Whenever you use our online services, we use cookies and other online tracking technologies (which we’ll also refer to as “cookies” for this Cookie Statement).
Cookies can be used in various ways, including to make the YHA website work, measure website use or help our charitable campaigns via our marketing channels.
Cookies set when you visit the YHA website can be categorised into Necessary, Analytical and Marketing cookies.
This Cookie Statement explains what a “cookie” is, how they’re used and what your choices are.
YHA (England & Wales) may update this Cookie Statement from time to time.
What are cookies and online tracking technologies?
A web browser cookie is a simple text file that is stored on your computer or mobile device’s web browser.
These cookies store information about the content you view and interact with to remember your preferences and help us improve your online experience.
Cookies are divided into “first party” and “third party”:
- First party cookies are the cookies served by the owner of the domain. In our case, that’s yha.org.uk. Any cookie we set ourselves is a “first-party cookie.”
- Third-party cookies are cookies served on our domains by trusted partners that we’ve authorised to do so. These can be security partners, advertising partners, social media partners, and more.
And they can be either “session cookies” or “permanent cookies”:
- Session cookies only exist until you close your browser, ending what’s called your “session.”
- Permanent cookies have a range of lifespans and stay on your device after the browser is closed.
Web browser cookies may store information such as your browser type, information about the content you visit or interact with, your IP address and other identifiers. We can remember your preferences and measure how you use our online services by storing this information.
We also use tracking technologies that are similar to web browser cookies. Our website and email may contain small transparent image files or lines of code that store how you interact with our content. These include "scripts", "web beacons", "tracking URLs" and "system logs and other technologies".
Scripts
Scripts are small snippets of code embedded within our web pages that provide a wide range of extra functionality. Scripts make it possible for our website to function correctly. For example, some of our scripts enable security features and interactive features that improve your online experience.
They can also be used for advertising to inform our charitable campaigns or measure how you use our website. A script can collect information about how you use our website, which pages you visit or what you interacted with.
Web beacons
Web beacons can be known by lots of different names such as tags, web tags, tracking pixels, clear GIFs, image tags, tracking bugs or web bugs.
These beacons consist of a graphic image delivered to your device as part of a web page request, in an advertisement or a HTML email message.
They can be used to retrieve information from your device, such as your operating system, device type, IP address and the time of your visit.
Our third-party partners may also use web beacons to track how you interact with our content. For example, if you open an email.
Tracking URLs
Tracking URLs are links that include a unique identifier. These are used to track which marketing channel brought you to our website. An example would be clicking a link from our social media page, search engine, or one of our affiliate partners’ websites.
Our third-party partners may also use tracking URLs to measure the performance of our content. For example, tracking which links you clicked in an email you received.
System logs and other technologies
System logs and other technologies are used to collect many additional types of information. We collect information about the device you use to access the YHA website and emails, your browser type, operating system type, time zone, device language and other system settings.
Our system logs also record the device's IP address you use to connect to our online services. These tools help us improve user experience, fix issues and deliver our services.
All these tracking technologies are referred to as “cookies” in this Cookie Statement.
How we use cookies
Cookies are used to collect information, including:
- Web pages you have visited
- Your IP address
- Information about your device
- Information about your browser
- Internet service provider
- Timestamp
- Whether you have responded to an advertisement
- A referral URL (the web page you were visiting before it sent you to the YHA website)
- Features used or activities engaged in on our online services.
Using cookies allows you to be recognised as the same user across our website. Cookies set when you visit our website can be categorised into Necessary, Analytical and Marketing cookies.
Necessary cookies
These cookies are required and set when you visit YHA's website. They serve to operate the website and its features in a workable fashion.
We use functional cookies to create technologically advanced, user-friendly websites that adapt automatically to your needs and preferences so you can browse and book effortlessly. Our use of functional cookies also includes enabling essential security and accessibility features.
More specifically, these cookies:
- Enable our website to work correctly, allowing you to make a booking, create an account and log in.
- Remember your previous search information to help you use our website efficiently and effectively.
- Securely remember your account information, so you do not have to retype your log-in credentials when you revisit our website.
Analytical cookies
These cookies collect data for statistical purposes on how our website is used and are used to improve your user experience.
More specifically, these cookies:
- Help us identify website issues and fix them quickly.
- Help us understand how users interact with our website.
- Help us to improve our website and communication to ensure we offer relevant and interesting content.
- Help us understand the effectiveness of charitable campaigns such as advertisements and communications.
