Cookie Policy
How we use cookies and similar technologies on our website.
Last updated: 14 September 2026
In short: we only use the cookies this website needs to work, unless you say yes to analytics. In most countries, including the UK and the EU, Google Analytics is not loaded, and sets no cookies, until you choose “Accept all” or switch analytics on. In the United States and Canada it runs with a short notice instead. You can change your choice at any time.
1. What cookies are
Cookies are small text files that a website stores in your browser. Some are needed for the site to work. Others, such as analytics cookies, are optional and need your permission.
2. The cookies we use
Strictly necessary
These keep the site secure and working and remember your cookie choices. The law allows them without consent, and they can’t be switched off here. You can still block them in your browser.
| Cookie | Set by | Purpose | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
| cookie_consent | eplatforms (this site) | Remembers your cookie choices: whether analytics is allowed, the version of this policy, the date, and a random consent ID that isn’t linked to your identity. | 6 months |
| __cf_bm | Cloudflare | May be set by our security and delivery network to tell people apart from automated traffic. | 30 minutes |
| cf_clearance | Cloudflare | Only set if Cloudflare shows you a security check, to remember that you passed it. | 30 minutes by default |
| ep_portal | eplatforms (this site) | Only set when you sign in to squid, our client system. It holds a random reference to your sign-in session and nothing about you. Signing out ends the session on our side, so the cookie cannot be reused. | 12 hours, or until you sign out |
| PHPSESSID | eplatforms (this site) | Only set on the squid sign-in pages. It carries the security token that protects forms, and the step you have reached while signing in. | Until you close your browser |
The last two are only set if you use squid, our client system. What we hold about a squid account is set out in the squid privacy notice.
Analytics
We use Google Analytics 4 to see which pages are useful and how the site performs. These cookies are only set after you accept analytics, except in the United States and Canada, where they are set with a notice that lets you switch them off (see section 3).
| Cookie | Set by | Purpose | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Google Analytics | Tells visits apart using a random ID so we can count visitors. | 13 months |
| _ga_L7EHQP5CRZ | Google Analytics | Keeps track of the current visit (session). | 13 months |
What we don’t use
- No advertising or marketing cookies, social media pixels or cross-site tracking.
- No local storage or session storage in your browser.
- Our fonts are hosted on our own server, so no font requests go to Google or other font services.
- Your language is chosen by the page address (for example /fr/ or /ar/), not by a cookie.
- The “Help me find…” assistant sets no cookies, on any page and in any language.
3. How consent works
Where you are makes a difference. Visitors in the UK, the EU and EEA, Switzerland, Brazil, Türkiye, South Africa, the Gulf states and everywhere else are asked before analytics runs. In the United States and Canada, Google Analytics runs straight away with a short notice, and you can switch it off at any time with “Turn off” or Cookie settings. Global Privacy Control is honoured everywhere. We estimate your country from your connection (the country code supplied by Cloudflare), and a choice you have saved always takes priority.
Where we ask first, a small bar at the bottom of the page offers Accept all, Reject all and Manage choices. Nothing optional runs before you choose: Google Analytics isn’t loaded at all, so no requests are sent to Google and no analytics cookies are set.
If you accept analytics, we load Google Analytics with Google’s consent mode set so that only analytics storage is allowed. Advertising storage, ad personalisation and Google signals stay off.
We save your choice in the cookie_consent cookie for 6 months. We ask again when it expires or when we change this policy in a way that affects your choice.
We also keep a record of each choice, so we can show what was agreed. It holds the random consent ID, your choices, the policy version, the page language, the page, the date and time, and a shortened IP address with the last part removed, your country code and whether ask-first or notice rules applied. We keep these records for 12 months. See our Privacy Policy.
4. Changing your mind
Use the Cookie settings link at the bottom of every page, or the button at the top of this page. If you withdraw consent, we stop Google Analytics on the page straight away and delete the Google Analytics cookies stored for our domain. Analytics data collected before then is kept only for the period described in our Privacy Policy.
You can also view, block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Blocking strictly necessary cookies may stop parts of the site from working, and means we can’t remember your choice.
5. Global Privacy Control
If your browser or an extension sends a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, we treat it as a refusal of analytics cookies. We don’t show the cookie bar, we don’t load Google Analytics, and we record that the signal was honoured. This is also how we respect opt-out preference signals under California privacy law (CCPA/CPRA). We don’t sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioural advertising.
6. Google Analytics and your data
Google Analytics 4 doesn’t log or store IP addresses. Google uses the address briefly to work out an approximate location (such as the country or city) and then discards it. Google acts as our data processor. Data may be processed in the United States; see the international transfers section of our Privacy Policy. To find out more, read how Google uses information from sites that use its services.
7. Contact
Questions about cookies or your data: email info@eplatforms.com or call 0303 666 5485. For more about how we handle personal data, see our Privacy Policy.