submitting a contact form or setting your privacy preferences.
Because these cookies are essential for the Publication to work, your consent is not required before they are placed. However, you can block them through your browser settings; note that doing so may affect how the site operates.
| Cookie Name |
Purpose |
Duration |
Type |
| sfn_cookie_consent |
Stores your cookie consent preferences so the banner does not appear on every page visit |
13 months |
Persistent |
| sfn_session |
Maintains your session state while navigating between pages |
Session |
Session |
| PHPSESSID |
Standard PHP session identifier, required for server-side form handling |
Session |
Session |
04 — Analytical Cookies
Analytical Cookies
Analytical cookies help us understand how readers engage with the Publication. The data collected is aggregated and anonymous — we cannot identify individual readers from this information. We use it to understand which articles are most read, how readers navigate between pages, and how long they spend with each piece of content.
This information helps us make editorial decisions about which topics and formats best serve our readership. These cookies are placed only with your consent.
| Cookie Name |
Provider |
Purpose |
Duration |
| _sfn_analytics |
Sorel Field Notes |
Tracks anonymous page view counts and article engagement data |
26 months |
| _sfn_ref |
Sorel Field Notes |
Records which source referred the visitor to the Publication (anonymised) |
30 days |
05 — Functional Cookies
Functional Cookies
Functional cookies enable enhanced features that improve your experience of the Publication. They may remember choices you have made, such as your preferred reading settings, or enable interactive features like the FAQ accordion and image viewing functionality.
These cookies are not essential for the core processing of the Publication, but without them, certain interactive features may not work as intended. They are placed only with your consent.
| Cookie Name |
Provider |
Purpose |
Duration |
| sfn_ui_prefs |
Sorel Field Notes |
Stores UI preference states such as open accordion panels |
90 days |
| fancybox_session |
Fancyapps |
Enables the image lightbox viewer used on article pages |
Session |
06 — Third-Party Cookies
Third-Party Cookies
Some features of the Publication load content from external providers, which may result in third-party cookies being placed on your device. These are outside our direct control, though we only use providers whose privacy practices we consider consistent with our own.
Google Maps
Contact Page Only
The contact page embeds a Google Maps iframe to display our office location. Google may set cookies in connection with this embed. We use the standard embed format which minimises data sharing. Google's privacy policy is available at policies.google.com/privacy.
Fontshare & Google Fonts
All Pages
Typography on this Publication is loaded from Fontshare (Indian Type Foundry) and Google Fonts. Font requests may result in your IP address being logged by these providers. We use font preconnect headers to minimise latency and exposure.
CDN Libraries
All Pages
We load JavaScript libraries (such as jQuery and AOS) from content delivery networks including jsDelivr and unpkg. These CDN providers may log request data including IP address. They do not set persistent tracking cookies.
We do not use any social media sharing plugins, embedded video players, or advertising networks that would place marketing or targeting cookies on your device.
07 — Managing Preferences
How to Manage Your Cookie Preferences
You have several options for managing the cookies placed by sorel.info and by third parties.
01
Cookie Consent Banner
On your first visit, you are presented with our cookie consent banner. You can accept all cookies, accept partial cookies (analytics only), or accept functional cookies only. Your selection is stored for 13 months.
02
Cookie Settings (Footer)
You can re-open the consent banner at any time by clicking "Cookie Settings" in the footer of any page. This allows you to change your preferences without needing to clear your browser cookies first.
Open Cookie Settings
03
Browser Settings
All modern browsers allow you to view, delete, and block cookies via their privacy settings. Note that blocking all cookies may affect the functionality of some features. Guidance for common browsers:
- —Google Chrome: Settings > Privacy and Security > Cookies and other site data
- —Mozilla Firefox: Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data
- —Safari (macOS): Preferences > Privacy
- —Microsoft Edge: Settings > Cookies and site permissions
08 — Policy Updates
Updates to This Policy
We review and update this Cookie Policy periodically, particularly when new cookies are introduced to the Publication or when our use of existing cookies changes. When updates are made, the revision date at the top of this page is updated.
For significant changes to how we use cookies — particularly if we were to introduce a new category of cookie such as advertising cookies — we would re-prompt you for consent via the cookie banner.
Questions about this Cookie Policy may be directed to us at [email protected] or by post to 52 Frith Street, W1D 4SJ London, United Kingdom.