- Teach us how users interact with our website after they’re shown an online ad, including ads on third-party websites.
The data we collect through these cookies can include which web pages you have viewed, the referral URL, where you landed on the website, where you left the website, which email you opened, which link you clicked, how far you scrolled down the page and the data and time of each event.
Marketing cookies
YHA and our trusted approved partners use these cookies to collect information about you over time across multiple websites, applications and other platforms.
They help us display advertisements that we believe are relevant to you and your interests both on and off our website.
More specifically, these cookies:
- Display personalised adverts we believe are relevant to you based on the information we know about you.
- To display retargeting adverts based on your browsing activities, such as the hostel pages you have visited and may be shown to you both before and after you leave our website. Their aim is to encourage you to browse and return to our website.
- Categorise you into a particular interest profile, for example, based on the websites you visit and your click behaviour. We use these profiles to display personalised content (such as travel ideas or specific accommodation) on yha.org.uk and other websites.
- Allow you to like or share content on social media platforms – such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube – by integrating like and share buttons provided by each social media channel. These cookies can be functional but can also be used to keep track of which websites you visit from their network, build a profile of your online browsing behaviour, and show you personalised adverts.
To learn more about what social media platforms do with your data, view their cookie and privacy statements:
- Facebook (includes Instagram, Messenger, and Audience Network)
- Google (includes YouTube)
- Snapchat
Which cookies do we use?
First party cookies
The first party cookies that we use are listed in the table below:
|
Cookie name |
Cookie category |
Cookie author |
Cookie purpose |
Cookie duration |
|
__cf_bm |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
The __cf_bm cookie supports Cloudflare Bot Management by managing incoming traffic that matches criteria associated with bots. The cookie does not collect any personal data, and any information collected is subject to one-way encryption. |
Session |
|
_ga_* |
Analytical |
yha.org.uk |
Contains a unique identifier used by Google Analytics 4 to determine that two distinct hits belong to the same user across browsing sessions. |
730 days |
|
_ga |
Analytical |
yha.org.uk |
Contains a unique identifier used by Google Analytics to determine that two distinct hits belong to the same user across browsing sessions. |
730 days |
|
_gid |
Analytical |
yha.org.uk |
Contains a unique identifier used by Google Analytics to determine that two distinct hits belong to the same user across browsing sessions. |
1 day |
|
_gat_* |
Analytical |
yha.org.uk |
Used by Google Analytics to throttle request rate (limit the collection of data on high traffic sites) |
Session |
|
_hjSessionUser_* |
Analytical |
yha.org.uk |
Hotjar cookie. This cookie is set when the customer first lands on a page with the Hotjar script. It is used to persist the Hotjar User ID, unique to that site on the browser. This ensures that behavior in subsequent visits to the same site will be attributed to the same user ID. |
365 days |
|
_hjFirstSeen |
Analytical |
yha.org.uk |
This cookie is set by Hotjar to identify a new user’s first session. It stores a true/false value, indicating whether this was the first time Hotjar saw this user. It is used by Recording filters to identify new user sessions. |
1 hour |
|
_hjIncludedInSessionSample |
Analytical |
yha.org.uk |
This cookie is set to let Hotjar know whether that visitor is included in the data sampling defined by your site's daily session limit. |
1 hour |
|
_hjSession_* |
Analytical |
yha.org.uk |
Used by Hotjar to hold current session data. |
1 hour |
|
_hjIncludedInPageviewSample |
Analytical |
yha.org.uk |
This cookie is set to let Hotjar know whether that visitor is included in the data sampling defined by your site's pageview limit. |
1 hour |
|
_hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress |
Analytical |
yha.org.uk |
The cookie is set so Hotjar can track the beginning of the user's journey for a total session count. It does not contain any identifiable information. |
1 hour |
|
_clck |
Analytical |
yha.org.uk |
Persists the Clarity User ID and preferences, unique to that site, on the browser. This ensures that behavior in subsequent visits to the same site will be attributed to the same user ID. |
365 days |
|
_clsk |
Analytical |
yha.org.uk |
Connects multiple page views by a user into a single Clarity session recording. |
1 day |
|
_cltk |
Analytical |
yha.org.uk |
Registers statistical data on users' behaviour on the website. Used for internal analytics by the website operator. |
Session |
|
_pk_id.* |
Analytical |
yha.org.uk |
Used by Matomo to store a few details about the user such as the unique visitor ID |
1 day |
|
_pk_ses.* |
Analytical |
yha.org.uk |
Short lived cookies used by Matomo to temporarily store data for the visit. |
1 day |
|
monsido |
Analytical |
yha.org.uk |
Used to monitor website performance for statistical purposes. |
30 days |
|
give_source |
Analytical |
getinvolved.yha.org.uk |
Used to measure donation performance of our marketing. |
session |
|
give_medium |
Analytical |
getinvolved.yha.org.uk |
Used to measure donation performance of our marketing. |
session |
|
give_campaign |
Analytical |
getinvolved.yha.org.uk |
Used to measure donation performance of our marketing. |
session |
|
give_content |
Analytical |
getinvolved.yha.org.uk |
Used to measure donation performance of our marketing. |
session |
|
_gcl_au |
Marketing |
yha.org.uk |
Used by Google AdSense to understand user interaction with the website by generating analytical data. |
90 days |
|
_uetsid |
Marketing |
yha.org.uk |
This cookie is used by Bing to determine what ads should be shown that may be relevant to the end user perusing the site. |
1 day |
|
_uetvid |
Marketing |
yha.org.uk |
Used by Microsoft Advertising to store a unique, anonymized visitor ID to personalize marketing. |
390 days |
|
_fbp |
Marketing |
