Cookie Policy

This page explains how small browser files and similar technologies may be used on stalvon.info. They help the site remember choices, understand broad usage and maintain secure operation. Some of these technologies are strictly necessary for the site to work as intended, while others are optional and only used with a reader's consent, as explained in the sections below.

1. Essential session cookies

Essential items support navigation and basic preferences. They generally last for the browsing session and are removed when the browser closes. For example, an essential cookie may remember that the mobile navigation menu was open, or that a cookie choice has already been recorded for the current visit, so the reader is not asked twice in the same session.

Name: stalvon_session — Purpose: maintains basic navigation state — Lifespan: browsing session only.

Because essential cookies are needed for the site to function as designed, UK cookie regulations do not require separate consent for them, though they are still listed here in the interest of transparency.

2. Consent preference

The consent choice may be stored for up to 180 days so the banner does not appear on every visit. A reader can clear browser data or contact us to ask about the preference. After 180 days, or sooner if browser data is cleared, the consent banner will appear again so the reader can confirm their current choice.

Name: stalvon_consent — Purpose: records Accept All / Reject choice from the cookie banner — Lifespan: up to 180 days.

3. Analytics

If enabled, analytics cookies help us understand page visits in aggregate. They are not intended to identify a reader directly and are retained for no longer than 14 months. Aggregate figures such as which articles are read most often help our editorial team decide which gut health topics to cover in future guides, without our needing to know who read a particular page. Where an analytics supplier offers an option to shorten or mask IP addresses before storage, we enable that option so that the data retained is less capable of identifying an individual visitor.

Name: _stv_stats — Purpose: aggregate page-visit measurement — Lifespan: up to 14 months, subject to consent.

4. Preference cookies

Preference items can remember settings such as display choices. Their lifespan is normally 12 months and they are not required for reading the editorial pages. A reader who declines these cookies can still read every article in full; the site will simply ask again for the same display choice on a future visit.

Name: stalvon_pref — Purpose: remembers optional display settings — Lifespan: up to 12 months, subject to consent.

5. Managing cookies

Most browsers allow cookies to be blocked, deleted or limited. Blocking essential items may affect navigation, while declining optional items does not prevent access to articles. Instructions for managing cookies vary by browser and are usually found under a privacy or security settings menu; readers using shared or work devices should check whether such settings apply to all users of that device before changing them.

a) Use the "Cookie Settings" link in the banner at the bottom of any page to change your choice at any time.
b) Use your browser's settings menu to view, delete or block cookies from this or any site.
c) Use private or incognito browsing to avoid cookies being stored beyond a single session.

6. Third parties

Embedded maps or external services may place their own technologies when a reader chooses to load them. Their own privacy information explains how those services operate. The map embedded on our Contact page, for example, is loaded from a third-party mapping service and is subject to that service's own cookie and privacy practices rather than this policy.

7. Lawful basis

Essential storage supports requested site functionality. Optional analytics or preferences are used only where a reader has given consent. Consent for optional cookies is collected through the banner shown on first visit and can be withdrawn at any time through the Cookie Settings link, which will stop future optional cookies from being set and, where technically possible, clear those already stored.

8. Updates

Published 9 September 2026. This page may change when technologies or suppliers change. A short change log is kept below so returning readers can see what has changed since first publication.

9 September 2026 — initial publication of this cookie policy alongside the site launch.

9. Contact

Questions can be sent to [email protected] or 21 Surrey Street, Sheffield S1 1AA. We aim to respond to cookie-related questions within five working days, and readers may also call 0114 946 0606 during our published opening hours.

10. Retention summary

11. International transfers via third-party tools

Where an optional analytics or mapping tool is loaded with a reader's consent, some limited information, such as an IP address, may be processed by that supplier outside the United Kingdom. We select suppliers that provide contractual or adequacy-based protection for such transfers, consistent with the approach described in our Privacy Policy, and we review this list from time to time as suppliers or their hosting arrangements change.

12. Do Not Track and similar signals

Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" setting or similar signal intended to communicate a preference against tracking. There is no single agreed technical standard for responding to these signals across the web, so our site currently relies on the consent choice made through the cookie banner described in section 2 rather than on browser-level signals. Readers who wish to limit optional cookies regardless of browser signal support can use the Cookie Settings link or their browser's own cookie controls at any time, as described in section 5.

13. Sub-processors for cookie technologies

Where an optional cookie is set by a third-party analytics or mapping supplier rather than directly by stalvon.info, that supplier may rely on its own infrastructure providers to deliver the underlying service. We only enable optional cookie-setting tools from suppliers who publish clear information about their own data handling practices and who allow the lifespans and purposes described in this policy to be accurately represented to readers. If a supplier changes the way a cookie behaves, for example by extending its lifespan or changing its purpose, we update the relevant section of this policy and, where the change is significant, invite readers to review their consent choice again through the Cookie Settings link.

14. Complaints about cookie use

A reader who believes that a cookie has been set on this website without appropriate consent, or who has any other concern about how this Cookie Policy has been applied, should contact us first using the details in section 9 so that we can investigate and, where appropriate, correct the issue. We treat such concerns with the same response times described elsewhere in this policy. Where a reader remains dissatisfied after contacting us directly, they may also raise the matter with the UK Information Commissioner's Office, which regulates cookie use under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations alongside general data protection law.