Online Policies

The following policy sets out how ICA uses cookies and processes the personal information collected from you or provided by you through our website.

A cookie is a small data file that consists of a string of information that a website stores on your computer (or other device) when you access it.

Basically, when you visit a website that uses cookies for the first time a cookie is downloaded onto your computer. The next time you visit that website your computer checks to see it it has a cookie that is relevant (one that contains the name of the website your visiting). If there is a cookie present the website ’knows’ that you are a returning visitor and, in some cases, tailors the content you see accordingly.

Websites often use cookies to help personalise and improve your experience on their site. This might include cookies remembering your login details when you return, recording how long you spend on individuals web pages, keeping a track of your previous orders, what’s in your shopping cart or even remembering your preferences for page layouts and colour schemes.

Other technologies used by websites include pixel tags (also known as web beacons). Pixel tags are small blocks of code that often work alongside cookies (but not always). They are used across websites and emails for a wide range of different reasons, including reporting back when you have opened an email, remembering your IP address and browser details, recording the time and date you visited a website and tracking your journey through a website or series of websites.

How does ICA use cookies and pixel tags?

ICA uses cookies and other technologies like pixel tags to help us gather the information needed to improve our website and our user’s experience. For example, by enabling us to identify and track what content is most or least popular on our website.

ICA also uses a range of third party cookies, including Facebook and Twitter (for sharing content) and Vimeo (for embedding videos). 

How can you manage cookies?

If you wish to reject or disable any cookies set by our website, you can do this through your browser settings. The ‘Help’ function within your browser should tell you how but for ease, here are links to show you how to change in cookie settings for various browsers:

Check out The Guardian’s An Introduction to Web Tracking for more information on how web cookies and pixel tags work.

PRIVACY POLICY

ICA only collects information about you if we have a reason to do so. For example, to provide our services, communicate with you or to make our services better.

What type of personal information do we collect?

ICA collects two types of information from you via our website:

Firstly, the information you supply to us – For example, when you submit an enquiry via our Contact Us page you provide us with your name and email address. You may also include your telephone number or home address, depending on the information, advice our support you are seeking. Similarly, when you comment on one of our posts, your provide us with your name and the information required to reply to you.

Secondly, the information our website automatically collects about you – For example each time you visit ICA’s website we automatically collect: 

  • Log and usage information  This may include your IP address, browser type, how you got to the site, the date and time of your visit, how long you were on the site, what pages you visited, what media you clicked on and any documents you downloaded.
  • Location information – Established using the approximate location of your device from your IP address, this information helps us see the different geographical areas that people visit our website come from.
  • Information from cookies and pixel tags – As described above.  

Why does ICA collect personal information?

The data we collect about you allows us to:

  • Respond directly to your requests for advice, information, news and / or support
  • Monitor and analyse the way you (and others) use our website, so that we can better understand how to improve our content the services we provide you with.

How does ICA store personal information?

The data we collect about you is stored in two ways:

  • Digitally on our office systems, protected by a password, using modern, up to date, software
  • Digitally on our website, utilising WordPress’s secure content management system.

Are we doing enough to protect your information online?

In addition to the measures ICA takes, our website has been built using WordPress’s content management system. As such, it automatically utilises many of WordPress’s pre-existing technologies and tools, including a range of security cookies and pixel tags.

ICA also benefits from WordPress’s commitment to ensuring its content management system meets all required legal, regulatory, security (or other compliance) obligations, including those related to privacy, security and general GDPR.

WordPress is owned by American company Automattic.  More detailed information regarding the technologies (including cookies and pixel tags), tools, processes and procedures used by WordPress to provide its services and collect, analyse, protect and store personal information can be found here:

NB: A range of the information held in Automattic’s policies relate to those individuals and / or companies that operate their websites using its services, including WordPress, rather than those who actually visit the websites created. However, these policies will give you a better understanding of the technologies and tools used (including cookies and pixel tags).

Find out more about Automattic and its services here.

Our site may, on occasion, contain links to and from the third party websites. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

How long does ICA store personal information for?

ICA stores the information we collect from you only for only as long as is necessary for the purpose(s) for which we originally collected it, or for other legitimate business purposes, including to meet our legal, regulatory, or other compliance obligations.

Does ICA share your personal information?

ICA may share aggregated or anonymised information that does not directly identify you.

Otherwise, ICA never routinely shares your information with third parties and would always seek consent before doing so.

Changes to ICA’s online policies

ICA keeps its policies under regular review and provides updates where necessary. Please check back for updates.

How can you access the information we hold about you? 

Requests to access the data we hold about you (or remove the data we hold about you) should be made in writing to ICA’s GDPR Officer.

All such requests must be responded to within the legal timeframe of 30 days.

If you are not personally known to the GDPR Officer your identity will be verified before handing over any information.

If you would like to make a request, or if you have any other questions about our Privacy Policy, please do contact us.