Cookies Policy

1. Introduction

This Cookies Policy explains how ESTATE PLANNING SEMINARS LTD ("we," "us," or "our"), a company registered in England and Wales with company number 13252773 and registered address at 26a Back Lane, Congleton, CW12 4PP, United Kingdom, uses cookies and similar technologies on our website in connection with the SmartHome2026 educational webinar series.

We believe in full transparency about how our website works and what data it collects. This policy provides you with clear information about the cookies placed on your device when you visit our site, why they are placed, and how you can control them. We encourage you to read this policy carefully so you understand our practices regarding cookies and how they affect your browsing experience.

Our website is designed to support the educational objectives of the SmartHome2026 webinar series. The cookies we use are limited to those necessary for the proper functioning of the site and for understanding how visitors interact with our content so that we can improve it over time. We do not use cookies for advertising, retargeting, or tracking you across other websites.

By continuing to browse and use our website after being presented with the cookie consent banner, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Cookies Policy. If you do not agree with our use of cookies, you can adjust your browser settings or use the controls described below to limit or disable them.

2. What Are Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer, smartphone, tablet, or other device when you visit a website. They are widely used across the internet to make websites work more efficiently, to provide a better user experience, and to give website owners useful information about how their site is being used.

Cookies are created when your browser loads a particular website. The website sends information to the browser, which then creates a text file on your device. Each time you return to the same website, the browser retrieves and sends this file to the website's server. Cookies can be "persistent" (remaining on your device for a set period or until you delete them) or "session" cookies (deleted automatically when you close your browser).

Cookies can be "first-party" cookies, which are set by the website you are visiting, or "third-party" cookies, which are set by a domain other than the one you are visiting. For example, if you visit our website and another company sets a cookie through our site for analytics purposes, that would be a third-party cookie.

Cookies themselves do not contain personal information that directly identifies you, though some cookies can be linked to personal data if you provide it to us (for example, through a registration form). They cannot execute code, deliver viruses, or access other data on your device.

3. Types of Cookies We Use

Our website uses two categories of cookies: technical (strictly necessary) cookies and analytics cookies. We have deliberately chosen to limit our use of cookies to these two categories because our website serves a purely educational purpose. We do not use advertising cookies, retargeting cookies, social media tracking cookies, or any other form of marketing-oriented cookie technology.

Below, we explain each type in detail so you can understand exactly what data each cookie collects, why it is necessary, and how long it remains on your device.

4. Technical (Strictly Necessary) Cookies

Technical cookies, also known as strictly necessary cookies, are essential for the basic operation of our website. Without these cookies, certain features of the site simply cannot function. These cookies do not collect any information about you that could be used for marketing purposes, nor do they remember where you have been on the internet outside of our website.

On our website, technical cookies are used for the following purposes:

• Cookie consent preference: We store your cookie consent choice (accept or decline) in your browser's local storage so that the consent banner is not shown repeatedly on every page visit. This preference persists until you clear your browser data.
• Session management: Standard session cookies may be used by our hosting infrastructure to route requests correctly and maintain your browsing session as you navigate between pages.
• Security cookies: Our hosting provider may set cookies to protect the site from cross-site request forgery and other common security threats. These cookies help ensure that your interaction with the website is secure.

Because technical cookies are essential for the website to function, they do not require your consent under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). However, we still inform you about them here for complete transparency.

These cookies are typically session cookies (deleted when you close your browser) or short-lived persistent cookies. Your cookie consent preference stored via localStorage has no automatic expiry but can be cleared at any time through your browser settings.

5. Analytics Cookies

Analytics cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website. They collect information about which pages are visited most often, how visitors navigate between pages, and whether visitors encounter any error messages. All the information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. It does not identify individual visitors.

We use analytics data solely to improve the quality of our website and the educational content we provide. For instance, if analytics data shows that visitors frequently leave a particular page without reading the content, we may revise that page to make it more useful and engaging.

