Legal · Your choices, respected
Cookies Policy
Every cookie and similar technology we use on BroadbandSwitch.uk, what it does, how long it lasts, and how to change your mind at any time.
Consent first
Only strictly necessary cookies run before you choose. Everything else waits for your yes.
No advertising trackers
We carry no third party advertising networks and set no advertising cookies.
Change any time
One tap on Cookie settings, in the footer of every page, updates your choices immediately.
Short lived attribution
Deal clicks use attribution records of 30 to 90 days, not long life profiles.
What cookies are
Cookies are small text files that a website places on your device to remember things between pages and visits, such as a preference you have set or the fact that you have already answered the cookie banner. Similar technologies, such as local storage, do a comparable job inside your browser. Some cookies are essential for a site to work at all. Others measure how the site performs, or record that a click came from us so a partner can credit the referral.
How consent works here
When you first visit, our cookie banner asks what you are happy with. Strictly necessary cookies are always on, because the site cannot function without them. Everything else, including analytics and affiliate attribution, stays off until you say yes. Your choice is remembered, and you can change it whenever you like using the Open cookie settings button on this page or the Cookie settings link in the footer of every page. Declining optional cookies does not stop you comparing deals or using our free tools.
The law, including the 2026 changes
Cookies in the UK are governed by regulation 6 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003, working alongside the UK GDPR wherever a cookie involves personal data. From 5 February 2026, the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 amended these rules so that certain low risk cookies, such as some statistics and appearance preferences, can run on an opt out basis under strict conditions. The Information Commissioner's Office sets out its expectations in its guidance on the use of storage and access technologies.
We have chosen to keep a consent first approach anyway. Asking before we measure is the right way to treat the people this site exists to serve, and it means your banner choice governs every optional cookie listed below regardless of which legal route would technically permit it.
The cookies we use, by category
The tables below are maintained from our periodic cookie audit. Where a provider updates its cookie names or durations, we refresh the entry at the next audit.
1. Strictly necessary
These keep the site secure and functional, and they remember the cookie choice you make so we do not ask you on every page. They run without consent because the service cannot operate without them.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Type | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| broadbandswitch_cookie_consent_v1 | BroadbandSwitch.uk | Records your cookie banner choices so we do not ask again on every page | Local storage | Up to 24 months, matching our consent record retention |
If the pre publish audit identifies any further strictly necessary cookies, for example one set by our hosting infrastructure, they are added to this table with their audited names and durations.
2. Functional preferences
These remember choices that make our free tools nicer to use, such as tool and player settings. They live in your browser and are not used to identify you. Fibre Tycoon also keeps player settings and optional local saves in your browser under keys beginning ft_, and nothing from those saves is stored on our servers.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Type | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bbs-a11y-v3, bsWordsearch.v2, bbs_recent, bbs_feedback, ft_vol, ft_autosave, ft_meta, ft_seen, ft_scale, ft_motion, ft_font, ft_yir, ft_pat, ft_hall, ft_msmall | BroadbandSwitch.uk | Remembers tool and player settings on your device | Local storage | Until you clear your browser data |
3. Statistics and analytics, with your consent
We use Google Analytics 4 to understand which guides and tools genuinely help people. It works with pseudonymised identifiers held in two first party cookies, it only runs after you accept analytics in the banner, and the data is not shared for anyone else's marketing. Google's own documentation describes both cookies and their default lifespans, and notes that some browsers cap first party cookie life at around 13 months regardless of the value set.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Type | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Google Analytics 4 (Google LLC) | Distinguishes unique visitors using a randomly generated identifier | Cookie | 2 years by default, capped sooner by some browsers |
| _ga_CLC3ZR39KS | Google Analytics 4 (Google LLC) | Holds session state for your current visit | Cookie | 2 years by default, capped sooner by some browsers |
The suffix on the second cookie is our Google Analytics measurement ID, confirmed at the pre publish audit. The cookie lifetime above is separate from how long we keep the resulting analytics data, which is 14 months as set out in the retention table of our Privacy Policy.
4. Affiliate attribution, with your consent
When you click through to a broadband deal, a short lived record lets the provider know the referral came from us, which is how this free service earns its keep. The comparison journey is delivered by our technology partner, stickee Technology Limited, and stickee's published cookie policy lists the cookies its platform sets, both of which are session cookies that disappear when you close your browser. It is explained in full in our affiliate disclosure.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Type | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHPSESSID | stickee Technology Limited | Holds the session identifier for your comparison journey, so a visit without one is treated as newly arrived | Cookie | Session, erased when you close your browser |
| source | stickee Technology Limited | Records where the comparison visit came from so deal clicks are credited correctly | Cookie | Session, erased when you close your browser |
Cookie lifetime is separate from how long the resulting attribution data is kept, which is 30 to 90 days as set out in the retention table of our Privacy Policy. Once you click through to a provider's own website, that provider sets its own cookies under its own cookie policy, which we do not control.
