What cookies are
A cookie is a small text file a website places in your browser when you visit. It lets the site remember a few practical things — that you are part-way through a form, for example, or that you have already seen a notice. Some cookies last only as long as your browsing session; others remain for a defined period.
Cookies are not unique to us. Almost every site you visit uses them in some form. We try to use as few as we reasonably can, and to be straightforward about the ones we do.
Cookies we use
Essential cookies
These keep the site working. They handle session security, remember your cookie preference choices on this page, and ensure forms submit cleanly. They cannot be turned off, because the site would no longer function correctly without them.
Analytics cookies
These help us understand which pages are read, how people arrive at the site, and where readers tend to leave. The information is aggregated; we do not see individual journeys. We use this lightly, mostly to decide which pages need rewriting.
Marketing cookies
We use these only when we run a small advertising campaign — most often on professional networks — to understand whether someone who reads our site has come from such a campaign. Many months pass between such uses; if you do not wish to take part, simply leave them off.
Preference cookies
These remember small choices, such as a notice you have dismissed, so that the site does not ask you the same question on every page.
Your preferences
Adjust the toggles below and choose Save preferences, or use the shortcuts.
Essential
Required for the site to function. Always on.
Analytics
Aggregated reading patterns to help us improve the site.
Marketing
Used only during occasional campaigns to measure reach.
Preferences
Remember small choices like dismissed notices.
Third-party services
A small number of cookies are set by third parties whose tools we rely on. These include our analytics provider and the platforms we occasionally advertise on. Each operates under its own privacy and cookie policy. Where you switch off the relevant category above, we instruct these tools not to set cookies on your visit.
How long cookies last
- Session cookies are removed automatically when you close your browser.
- Persistent cookies remain for a defined period — between 30 days and 12 months for the cookies we use directly.
- Third-party cookies follow the durations set by their respective providers, typically up to 24 months.
Managing cookies in your browser
You can also control cookies through the settings of your browser. The following are starting points; menus change between versions.
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Apple Safari
Microsoft Edge
Mobile browsers
Your rights
Under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance of Hong Kong, you may withdraw consent for non-essential cookies at any time. Where you do, the relevant categories are turned off and any existing data is no longer collected through them. Disabling cookies will not prevent you from using the site, though some refinements — remembering a dismissed notice, for instance — may behave differently.
Contact
If anything in this policy is unclear, or if you would like help adjusting your preferences, please write to us: