Cookies Policy

COOKIE POLICY – HOME ASSIST 365 LTD

Last Updated: January 2026

INTRODUCTION

At Home Assist 365 Ltd, we’re real people (not robots!) and we care about keeping your data safe while giving you the best possible experience on our website. Just like we look after your boilers, heating systems, and plumbing, we want to look after your privacy too.

This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are, how and why we use them on our website, and how you can control them. We promise to be completely transparent about how we use cookies and to give you full control over your preferences.

We promise never to sell your data or use it in any way that isn’t fair, transparent, and in line with data protection law.

WHAT ARE COOKIES?

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device (computer, smartphone, tablet, or other electronic device) when you visit a website. They help websites remember information about your visit, which can make your next visit easier and the website more useful to you.

How Cookies Work: • When you visit a website, a cookie is downloaded onto your device • The cookie stores small pieces of information about your visit • When you return to the website, it “reads” the cookie to remember your preferences or previous activity • Cookies can be “session cookies” (which are deleted when you close your browser) or “persistent cookies” (which stay on your device for a set period or until you delete them)

What Cookies Do: • Remember your preferences and settings • Remember items in your shopping basket • Improve website performance and speed • Understand how visitors use the website • Show you relevant advertisements • Enable certain features to work properly

What Cookies Don’t Do: • Cookies cannot access other files on your device • Cookies cannot run programs or deliver viruses • Cookies cannot identify you personally (unless you have provided personal information to the website) • Cookies from our website cannot access information from other websites

WHY DO WE USE COOKIES?

We use cookies on our website for several important reasons:

To Make Our Website Work Properly: • Enable you to navigate between pages • Remember information you’ve entered in forms • Ensure security and detect fraudulent activity • Keep you logged in (if we offer account functionality in future) • Enable booking and quotation systems to function

To Improve Your Experience: • Remember your preferences (such as your location) • Provide faster page loading • Avoid asking for the same information repeatedly • Make our website easier to use

To Understand How People Use Our Site: • See which pages are most popular • Understand how visitors navigate the website • Identify technical issues or broken links • Improve our content and layout based on user behaviour • Measure the effectiveness of our website changes

To Show You Relevant Information: • Display content relevant to your location (e.g., if you’re in Bristol) • Show you information about services you’ve viewed • Avoid showing you the same information repeatedly

To Deliver Relevant Advertising (With Your Consent): • Show you ads for our services on other websites you visit • Measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns • Avoid showing you irrelevant advertisements • Cap the number of times you see the same ad

TYPES OF COOKIES WE USE

We use different types of cookies on our website. Here’s a detailed breakdown:

1. ESSENTIAL COOKIES (STRICTLY NECESSARY COOKIES)

These cookies are essential for our website to function properly. Without these cookies, certain parts of our website would not work. You cannot opt out of these cookies.

What They Do: • Enable you to move around the website and use its features • Remember information you’ve entered when you navigate between pages • Maintain security and prevent fraudulent activity • Ensure the website loads correctly • Remember your cookie preferences • Enable our quotation and booking forms to work • Maintain your session while you browse the site

Examples of Essential Cookies We Use: • Session ID cookies – keep you logged in as you move between pages • Cookie consent cookies – remember your cookie preferences • Security cookies – authenticate users and prevent fraudulent use • Load balancing cookies – distribute traffic across our servers

Duration: Most essential cookies are session cookies (deleted when you close your browser), but some may persist for up to 24 hours.

Legal Basis: These cookies are necessary for the website to function and do not require consent under UK GDPR.

Can You Disable Them? No – if you disable essential cookies, our website may not work properly and you may not be able to use certain features.

2. ANALYTICS COOKIES (PERFORMANCE COOKIES)

These cookies help us understand how visitors use our website so we can make improvements. All information collected by these cookies is anonymous and aggregated.

What They Do: • Count the number of visitors to our website • Track how visitors move around the website • Identify which pages are most popular • See where visitors come from (e.g., Google search, social media) • Identify technical errors or broken links • Measure page loading times and performance • Understand user journeys through the site • Test different versions of pages to see which performs better

Analytics Services We Use:

Google Analytics: • Provider: Google LLC • What it tracks: Page views, sessions, bounce rate, user location (city level), device type, browser, traffic sources • Data collected: IP address (anonymised), pages visited, time on site, interactions with page elements • Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy • How to opt out: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

Cookie Names: _ga, _gid, _gat Duration: Up to 2 years

 Microsoft Clarity (session recordings and heatmaps) • Hotjar (user behaviour analytics) • Facebook Pixel (conversion tracking)

What We Learn From Analytics: • Which services are most popular • Whether visitors are finding what they need • How long people spend reading different pages • Where visitors drop off in the booking process • Which marketing campaigns bring visitors to our site

Legal Basis: Consent (UK GDPR). These cookies are only placed if you consent via our cookie banner.

Can You Disable Them? Yes – you can disable analytics cookies via our cookie banner or browser settings. This won’t affect your ability to use the website, but it will prevent us from understanding how to improve it.

3.FUNCTIONALITY COOKIES (PREFERENCE COOKIES)

These cookies remember your preferences and choices to give you a more personalized experience. They are not essential but make your experience better.

What They Do: • Remember your location (to show local information) • Remember your language preference • Remember text size and display preferences • Remember whether you’ve visited before • Provide enhanced features like live chat • Remember your communication preferences • Store your quotation or booking details temporarily

Examples of Functionality Cookies: • Location cookies – remember your city or postcode • Preference cookies – remember settings you’ve chosen • Form auto-fill cookies – remember information you’ve entered before • Live chat cookies – enable the chat widget to function

Cookie Names: [Add your specific cookie names] Duration: Up to 12 months

Legal Basis: Consent (UK GDPR). These cookies are only placed if you consent via our cookie banner.

