Legal
Cookie Policy
How Yacht Workers Council ("YWC", "we", "us", "our") uses cookies and similar technologies on our website and platform, and how you can manage or withdraw your consent at any time.
1. Introduction, what cookies are
This Cookie Policy explains how Yacht Workers Council ("YWC", "we", "us", "our") uses cookies and similar technologies when you visit our website at [placeholder: yachtworld.community / yachtworkerscouncil.com, confirm primary domain] or use our platform. It should be read together with our Privacy Policy and our Terms & Conditions.
A cookie is a small text file that a website stores on your device (computer, tablet or phone) when you visit. Cookies let a site recognise your device, remember your preferences and understand how the site is used. We also use similar technologies, such as pixels, local storage, software development kits (SDKs) and device identifiers, which we refer to collectively as "cookies" throughout this policy.
YWC is the data controller for personal data processed through cookies on our site, as defined by the UK GDPR and the EU GDPR. Our registered office is 167-169 Great Portland Street, 5th Floor, London, England, W1W 5PF.
2. Why we use cookies
We use cookies to keep the site secure and working, to remember your choices, and, where you consent, to measure performance and support our communications. Specifically, cookies help us to:
- Keep you signed in and protect your session and forms against fraud and cross-site request forgery (CSRF).
- Remember preferences such as language, region and your cookie-consent choices.
- Understand how visitors find and use the site so we can improve it (analytics, only with your consent).
- Deliver and measure notifications and email communications you have opted into.
- Process payments and subscriptions securely through our payment provider.
Strictly necessary cookies are set on the basis of our legitimate interest in operating a secure, functional service. All other cookies, functional, analytics/performance and marketing, are only set after you give consent through our cookie banner, and you can withdraw that consent at any time (see section 6).
3. Categories of cookies we use
We group cookies into four categories. Our consent banner lets you accept or reject each optional category independently.
Required for the site to function and to keep it secure, sign-in/session, CSRF protection, load balancing and storing your consent choices. These cannot be switched off and do not require consent.
Remember choices you make to give you a better experience, such as language, region and interface preferences. Disabling these may make parts of the site less convenient.
Help us understand how visitors use the site (pages viewed, traffic sources, errors) so we can improve it. Data is aggregated wherever possible. Set only with your consent, for example Google Analytics 4 via Google Tag Manager.
Support notifications, email communications and measuring the effectiveness of our messaging, for example OneSignal. Set only with your consent. [placeholder: confirm whether any advertising/retargeting cookies are in use]
4. Cookies we set
The table below lists representative cookies used on the site. Exact names, providers and durations can change as we update the platform and our tools; the live list is maintained in our consent manager. [placeholder: confirm full cookie inventory with a scan and the consent manager before launch]
5. Third-party cookies
Some cookies are set by third parties that provide services on our behalf. These providers may process data on their own infrastructure and are responsible for their own cookies and privacy practices. The main third parties we use are:
- Google Tag Manager & Google Analytics 4 (analytics). Used to measure and improve site performance, loaded only after you consent to analytics cookies. See Google's cookie information and Privacy Policy.
- OneSignal (notifications & email). Powers push notifications and email communications you opt into, and measures their effectiveness. See the OneSignal Privacy Policy.
- Stripe (payments). Processes payments and subscriptions and provides fraud prevention. These cookies are necessary to complete a transaction. See the Stripe Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
[placeholder: confirm the complete list of third-party scripts and any additional providers, e.g. CDN, error monitoring, support chat]
6. Managing & withdrawing consent
You are in control of optional cookies. You can change or withdraw your consent at any time, with no effect on the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
Our consent banner
When you first visit, our cookie banner lets you accept or reject functional, analytics and marketing cookies. You can reopen your preferences at any time via the Cookie settings link in the site footer or banner. [placeholder: wire this to the live consent manager / CMP]
Browser settings
Most browsers let you block or delete cookies through their settings. Refer to the help pages for Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Edge. Blocking strictly necessary cookies may stop parts of the site working.
Opt-out tools
- Google Analytics: install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
- OneSignal notifications: unsubscribe via the notification prompt, your browser's site permissions, or the unsubscribe link in our emails.
7. Do Not Track
Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" (DNT) signal. There is no consistent industry standard for how sites should respond to DNT, so we do not currently respond to DNT signals. Where applicable, we honour Global Privacy Control (GPC) and similar opt-out signals. [placeholder: confirm whether GPC is honoured by the consent manager] Regardless of DNT, you can always control optional cookies through our consent banner and your browser settings.
8. Changes to this policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes to the cookies we use or for legal, operational or regulatory reasons. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date above and, where appropriate, ask you to renew your consent. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
9. Contact us
If you have questions about this Cookie Policy or how we handle your data, please contact us:
- Yacht Workers Council, 167-169 Great Portland Street, 5th Floor, London, England, W1W 5PF
- Data protection / DPO: [placeholder: [email protected]]
- General enquiries: Contact form
For more on how we process your personal data, see our Privacy Policy.