Skip to content

Cookie policy

Cookies, and what they’re for

The cookies Wales Updates uses, what each one is for and how long it lasts, what we keep in your browser instead, and how to change your choices.

Last updated

What cookies are

Cookies are small files a website saves in your browser. Your browser sends them back each time you visit, so the site can remember things, like that you’re signed in.

We also keep some things in your browser’s own storage, which works like a cookie but is never sent to us. They’re listed under On your device.

Your choices

The first time you visit, Google’s cookie message asks whether you’re happy with analytics and advertising cookies. Until you say yes, none are set.

You can change your mind at any time with Cookie settings, also at the bottom of every page.

You can also block or delete cookies in your browser’s settings. If you block the essential ones, you won’t be able to sign in.

Essential cookies

These are needed for the site to work, so they’re always on. They aren’t used to track you.

  • wu_consent Wales Updates Remembers your cookie choices, so we don’t ask every time. 6 months
  • wordpress_logged_in_… WordPress Keeps you signed in to your account. Up to 90 days
  • wordpress_sec_… WordPress Keeps your sign-in secure. Only sent to WordPress’s own admin pages. Up to 90 days
  • wordpress_test_cookie WordPress Checks your browser accepts cookies before you sign in. Until you close your browser
  • wu_signin Wales Updates Links a sign-in email or code to the browser that asked for it, so it only works there. 30 minutes
  • wu_signin_link Wales Updates Holds the link from your sign-in email for a moment, so it never shows in the address bar. 30 minutes
  • FCCDCF, FCNEC Google Keeps your answer to Google’s cookie message. 13 months

Analytics cookies

Only with your permission. They help us understand how the site is used, such as which stories people read and how they found us. Without them, Google only gets a count of visits that sets nothing in your browser.

  • _ga Google Analytics Tells one visitor from another, without saying who you are. 2 years
  • _ga_… Google Analytics Keeps track of your visit: when it started and how many pages you’ve seen. 2 years

We also count visits with Independent Analytics, which runs on our own site and uses no cookies at all.

Advertising cookies

Only with your permission. Adverts help pay for our reporting, and these cookies let Google show adverts that suit you. Without your permission, you get adverts that aren’t based on you.

  • __gads, __gpi Google AdSense Lets Google show adverts that suit you, and limit how often you see the same one. 13 months
  • __eoi Google AdSense Helps Google spot fraud and abuse in advertising. 6 months

Google’s own advertising cookie policy has the details.

On your device

These are kept in your browser’s own storage, not cookies. They’re never sent to us, and they stay until you clear your browser’s data (if you’re signed in, what you follow, your reading and Wales in 5 are also kept in your account, so they’re the same on every device).

  • What you follow, and the stories you’ve left half read wu-follows wu-reading
  • Your Wales in 5 answers and streak wu-quiz
  • What’s new since your last visit wu-visit wu-home-last wu-home-since
  • Your recent searches wu-recent-searches
  • The area you pick for News near you, and the town in the menu’s weather wu-home-area wu-menu-town
  • Your accessibility choices wu_a11y
  • Your vote in a poll under a story, while signed out wu-poll-…
  • That you’ve signed up to the newsletter, so we stop asking wu_subscribed
  • Whether you’ve been invited to sign in lately, and which notifications you’ve seen wu-account wu-signin-nudge wu-notes-seen-…
  • Your saved places, units and map choice on the weather page wu-weather-places wu-weather-units wu-weather-base wu-weather-share
  • The weather now, for a few minutes, so pages load quickly wu-weather-now:… wu-weather-opened

Other sites’ cookies

Some stories include a video or post from another site, such as YouTube, Facebook or X. When it loads, that site can set its own cookies, under its own policy. The same goes for an advertiser’s site if you click an advert.

When you send one of our forms, Cloudflare checks you’re a person and not a bot, and may set its own cookie to do so.

Changes to this policy

We update this page whenever the cookies we use change. The date it was last updated is shown at the top.

How we look after your personal information is in our privacy policy.

Back to top

We use a few cookies to make this site work. With your permission we’d also like to use cookies to understand how the site is used and to show more relevant adverts. You can change your mind at any time from the link at the bottom of every page. Read more about cookies

Accessibility

Changes apply straight away and are remembered on this device.

Text size Makes the text of articles and pages larger.