Cookie Policy
Last updated: 9 July 2026
This policy explains what cookies and similar tracking technologies we use on lawapprenticeships.co.uk, why we use them, and how you control them. It sits alongside our Privacy Policy.
Your choices in plain English
- Essential cookies always run. These keep the site working, secure and up-to-date. You cannot switch these off.
- Everything else is off by default. Analytics, advertising and preference cookies only load when you click Accept all in the banner.
- You can change your mind at any time. Use the Cookie preferences link in the site footer to re-open the banner and grant or withdraw consent.
We use Google Consent Mode v2, so if you reject non-essential cookies our tag manager and its downstream tags (like Google Analytics) receive a "denied" signal and won't set analytics or advertising cookies on your device.
The cookies we set
Strictly necessary — always on
These are set by the platform Next.js runs on and are needed for the site to function. They don't identify you and can't be turned off.
| Name | Purpose | Party | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|
| cookie_consent | Stores your cookie choice so we don't ask on every visit. | First-party | 12 months (localStorage) |
| CSRF / session tokens | Prevents cross-site request forgery on form submissions. | First-party | Session |
| Next.js runtime cookies | Route preloading, Cache-Control and rewrite handling. | First-party | Session |
Analytics — only after you accept
We use Google Analytics 4 via Google Tag Manager to understand how many people visit each page, what they read, and where they come from. This data is aggregated and pseudonymised — we don't try to identify individual visitors.
| Name | Purpose | Party | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Distinguishes anonymised users. | Google (third-party) | 2 years |
| _ga_<container_id> | Persists session state for GA4. | Google (third-party) | 2 years |
| _gid | Distinguishes users within a 24-hour window. | Google (third-party) | 24 hours |
| _gcl_au | Google Ads conversion linking (if we run ads). | Google (third-party) | 90 days |
| NID, SID, etc. | Google's own preference cookies, set only if you're signed into a Google account when visiting. | Google (third-party) | Up to 6 months |
Container: GTM-5JFS7HNS. Google's own cookie policy covers the specifics of each of the above.
Advertising and personalisation
We do not currently run advertising cookies. If we introduce them, this policy will be updated and the cookie preferences banner will show a category toggle for them.
Third-party services we use
- Google Analytics 4 — usage analytics. Data is stored in Google's UK/EU region. See Google's privacy policy.
- Google Tag Manager — container for the analytics tag above. GTM itself does not set cookies until an underlying tag (like GA4) fires under a granted consent signal.
- Cloudflare / DigitalOcean — hosting and DNS. May set operational cookies for security (bot detection, DDoS protection).
- Resend — transactional email delivery. Does not set cookies on this site.
- Zapier — receives the form submission payload from
/eligibility-legal-apprenticeships. Does not set cookies on this site.
Managing your cookies
You have three levels of control:
- This site's banner. Accept or reject non-essential cookies. Change your mind any time via the Cookie preferences link in the footer.
- Your browser. Every modern browser lets you block or delete cookies per site. Look under "Settings → Privacy → Cookies".
- Google's opt-out. For Google Analytics specifically, Google publishes a browser add-on that opts you out on every site running GA.
Blocking essential cookies may break parts of the site (forms, secure areas, cache handling).
Legal basis and your rights
Under the UK GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR), we ask for your consent before setting non-essential cookies. Withdrawing consent is as easy as giving it — the Cookie preferences link is available on every page.
If you have a concern about how we handle your data, please email our Data Protection Officer at dpo@datalaw.org. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.
Changes to this policy
We will update this policy when we add, remove or change a cookie provider. The "Last updated" date at the top will reflect the latest version.