Third party services on this site
stickee Technology Limited. The postcode comparison journey is powered by our technology partner, stickee. When you use it, stickee's platform sets the session cookies listed in the attribution table above to run your search, keep your results consistent and record deal clicks. Non essential elements only operate with your consent. stickee publishes its own cookie policy and privacy policy.
Cloudflare speed endpoints. The GTA 6 readiness test and the BroadbandSwitch.uk speed test measure latency and throughput against Cloudflare's public endpoints at speed.cloudflare.com. Pulse, our group speed test at ukspeedtest.co.uk, is a sibling measurement service and is not hosted on this site. Nothing from the probe is stored on our servers and your scores stay in your browser. Cloudflare's documentation explains that its infrastructure may set its own strictly necessary security cookies on its domains, such as __cf_bm for bot protection, which expires after at most 30 minutes of inactivity, is encrypted, and is not used to follow you from site to site.
YouTube video embeds. Where a page carries an embedded YouTube video, such as the 90 second explainer, YouTube (Google LLC) can set cookies and use local storage through the player. Our embeds use YouTube's privacy enhanced player at youtube-nocookie.com, which defers cookies until you press play. Details of what YouTube sets are in Google's cookie documentation.
No advertising networks. BroadbandSwitch.uk carries no third party advertising and sets no advertising cookies.
Managing cookies in your browser
The quickest route is our own banner: use the Open cookie settings button above and your updated choice applies immediately. Your browser also gives you controls to view, block and delete cookies for any site. The official guides are here: Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge. Bear in mind that blocking strictly necessary cookies can stop parts of any website working properly.
Changes to this policy
We review this policy twice yearly, refresh the cookie tables after each audit, and update it sooner if we add a tool, change a provider or the law moves again. The last updated date at the top of the page tells you when anything changed.
Frequently asked questions
What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files that a website places on your device to remember things between pages and visits. Similar technologies, such as local storage, do a comparable job. Some are essential for a site to work, while others measure performance or credit partners.
Do I have to accept cookies to use BroadbandSwitch.uk?
No. Strictly necessary cookies keep the site running and do not require consent. Analytics and affiliate attribution cookies are optional and only set after you accept them in the banner. Declining them does not stop you comparing deals.
How do I change my cookie choices?
Use the Open cookie settings button on this page or the Cookie settings link in the footer of every page. Your updated choice takes effect straight away, and no account or login is needed.
Does the postcode comparison tool set cookies?
Yes. The comparison journey is powered by our technology partner, stickee Technology Limited, whose published cookie policy lists two session cookies, PHPSESSID and source, which run your search and credit deal clicks. Both disappear when you close your browser, non essential elements only operate with your consent, and the details appear in the tables on this page.
Do you use Google Analytics?
Yes. Google Analytics 4 measures how the site is used through two first party cookies, _ga and a _ga_ cookie carrying our measurement ID, each lasting up to 2 years by default. It only runs after you accept analytics in the banner, and we keep the resulting data for 14 months.
Do you use advertising cookies?
No. BroadbandSwitch.uk carries no third party advertising networks and sets no advertising cookies. We earn commission when you switch through a comparison link, which uses a short lived attribution record rather than advertising trackers.
Did UK cookie law change in 2026?
Yes. From 5 February 2026 the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 amended the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations so that certain low risk statistics and appearance cookies can run on an opt out basis under strict conditions. We have chosen to keep asking for consent first anyway.
References
Sources we relied on when preparing this policy, in APA style.
- Cloudflare, Inc. (n.d.). Cloudflare cookies. Cloudflare Docs. https://developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/reference/policies-compliances/cloudflare-cookies/
- Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, c. 18 (UK). https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/18/contents
- Google. (n.d.). Cookie usage on websites [GA4]. Google Analytics Help. https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/11397207
- Google. (n.d.). How Google uses cookies. Google Privacy and Terms. https://policies.google.com/technologies/cookies
- Information Commissioner's Office. (2026). Guidance on the use of storage and access technologies. https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/guidance-on-the-use-of-storage-and-access-technologies/
- Information Commissioner's Office. (n.d.). Guide to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/guide-to-pecr/
- The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, SI 2003/2426 (UK). https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2426/contents
- Stickee Technology Limited. (2024). Cookie policy. https://www.stickee.co.uk/the-small-print/cookie-policy/
- Stickee Technology Limited. (n.d.). Privacy policy. https://www.stickee.co.uk/the-small-print/privacy-policy/
Related policies: Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Accessibility statement · Affiliate disclosure · Editorial policy