This policy explains how Chris Brotherton t/a Men’s Therapy UK uses cookies and similar technologies on menstherapy.uk. It should be read alongside my Privacy Policy, which explains how personal data is handled when you contact or work with me.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. Under the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) and UK GDPR, cookies that are not strictly necessary require your consent before being placed on your device.
Your consent
When you visit this website for the first time, a prompt asks for your cookie preferences. You can click Allow all to allow all cookies, Decline all to keep just the strictly necessary ones, or Manage cookies to switch individual categories on or off. Non-essential cookies are grouped into two categories you control independently:
- Performance & Analytics - Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity.
- Marketing & Advertising - Google Ads and the Meta Pixel.
Strictly necessary cookies are always on and cannot be switched off. Declining analytics prevents Microsoft Clarity from loading. Declining advertising prevents the Meta Pixel from loading. Google tags receive the consent signals described below. Your choice is saved in your browser and honoured automatically on return visits.
You can change or withdraw your consent at any time using the Cookie preferences link in the footer of every page, which reopens these settings with your current choices.
Cookies this site uses
Strictly necessary cookies
These cookies are required for the secure delivery and operation of the site. Consent is not required under Regulation 6 of PECR.
Infrastructure and security
Set by the hosting infrastructure to enable page loading, routing, and protection against misuse. These support routing and security. Hosting requests can include technical information such as your IP address.
Admin session (site owner only)
A secure admin_session cookie is set when the site administrator logs in. It expires after 24 hours and is never set for public visitors.
Client portal session (portal clients only)
A secure portal_client_id cookie is set when a client signs in to the client portal. It expires after 8 hours and is never set for public visitors.
Analytics cookies (requires consent)
This website uses two analytics tools to understand how the site is used: Google Analytics 4 (loaded via Google Tag Manager) for traffic and page-performance measurement, and Microsoft Clarity for session replay and heatmaps, which show how visitors scroll and interact with pages. These cookies are only placed after you accept cookies via the consent banner. The lawful basis is your consent (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(a) / PECR Regulation 6).
With analytics consent, this site also measures offer selections, booking clicks, contact-link clicks, resource downloads and sharing choices. These events do not include your contact details, message contents or Calendly booking identifiers. Public campaign tags are retained in this tab’s session storage under mtuk-campaign-v1and passed to Calendly so the original referral can be retained as you browse. This stored information is cleared when the tab closes or analytics consent is withdrawn.
Google Analytics 4
| Cookie | Set by | Purpose | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga | Google Analytics | Distinguishes unique users | 2 years |
_ga_* | Google Analytics | Maintains session state | 2 years |
_gid | Google Analytics | Distinguishes users (short-term) | 24 hours |
Google Analytics data is processed by Google LLC (US). Data is transferred under the UK International Data Transfer Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses. Google’s privacy policy is available at policies.google.com/privacy. You can opt out of Google Analytics across all sites using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
Microsoft Clarity
Microsoft Clarity records session replays and heatmaps so I can see where visitors get stuck or drop off. Form fields and other sensitive content are masked so that what you type is not recorded.
| Cookie | Set by | Purpose | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|
_clck | Microsoft Clarity | Persists a Clarity user ID across sessions | 1 year |
_clsk | Microsoft Clarity | Links page views within a single session | 1 day |
Clarity data is processed by Microsoft Corporation (US). Microsoft’s privacy statement is available at privacy.microsoft.com/privacystatement.
Advertising cookies (requires consent)
I use Google Ads and the Meta Pixelto measure whether my advertising on Google, Facebook, and Instagram brings the right people to the site, and to support remarketing. These cookies are only placed after you accept the Marketing & Advertising category via the consent banner; the lawful basis is your consent (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(a) / PECR Regulation 6). The Google tags honour Consent Mode v2, described below. If you decline, no advertising cookies are set.
| Cookie | Set by | Purpose | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|
_gcl_au | Google Ads | Conversion linker - attributes ad clicks to actions on the site | 90 days |
_fbp | Meta | Browser identifier for ad measurement | 90 days |
_fbc | Meta | Click identifier from Meta ads | 90 days |
Google Ads data is processed by Google LLC (US); see policies.google.com/privacy. The Meta Pixel is operated by Meta Platforms, Inc. (US); Meta’s privacy policy is available at facebook.com/privacy/policy. These providers may process information outside the UK. Their privacy policies explain the locations and safeguards they use.
Google Tag Manager
This website uses Google Tag Manager (GTM) to manage the deployment of analytics and advertising tags, including Google Analytics 4 and Google Ads. GTM itself does not place analytics or advertising cookies -- it acts as a container that fires other tags. The container loads on the production site with your consent signals set before it starts. GTM operates under Google’s Consent Mode v2, which passes your choices to Google tags. Denied consent may still allow cookieless pings, as explained below.
Google Consent Mode v2
This site runs Google Consent Mode v2. Before the Google Tag Manager container loads, every Google consent signal on this site is set to denied. Your choice in the consent prompt updates four signals:
analytics_storage- allows analytics cookies to be read and written. Set by the Performance & Analytics category.ad_storage- allows advertising cookies to be read and written. Set by the Marketing & Advertising category.ad_user_data- allows data to be sent to Google for advertising purposes. Set by the Marketing & Advertising category.ad_personalization- allows data to be used for personalised advertising and remarketing. Set by the Marketing & Advertising category.
Declining leaves the relevant signals at denied, and the Google tags then place no cookies and read no identifiers on your device.
What still happens if you decline.With a signal denied, Google’s tags may still send what Google calls a cookieless ping: a small, non-identifying record of the event containing technical metadata such as a timestamp, the page address, a coarse location derived from your IP address, your browser type, and whether consent was granted. No cookie is set, no identifier is stored on your device, and the ping is not used to build a profile of you or to target advertising at you. Google uses these pings in aggregate to model overall traffic and conversion trends - a statistical estimate across all visitors, not a record of your individual visit. If you would rather that did not happen either, you can block googletagmanager.com in your browser or an extension, which stops the container loading at all.
The lawful basis for every consent-gated tag described on this page is your consent under UK GDPR Article 6(1)(a) and Regulation 6 of PECR. You can withdraw it at any time through the Cookie preferences link in the footer.
Cookieless website measurement
Vercel and Ahrefs provide cookieless website measurement. Ahrefs reports page visits, referrers and device information without setting analytics cookies. Ahrefs privacy policy.
Third-party services
This website contains links and embedded functionality from third-party providers including Calendly(appointment booking). When you access a third-party service, that provider’s own privacy and cookie policies apply. Cookies set by external websites are outside this site’s control.
Managing cookies
Most browsers allow you to control cookies through settings. You can block or delete cookies and configure alerts before cookies are stored. Note that disabling essential cookies may affect the basic functioning of some websites. Guidance is usually found within your browser’s help section.
To change or withdraw consent you have already given, use the Cookie preferences link in the footer of any page to reopen your preferences. You can also clear your browser cookies and local storage for menstherapy.uk, which makes the consent prompt reappear on your next visit.
Changes to this policy
I may update this policy to reflect legal, technical, or operational changes. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page will always indicate the latest version. Where changes are material, I will update the consent banner to seek fresh consent.
Questions
Contact chris@menstherapy.uk with any questions about this policy.