Understanding and Managing Cookies on Our Website

Discover how we use cookies to improve your experience. Learn about different types of cookies, their benefits, and how to manage your preferences effectively.

Last updated: January 2026

This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are, how Keele Students' Union (KeeleSU) uses them on keelesu.com, and the choices you have in relation to cookies. This policy should be read alongside our Privacy Notice.

What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer, smartphone, or other device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work efficiently, enhance user experience, and provide website owners with information about how their sites are being used.

Cookies can remember your preferences, help with navigation, and enable certain features. For more general information about cookies and how to manage them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

How We Use Cookies

Keele Students' Union uses cookies to:

  • Ensure our website functions correctly
  • Enable secure login where required
  • Understand how visitors use our website so we can improve it

We do not use cookies to collect directly identifiable personal data. Any information collected via cookies is either essential for the operation of the site or collected in an anonymised and aggregated form for statistical purposes.

Where cookies are not strictly necessary, they will only be set with your consent.

Types of Cookies We Use

These cookies are essential for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually set in response to actions you take, such as logging in or setting security preferences. Without these cookies, some parts of the Site will not work properly.

These cookies do not store personally identifiable information.

Analytics cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our Site, such as which pages are visited most often and how users move around the Site. This information helps us improve website performance and usability.

Analytics cookies are only used with your consent.

First-party cookies

First-party cookies are set by us and can only be read by our website. These typically include essential cookies required for website functionality.

Third-party cookies

Third-party cookies are set by external services that appear on our website or that we use to help analyse how our website performs.

We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC, to collect information about how visitors use our Site.

Google Analytics cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including:

  • Number of visitors
  • Pages visited
  • How users arrived at the Site

This data is used solely to compile statistical reports and help us improve the Site. IP anonymisation is enabled where possible.

Google Analytics cookies are classified as analytics cookies and are only activated where consent has been given.

You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the browser opt-out tool.

You can read more about Google's use of data in their Privacy Policy.

Session cookies

Session cookies are temporary and are deleted when you close your browser. These are used to maintain secure sessions, such as when you log in.

Persistent cookies

Persistent cookies remain on your device for a set period or until you delete them. These are used to remember preferences and consent choices between visits.

Managing & Disabling Cookies

You can manage or disable cookies at any time through:

  • Our cookie consent tool (where available)
  • Your browser settings

Most browsers allow you to:

  • See what cookies are stored
  • Delete cookies
  • Block cookies from specific websites
  • Block all cookies

Please note that disabling strictly necessary cookies may cause parts of the Site to stop working correctly or prevent access to certain features.

Instructions for managing cookies can usually be found in your browser's Help menu.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, legislation, or our use of cookies. Any updates will be published on this page, and the "Last updated" date will be revised accordingly.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about our use of cookies, please contact:

Keele Students' Union IT

su.itsupport@keele.ac.uk