Our cookie policy

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website or application. Your web browser (such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox) then sends these cookies back to the website on each subsequent visit so that they can remember things like preferences.

Cookies are very useful and do lots of different jobs. For example, they enable you to move between our web pages efficiently, they remember your preferences when you visit us again and generally improve your experience when browsing with us.

Cookies last for different lengths of time depending on the job they do. There are session cookies and persistent cookies:

• Session cookies only last for your online session and disappear from your device when you close your browser
• Persistent cookies stay on your device after the browser has been closed and last for the period of time specified in the cookie

We will only read or write cookies for the preference level you set when you first visit our website.

Please note that cookies set before you changed your settings will still be on your computer. You can remove them using your browser settings.

Our free online tool can help you manage the cookies we use on btplc.com. To use it, your web browser needs to support JavaScript – if it doesn't you can still find out about the cookies we use on this page, but you'll need to manage them through your web browser settings.

We also use a cookie to remember your cookie preferences. This means:

• If you delete all your cookies you will have to update your preferences with us again – we’ll ask you when you next visit our website
• If you use a different device, computer profile or browser you will have to tell us your preferences again

The cookies used on our website fall into one of four categories: strictly necessary, performance, functional and targeting.

Strictly necessary cookies let you move around the website and use essential features like secure areas.

We use these strictly necessary cookies to:

• Rember information you've entered on forms when you visit different pages in a single web browser session
• Identify you as being logged in to our website
• Make sure you connect to the right service on our website when we make any changes to the way the website works   

Cookies we have defined as strictly necessary will NOT be used to:

• Gather information that could be used to advertise products or services to you
• Remember your preferences beyond your current visit

See our list of strictly necessary cookies

Performance cookies collect information about how you use our website. For example, which pages you visit and if you experience any errors. These cookies are essential to us being able to operate and maintain our website.

These cookies don't collect any information that could identify you – all the information collected is anonymous.

Accepting these cookies is a condition of using the website, so if you prevent them we cannot guarantee how our site will perform for you.

In some cases, some performance cookies are managed for us by third parties, but we don't allow the third party to use the cookies for any purpose other than those listed below.

We use performance cookies to:

• Provide statistics on how our website is used
• Help us improve the website by measuring any errors that occur
• Test different designs of our website

Cookies we have defined as performance will NOT be used to: 

• Gather information that could be used to advertise products or services to you on other websites
• Remember your preferences or username beyond your current visit
• Target adverts to you on any other website

See our list of performance cookies

Functional cookies are used to provide services or to remember settings to improve your visit.

You decide whether or not these cookies are used, but preventing them may mean we can't offer you some services, and will reduce the support we can offer you. We use functional cookies to:   

• Remember if we've already asked you if you want to fill in a survey
• Show you when you're logged in to the website
• Share information with partners to provide a service on our website. The information shared is only to be used to provide the service, product or function and not for any other purpose
• Remember results of tests performed to make the website more relevant to you

Cookies we have defined as functional will not be used to:

• Target you with adverts on other websites

See our list of functional cookies

Targeting cookies are linked to services provided by our trusted partners, as listed below. You decide whether or not these cookies are used.

We use targeting cookies to:

• Link to social networks who may use information about your visit to target advertising to you on other websites
• Provide advertising agencies with information on your visit so that we can present adverts that you may be interested in

See our list of targeting cookies

There are ways you can control and manage cookies on your device. Please remember that any settings you change will not just affect the cookies we use. These changes will apply to all websites you visit (unless you choose to block cookies from particular sites).

Most browsers will allow you to choose the level of privacy settings you want. You can block all cookies, or accept all cookies or pick a setting somewhere in between. This range lets you control your cookie settings, so you can:

• See what cookies you've got and delete them on an individual basis
• Block third party cookies
• Block cookies from particular sites
• Block all cookies from being set
• Delete all cookies when you close your browser

Deleting cookies means that any preference settings you have made on a website will be lost. If you’ve set your preferences to opt out of cookies, this setting will be lost too, as that information is stored in a cookie. Blocking all cookies means functionality on our websites will be lost, as described above. We don’t recommend turning all cookies off when using our websites.

If you want to reduce your cookie settings at any time – for example, if you accept all cookies, but later decide you don’t want a certain type of cookie – you’ll need to use your browser settings to remove any third party cookies dropped on your previous visit.

Find out how to manage your cookies using the most popular browsers below.