Home / Cookie PolicyCookie Policy
Last updated: 12 February 2026
This Cookie Policy explains how africanstores.co.uk ("we", "us", or "our") uses cookies and similar technologies when you visit our platform. It explains what these technologies are, why we use them, and your rights to control our use of them.
1. What Are Cookies
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently, to provide a better user experience, and to supply information to site owners. Cookies can be "persistent" (remaining on your device until they expire or you delete them) or "session-based" (deleted when you close your browser).
2. How We Use Cookies
We use cookies and similar technologies on africanstores.co.uk to keep you signed in, remember your preferences, understand how you use our platform, and to improve our services. We do not use cookies for advertising purposes or to track your activity across other websites.
3. Types of Cookies We Use
Strictly NecessaryAlways active
These cookies are essential for the website to function. They enable core features like authentication, session management, and security. You cannot opt out of these cookies.
Duration: Session / 1 year
Examples: Session ID, CSRF token, authentication token
Functional
These cookies remember your preferences and choices to provide a more personalised experience, such as your preferred location, language settings, and display preferences.
Duration: Up to 1 year
Examples: Location preference, theme setting, language
Analytics
These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our platform by collecting information about pages visited, time spent, and navigation patterns. All data is anonymised and aggregated.
Duration: Up to 2 years
Examples: Page views, session duration, referral source
Performance
These cookies help us monitor and improve our platform's performance, including page load times and error tracking. They do not collect personally identifiable information.
Duration: Up to 1 year
Examples: Error logs, load time metrics
4. Third-Party Cookies
Some cookies on our platform are set by third-party services that we use to operate and improve the site. These include:
Analytics providers that help us understand usage patterns (anonymised data only). Payment processors that enable secure subscription payments for store owners. Mapping services that power our store locator feature.
These third parties have their own privacy and cookie policies, which we encourage you to review. We do not allow any third party to use cookies on our platform for advertising or cross-site tracking purposes.
5. Managing Your Cookie Preferences
You can manage your cookie preferences at any time through our cookie settings panel, accessible via the "Cookie Preferences" link in the footer of every page. You can also control cookies through your browser settings.
Most browsers allow you to refuse or delete cookies. The method varies by browser, but you can usually find instructions in the "Help" or "Settings" section. Please note that blocking certain cookies may affect the functionality of our platform.
Here are links to cookie management instructions for common browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge. Consult your browser's help documentation for specific steps.
6. Cookie Consent
When you first visit africanstores.co.uk, you will be shown a cookie consent banner giving you the option to accept or customise your cookie preferences. Strictly necessary cookies will always be active as they are essential for the platform to function.
Your consent preferences are stored in a cookie on your device and will be remembered for subsequent visits. You can change your preferences at any time through the cookie settings panel.
7. Data Protection
Any personal data collected through cookies is processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). We act as the data controller for information collected through our own cookies.
For more information about how we handle your personal data, please refer to our Privacy Policy.
8. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. We will post the updated policy on this page and update the "Last updated" date. Material changes will be communicated through a notice on our platform.
9. Contact Us
If you have any questions about our use of cookies, please contact us at:
Email: privacy@africanstores.co.uk
Post: africanstores.co.uk, Data Protection, London, United Kingdom
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.