yha.org.uk |
Facebook Pixel advertising first-party cookie. Used by Facebook to track visits across websites to deliver a series of advertisement products such as real time bidding from third party advertisers. |
90 days |
|
_uetsid_exp |
Marketing |
yha.org.uk |
This is a cookie utilised by Microsoft Bing Ads and is a tracking cookie. It allows us to engage with a user that has previously visited our website. |
Persistent |
|
_uetvid_exp |
Marketing |
yha.org.uk |
This is a cookie utilised by Microsoft Bing Ads and is a tracking cookie. It allows us to engage with a user that has previously visited our website. |
Persistent |
|
_uetsid |
Marketing |
yha.org.uk |
This cookie is used by Bing to determine what ads should be shown that may be relevant to the end user perusing the site. |
Persistent |
|
testCookie |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used to see if the browser is set to block or allow cookies. |
1 day |
|
yhafi_malesChild_age_string |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used to store the ages of all under 18 year male guests you have entered in your hostel search to stop you having enter them again throughout the booking journey. |
Persistent |
|
yhafi_femalesChild_age_string |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used to store the ages of all under 18 year female guests you have entered in your hostel search to stop you having enter them again throughout the booking journey. |
Persistent |
|
apbct_timestamp |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used in order to detect spam and improve the website's security. Does not store visitor specific data. |
Session |
|
apbct_cookies_test |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used to detect spam and improve the website's security. |
Session |
|
ct_sfw_pass_key |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used by the website to identify and eliminate spam on the website's comment-function. |
Session |
|
ct_check_js |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used to detect spam and improve the website's security. Does not store visitor specific data. |
Session |
|
ct_ps_timestamp |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used to detect spam and improve the website's security. Does not store visitor specific data. |
Session |
|
ct_fkp_timestamp |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used in order to detect spam and improve the website's security. Does not store visitor specific data. |
Session |
|
ct_timezone |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used in order to detect spam and improve the website's security. |
Session |
|
apbct_antibot |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
This cookie is used to distinguish between humans and bots. This is beneficial for the website, in order to make valid reports on the use of their website. |
Session |
|
ct_has_scrolled |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
This cookie is used to distinguish between humans and bots. |
Session |
|
ct_pointer_data |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used in order to detect spam and improve the website's security. Does not store visitor specific data. |
Session |
|
Affc |
Marketing |
yha.org.uk |
Facilitates payment of referral commission fees to ad partners when the user makes a purchase. |
30 days |
|
SSESS* |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Allows us to persist your state through the website. |
1 day |
|
Drupal.yha_search |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used to store your hostel search dates and guests to avoid you needing to enter them again. |
365 days |
|
__stripe_sid |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Stripe is used to make credit card payments. Stripe uses a cookie to remember who you are and enables the website to process payments without storing any credit card information on its servers. |
393 |
|
__stripe_mid |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Stripe is used to make credit card payments. Stripe uses a cookie to remember who you are and enables the website to process payments without storing any credit card information on its servers. |
365 |
|
cookiehub |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used by CookieHub to store information about whether visitors have given or declined the use of cookie categories used on the site. |
365 |
|
m |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used by Stripe Payment Services for fraud prevention and detection. |
730 |
|
apbct_site_landing_ts |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used to detect spam and improve the website's security. |
Session |
|
apbct_site_referer |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used to detect spam and improve the website's security. |
3 days |
|
ct_screen_info |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used to detect spam and improve the website's security. |
Session |
|
apbct_headless |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used to detect spam and improve the website's security. |
Session |
|
ct_checked_emails |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used to detect spam and improve the website's security. |
Session |
|
ct_checkjs |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used to detect spam and improve the website's security. |
Session |
|
apbct_prev_referer |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used to detect spam and improve the website's security. |
Session |
|
apbct_page_hits |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used to detect spam and improve the website's security. |
Session |
|
apbct_urls |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used to detect spam and improve the website's security. |
3 days |
|
apbct_pixel_url |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used to detect spam and improve the website's security. |
Session |
|
ct_cookies_type |
Necessary |
yha.org.uk |
Used to detect spam and improve the website's security. |
Persistent |
Third party cookies
We use third-party cookies for the purposes of advertising and analytics. The table below outlines the purpose of our current third-party cookies and links to each third-party's privacy policies. Please note the third-party cookies used may change as we work with new or different suppliers – this list will be reviewed and updated quarterly.
