Privacy

Cookies

Visitors get no cookies of their own from this site. The only cookie it ever sets is a session cookie for the site owner when they sign in to the admin area (/admin/); it keeps them signed in and is deleted when they sign out or close the browser.

When you first visit, a bar asks whether you’re happy with ads cookies. We keep your answer in your browser’s local storage (or, if that’s blocked, in a small cookie from this site called ads_consent) for 6 months, so we don’t have to ask on every page. It holds only “accept” or “reject” and the date, and it isn’t sent to anyone.

Banner ads

Some pages have up to two banner ads: one under the menu, and one part-way through a guide or gift idea. There are none on this page, the contact, terms, affiliate and photo-credit pages, or the gift finder. The ads come from 5od (5od.co.uk), a small ad service run by the owner of this site. They’re contextual: 5od chooses a banner to suit the page you’re reading, not you. 5od itself sets no cookies and builds no profile of you; your browser sends it the site, the ad position and size, and the address of the page.

The banners are for shops and brands in the Awin affiliate network. Awin’s banner images and links can set Awin’s own cookies: when a banner is shown, and when you click one, so that a purchase can be credited to us. That’s why nothing loads until you choose:

• Accept ads cookies: banners load, and Awin is told you agreed.
• Reject: no banners load at all, and your browser doesn’t contact 5od or Awin for ads.
• JavaScript off: no ads load and you won’t be asked.

Like any website, 5od’s server sees your IP address when your browser asks it for a banner. 5od doesn’t store raw IP addresses: it keeps a scrambled (salted and hashed) version for up to 2 days, only to limit abuse.

Changing your mind

Use Cookie settings (also at the bottom of every page) to see your current choice and change it at any time. If you switch from accept to reject, banners stop loading straight away. Any Awin cookies already set stay in your browser until they expire, or until you delete them in your browser’s settings (clearing this site’s data also resets your choice, and we’ll ask again).

The personalisation preview

When you type a name into the “Try a name” illustration, the drawing updates in your browser and nothing is sent to us. If JavaScript is switched off, pressing Preview sends the text to our server in the web address so the page can draw it. We don’t store it, but — as with any web address — it may briefly appear in the web server’s standard access logs. Please don’t type anything private.

Forms

The gift finder is a search form: your choices go in the web address and aren’t stored. There are no sign-up, comment or newsletter forms.

Server logs

Like most websites, our hosting keeps standard server logs (such as IP address, time, page requested and browser type) for security and troubleshooting. When you follow a link to Amazon or Etsy, we count the click (the link name, the time and which of our pages it was on) — no personal details are recorded with it.

Links to Amazon.co.uk and Etsy

When you follow a shopping link you go to that company’s website, where its own privacy policy and cookies apply. Amazon (and Etsy, when affiliate tracking is on) use cookies to tell which website referred you, so that a commission can be paid. More about affiliate links.

Videos

If a page includes a YouTube video, nothing loads from YouTube until you press play; it then loads from youtube-nocookie.com, and YouTube’s privacy policy applies.

Contact

Questions about privacy: hello@bespokegiftingcompany.co.uk.

Last updated 20 October 2026.