What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device when you visit a website. The cookie means that the website can 'remember' you, and how you've used the site, when you come back.
Cookies are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently.
- Make our website work as you'd expect
- Keep your preferences intact between visits
- Improve the speed and security of our site
- Allow you to share pages with social networks
- Help us to improve our services
- Make our marketing more efficient – which in turn helps us to improve what we can do for you
Cookies themselves don't hold personal information, but they are unique to you. In many cases, we would not be able to link the information we collect by using a cookie back to you as an individual.
- Collect sensitive information
- Pay commissions
Cookies fall into four categories:
1. Strictly necessary – these help make our website work efficiently, and enhance its look and feel. This type of cookie only lasts for the duration of the time you are visiting the website. When you leave the website they are deleted automatically.
2. Functionality – these enhance your experience by doing things such as remembering products you've added to your basket, or your search settings. These cookies stay on your computer until you choose to clear them.
3. Performance and analysis – we use these to analyse how our website works (and how we should improve it).
By V&A websites, we mean:
These tables explain the cookies we use and why.
How do I change my cookie settings?
Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set, visit: aboutcookies.org or allaboutcookies.org
Find out how to manage cookies on popular browsers
For information relating to other browsers, visit the browser developer's website.
To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites, visit:
Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on
See more V&A reports, plans and policies.