Our analytics setup may include Google Analytics, a widely used web analytics service provided by Google LLC. When Google Analytics is active, it sets cookies to help us collect the following types of data:

• Number of visitors and page views
• Duration of visits and bounce rate
• General geographic location (country or city level, not precise address)
• Browser type, operating system, and device type
• Traffic sources (how visitors arrive at the website)
• Pages viewed and navigation paths through the site

Where Google Analytics is used, we have IP anonymisation enabled, which means your full IP address is never stored. Google processes the data on our behalf and is contractually prevented from using it for its own purposes. We have a data processing agreement in place with Google that includes Standard Contractual Clauses for any international data transfers.

Analytics cookies are only placed on your device if you accept cookies through our consent banner. If you decline, no analytics cookies will be set, and your browsing will not be tracked by analytics tools.

6. Cookies We Do Not Use

We want to be explicit about the types of cookies that are not present on our website. Given the educational nature of our webinar series, we have no reason to employ these technologies, and we are committed to keeping our cookie usage minimal and transparent.

Our commitment to minimal cookie use reflects our respect for your privacy and our focus on providing valuable educational content without unnecessary data collection.

7. How to Manage and Delete Cookies

You have full control over the cookies stored on your device. Most web browsers allow you to manage cookies through their settings. You can choose to block all cookies, accept all cookies, or be notified when a cookie is set so that you can decide whether to accept it on a case-by-case basis.

Please note that if you choose to block or delete all cookies, some features of our website may not function properly. For example, if you delete the cookie consent preference stored in your browser, the consent banner will reappear on your next visit.

Below are links to the cookie management instructions for the most commonly used browsers:

If you use a browser not listed above, please consult the help section of your browser or visit the browser manufacturer's website for instructions on managing cookies. You may also use your device's operating system settings on mobile devices to manage cookie preferences.

8. Our Cookie Consent Mechanism

When you first visit our website, a cookie consent banner appears in the bottom-right corner of your screen. This banner provides you with three options:

Your consent preference is stored in your browser's localStorage under the key "cookie-consent." This is not itself a cookie but a browser storage mechanism that persists until you clear your browser data. You can change your preference at any time by clearing your browser data and revisiting the site, which will cause the consent banner to appear again.

We designed our consent mechanism to be non-intrusive. The banner does not block page content, and you can continue browsing the website without interacting with it. However, until you make a choice, only strictly necessary cookies will be active.

9. Detailed Cookie Table

The following table provides a comprehensive overview of each cookie or similar technology that may be present on our website, along with its purpose, category, and retention period.

Note: Analytics cookies (_ga, _ga_*, _gid, _gat) are only placed if you accept cookies through the consent banner. The cookie-consent entry is stored via localStorage, not as an HTTP cookie.

10. Third-Party Cookies and Services

The only third-party service that may place cookies on your device through our website is Google Analytics. Google processes this data on our behalf and is not permitted to use it for its own advertising purposes. We have configured Google Analytics with the following privacy-protective settings:

• IP anonymisation is enabled, ensuring your full IP address is never stored
• Data sharing with Google for benchmarking and other Google services is disabled
• Remarketing and advertising reporting features are turned off
• Data retention is set to the minimum available period

Google Analytics data may be processed and stored on servers located in the United States. We have ensured that appropriate safeguards are in place for this international transfer of data, including Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission and the UK Information Commissioner's Office.

You can opt out of Google Analytics entirely by installing the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on, which is available for all major browsers. This tool prevents Google Analytics JavaScript from sharing information about your visit activity with Google Analytics.

11. Changes to This Cookies Policy

We may update this Cookies Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the cookies we use, changes in technology, or changes in applicable laws and regulations. When we make material changes to this policy, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page.

If we introduce new types of cookies (beyond technical and analytics), we will reset the cookie consent mechanism so that the banner appears again for all visitors, giving you the opportunity to review and accept or decline the updated cookie categories.

We encourage you to review this Cookies Policy periodically to stay informed about how we use cookies. Your continued use of our website after any changes to this policy constitutes your acknowledgment of those changes.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Cookies Policy, the cookies we use, or how to manage your cookie preferences, please contact us using the details below. We are happy to provide further clarification or assist you with exercising your rights.

For broader data protection questions or to exercise your rights under GDPR and UK data protection law (such as the right to access, rectify, or erase your personal data), please refer to our Privacy Policy.