What we collect

You can read The Old Town Crier without registering, signing in or giving us your name or email address, and we don't ask for them. Like every website, our server keeps short-lived logs of requests (the address of your device, your browser and the page you asked for) to keep the site secure and to fix problems.

Cookies we set

The site sets two cookies that it needs to work: a session cookie and a security token that protects forms. They don't identify you, aren't used for advertising, and expire after 120 minutes.

Visitor statistics

We use Google Analytics to count visits and see which pages are read, so we know which stories are worth writing. It sets cookies (their names start with _ga) that tell one visit from another without telling us who you are, and Google processes what it collects on our behalf. To stop it, use Google's opt-out add-on for your browser.

Advertising

We pay for the site with adverts from Google AdSense. Google and its partners use cookies to show adverts based on your previous visits to this and other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies lets it and its partners show you adverts based on your visits to this site and other sites on the internet.

If you are in the UK or the European Economic Area, Google asks for your consent before using cookies to personalise adverts, and you can change your choice at any time with the privacy and cookie settings link that appears on the page. Without consent you may still see adverts, but they aren't personalised.

Links to other sites

Every article links to the real news story it is based on. Those sites have their own privacy policies, which we don't control.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you can ask what information we hold about you, and ask us to correct or delete it. We hold very little, as above. Write to us at [email protected]. If you are unhappy with how we handle your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Last updated 7 October 2026.