Last Updated: December 12, 2025
1. Introduction
Welcome to The Book World (“we,” “us,” “our”). Our website, thebookworld.uk, uses cookies and similar technologies to distinguish you from other users, provide you with a better experience, and to improve our services.
This policy explains what these technologies are, why we use them, and your rights to control our use of them. It is designed to comply with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
2. What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device (computer, smartphone, or tablet) when you visit our website. They are widely used to make websites work efficiently and provide information to the website owners.
Cookies can be “persistent” (remaining on your device for a set period) or “session” (deleted once you close your browser).
3. How and Why We Use Cookies
We use cookies for several essential reasons:
- Essential Cookies: Necessary for the website to function. They enable core functionality like security, network management, and accessibility. You cannot opt-out of these.
- Performance and Analytics Cookies: These allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us know which pages are popular and how visitors move around the site.
- Functionality Cookies: These enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation, such as remembering your login details, language preference, or region.
- Targeting Cookies (Advertising): These cookies are set by our advertising partners (including Google) through our site. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store direct personal information but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device.
4. The Cookies We Use
Below is a detailed list of the cookies we use, their purpose, and their duration.
| Cookie Name | Provider | Purpose | Type | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
PHPSESSID | The Book World | Preserves user session state across page requests. | Essential | Session |
cookie_consent | The Book World | Remembers your cookie consent preferences. | Essential | 1 year |
_ga | Google Analytics | Distinguishes unique users for performance data. | Analytics | 2 years |
_gid | Google Analytics | Distinguishes unique users for performance data. | Analytics | 24 hours |
_gat | Google Analytics | Used to throttle request rate. | Analytics | 1 minute |
_gac_<property-id> | Google Ads | Contains campaign-related information for Google Ads. | Advertising | 90 days |
IDE | Google Ads | Used for Google Ads remarketing. | Advertising | 1 year |
NID | Google Ads | Contains a unique ID used to remember your preferences. | Advertising | 6 months |
5. How You Can Control Cookies
You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject non-essential cookies.
Browser Controls: You can set or amend your web browser controls to accept or refuse cookies. If you choose to reject cookies, you may still use our website, though your access to some functionality and areas may be restricted. How you do this depends on your browser. Visit www.aboutcookies.org for comprehensive guidance.
Consent Management Platform: Upon your first visit to our website, you were presented with a cookie banner where you could consent to non-essential cookies. You can change your preferences at any time by clicking the “Cookie Preferences” link in the footer of our website.
If you have any questions about our use of cookies or this policy, please do not hesitate to contact us:
- Email: support@thebookworld.uk
- Phone: +44 1604 986058
- Post: 40 Hanover Ave, Woodhouse, Leeds LS3 1BQ, United Kingdom
Our support team is available Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm (UK time).
6. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, legislation, or our operations. We will post any changes on this page and, where appropriate, notify you by email. We recommend you review this policy periodically to stay informed.