|
Cookie author |
Cookie category |
Cookie purpose |
Link to third party policy |
|
Affiliate Future |
Marketing |
Allow conversion tracking |
https://affiliatefuture.com/Legal/privacy |
|
Google Adwords |
Marketing |
Allow conversion tracking, optimisation and remarketing |
https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads |
|
|
Marketing |
Allow conversion tracking, optimisation and remarketing |
https://www.facebook.com/policy.php |
|
Google Doubleclick |
Marketing |
Allow conversion tracking and optimisation |
https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads |
|
Click4Assistance |
Necessary |
Allows you to interact with live chat for help in certain sections of the website |
https://www.click4assistance.co.uk/privacy-policy |
|
New Relic |
Analytical |
Preserves users states across page requests. |
https://newrelic.com/termsandconditions/cookie-policy |
|
Stripe |
Necessary |
Verifies if the visitors browser has JavaScript enabled, preserves users states across page requests. |
https://stripe.com/gb/privacy |
|
Braintree |
Necessary |
Verifies if the visitors browser has JavaScript enabled, preserves users states across page requests. |
https://www.braintreepayments.com/gb/legal/braintree-privacy-policy |
|
PayPal |
Necessary |
Allows PayPal payments to be made on our websites. |
https://www.paypal.com/myaccount/privacy/privacyhub |
|
|
Marketing |
Allow conversion tracking, optimisation and remarketing. |
https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/twitter-cookies |
|
Pintrest |
Marketing |
Allow conversion tracking, optimisation and remarketing |
https://policy.pinterest.com/en/privacy-policy |
|
HotJar |
Analytical |
Used to monitor website performance for statistical purposes. |
https://www.hotjar.com/legal/policies/privacy/ |
|
Microsoft Clarity |
Analytical |
Used to monitor website performance for statistical purposes. |
https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=521839 |
|
Google Optimise |
Analytical |
Used to monitor website performance for statistical purposes. |
https://policies.google.com/privacy?gl=GB&hl=en-US |
|
CleanTalk |
Necessary |
Used to detect spam and improve the website's security. |
https://cleantalk.org/publicoffer#privacy |
|
Cloudflare |
Necessary |
Used to detect spam and improve the website's security. |
https://www.cloudflare.com/en-gb/privacypolicy/ |
What are your choices?
You can manage your cookie preferences any time you visit our website by selecting manage cookies.
Cookies can also be controlled by your web browser settings. Whether our cookies are used will depend on your browser settings, so you’re in control. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, please use the following links:
- Internet Explorer cookies information
- Microsoft Edge cookies information
- Chrome cookies information
- Firefox cookies information
- Safari cookies information
Please note that these links will take you to other sites. YHA is not responsible for the information and the setting of cookies on these other sites.
Some websites have “Do Not Track” features that allow you to ask a website not to track you. We’re currently unable to support “Do Not Track” browser settings.
Your mobile device may allow you to manage cookies through its settings section. Refer to your device manufacturer’s instructions for more information.
If you choose to decline cookies, some parts of the YHA website may not work as intended or may not work at all.
How to contact us
If you have any questions about this Cookie Statement or wish to exercise your data privacy rights, please contact us as follows:
Email us: [email protected]
Write to us: Data Protection Team, YHA (England & Wales), Trevelyan House, Dimple Road, Matlock, DE4 3YH
Please also read our Privacy Notice and website terms and conditions.