Last updated: 25th October 2026
This explains the cookies and similar technologies on the Radio Christmas website (radiochristmas.co.uk) and the web player, what each one is for, and how to change your mind. It goes with our Privacy Policy. If anything is unclear, write to [email protected].
1. What cookies are
A cookie is a small text file a website saves on your phone, tablet or computer. It lets the site remember something, such as your choice on a banner, and it can last for a visit or for months. Some sites also use your browser’s “local storage” or “session storage”, which do a similar job, and we treat those in the same way here. We call all of these “cookies”.
2. How we use them, and your choice
Radio Christmas CIC (company number 14769441, 2 Centenary Way, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, HP6 6UL) runs this website and decides which cookies it uses.
- A banner asks you first. When you first visit, a cookie banner (run by a plugin called Complianz) lets you Accept or Deny cookies, or choose by category.
- Nothing optional loads before you agree. Google Analytics, Marfeel and YouTube videos only run if you allow their category.
- You can change your mind at any time with the switches below, which save straight away:
- Denying costs you very little. The site and the web player work as normal. We just can’t remember a few preferences, and a video opens on YouTube instead of on our page.
The categories are:
- Functional (always on): what the site needs to work.
- Preferences: things you chose, so we can remember them.
- Statistics: counting how people use the site, so we can improve it.
- Marketing: content from other companies, such as YouTube videos. We don’t sell your information.
Our legal basis is in the Privacy Policy, section 4: your consent for anything optional, and legitimate interests for what is needed to run and secure the site.
3. The cookies we use
They fall into four groups:
- Functional (always on). These make the site work and keep it safe. They remember your cookie choices. Staff who edit the site also get a sign-in cookie; that one doesn’t apply to visitors.
- Preferences (only if you allow). These remember things you choose, such as your time zone for the schedule and that you’ve closed the “Get the app” bar.
- Statistics (only if you allow). Google Analytics and Marfeel help us count visits and see which pages are read, using pseudonymous identifiers rather than your name.
- Marketing (only if you allow). Set by YouTube only when you choose to play a video on our page (section 4).
Here is the full list: each cookie’s name, who sets it, what it’s for and how long it lasts. It’s kept up to date automatically from a regular scan of our site, so it can also show cookies from services the scan has come across that we don’t actively use:
4. Content from other sites
- YouTube videos. A video card on our site shows a picture and a link, and loads nothing else from YouTube until you click it. If you have allowed Marketing cookies, the click plays the video on our page using YouTube’s privacy-enhanced address (
youtube-nocookie.com). If you haven’t, you’ll see a link to watch it on YouTube instead. The video picture comes from YouTube’s image server. - Social links. Our links to Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, TikTok and WhatsApp are plain links. They set no cookies from us. Once you follow one, that site’s own cookie and privacy rules apply.
- Donation pages. Donating takes you to our giving partner’s pages (Enthuse, or WGM from the USA). They are not on our site and have their own cookie policies.
We don’t control other companies’ cookies. Their policies, such as Google’s, explain them.
5. Our apps
The Radio Christmas apps (iPhone, iPad, Android and Apple TV) don’t use cookies. They keep your settings and recently loaded content on your device so they work offline, and, if you turn notifications on, a notification address. The apps’ usage statistics are off until you turn them on, and crash reports are on with an off switch. Both are explained in section 7 of the Privacy Policy. Nothing in the apps tracks you across other apps or websites.
The web player (the Live page at radiochristmas.co.uk/players) is a separate page from the rest of our website. It doesn’t run Google Analytics or any other statistics or advertising tool, and it doesn’t show the cookie banner. It keeps your settings and recently loaded content in your browser’s storage so it loads quickly. On an Android phone, the “Get the app” bar remembers that you closed it only if you have allowed Preferences cookies on our website.
6. How to block or delete cookies in your browser
You can also control cookies in your browser. Where to find the setting depends on the browser, and its help pages explain it:
- Block or delete: most browsers let you see, delete and block cookies, for all sites or for one site. A “private” or “incognito” window forgets cookies when you close it.
- Google Analytics: Google offers an opt-out add-on for browsers at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
- Local storage: clearing “site data” in your browser removes it, along with cookies.
If you block all cookies, the site still works, but it won’t remember your choices, and you may be asked again on each visit.
7. Changes, and contact
We will update this page when our cookies change (for example, a new service), and change the date at the top. If the change matters, we will say so on the site.
Questions? Write to [email protected], or to Radio Christmas CIC, 2 Centenary Way, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, HP6 6UL. If you are unhappy, you can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.