Can You Disable Them? Yes – you can disable functionality cookies via our cookie banner. The website will still work, but you may need to re-enter preferences each time you visit.

4. MARKETING COOKIES (ADVERTISING/TARGETING COOKIES)

These cookies track your browsing activity and are used to show you more relevant advertisements. They may be set by us or by third-party advertising networks.

What They Do: • Track which pages you visit on our website • Remember that you’ve visited our website • Share information with advertising networks • Show you ads for our services on other websites (remarketing/retargeting) • Measure how many people click on our ads • Cap the frequency of ads you see • Personalize ad content based on your interests

Advertising Services We Use:

Google Ads (Google Remarketing): • Provider: Google LLC • What it does: Shows you ads for our services when you browse other websites • How it works: Places a cookie when you visit our site, which allows Google to show you our ads elsewhere • Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy • How to opt out: https://adssettings.google.com

Cookie Names: _gcl_au, IDE, test_cookie Duration: Up to 2 years

Facebook Pixel: • Provider: Meta Platforms Inc. • What it does: Tracks conversions from Facebook ads and enables us to show you relevant ads on Facebook and Instagram • Privacy policy: https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy • How to opt out: https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=ads

Cookie Names: _fbp, fr Duration: Up to 90 days

• Bing Ads • LinkedIn Insight Tag • Twitter Conversion Tracking

What Marketing Cookies Allow Us To Do: • Show you ads for boiler installations if you visited our installations page • Stop showing you ads once you’ve booked a service • Measure which ads lead to bookings • Avoid wasting money on ineffective advertising • Show you special offers that might interest you

Legal Basis: Consent (UK GDPR). These cookies are only placed if you explicitly consent via our cookie banner.

Can You Disable Them? Yes – you can disable marketing cookies via our cookie banner. You’ll still see ads online, but they won’t be tailored to your interests.

5. THIRD-PARTY COOKIES

Some cookies on our website are set by third-party services we use. We don’t control these cookies directly, but we’ve chosen trusted partners.

Third-Party Services That May Set Cookies:

Social Media Plugins: • Facebook (if we have a Facebook Like/Share button) • Twitter (if we have a Tweet button) • LinkedIn (if we have a LinkedIn share button) • Instagram (if we embed Instagram posts)

These services may set cookies to track whether you’ve interacted with their buttons or content.

Video Platforms: • YouTube (if we embed YouTube videos) • Vimeo (if we embed Vimeo videos)

These platforms may set cookies when you watch embedded videos.

Maps: • Google Maps (if we embed a map showing our location)

Google may set cookies when you interact with the embedded map.

Live Chat: [If you use live chat, add details:] • Provider name • What cookies they set • Their privacy policy

Payment Processors: [If you accept online payments:] • Provider name (e.g., Stripe, PayPal) • What cookies they set • Their privacy policy

Review Platforms: • Trustpilot (if we embed reviews) • Google Reviews (if we embed reviews)

These platforms may set cookies when displaying reviews.

Finance Application Tools: • Koze Group Ltd (if finance applications are processed online) • Their cookies enable the finance application form to function

Important: We do not control third-party cookies. Each third party has their own privacy policy and cookie policy, which we recommend you read.

FIRST-PARTY VS THIRD-PARTY COOKIES

First-Party Cookies: • Set by Home Assist 365 Ltd directly • Only readable by our website • Used for essential functions and analytics

Third-Party Cookies: • Set by other companies (e.g., Google, Facebook) • Can be read by those companies across multiple websites • Used primarily for advertising and social media

SESSION COOKIES VS PERSISTENT COOKIES

Session Cookies: • Temporary cookies that are deleted when you close your browser • Used for essential functions like maintaining your session • Do not collect information about you after you leave our website

Persistent Cookies: • Remain on your device for a set period (from a few hours to several years) • Used to remember your preferences between visits • Can track your activity over time

6. HOW TO CONTROL COOKIES

You have several options for controlling cookies on our website:

OPTION 1: USE OUR COOKIE BANNER

When you first visit our website, you’ll see a cookie banner that allows you to: • Accept all cookies • Reject all non-essential cookies • Customize your cookie preferences

To customize your preferences:

1. Click “Cookie Settings” or “Manage Preferences” in the banner
2. Toggle categories of cookies on or off:
   • Essential cookies (cannot be disabled)
   • Analytics cookies (optional)
   • Functionality cookies (optional)
   • Marketing cookies (optional)
3. Click “Save Preferences” or “Confirm My Choices”

Your preferences will be saved for 12 months.

To change your preferences later: • Look for the “Cookie Settings” link in our website footer • Click it to reopen the cookie preference manager • Update your choices and save

OPTION 2: USE YOUR BROWSER SETTINGS

All modern web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. However, the method varies by browser.

How to Manage Cookies in Different Browsers:

Google Chrome:

1. Click the three dots in the top right corner
2. Go to “Settings”
3. Click “Privacy and security” in the left menu
4. Click “Cookies and other site data”
5. Choose your preferred option:
   • “Allow all cookies”
   • “Block third-party cookies in Incognito”
   • “Block third-party cookies”
   • “Block all cookies”
6. To delete existing cookies, click “See all site data and permissions” and remove specific cookies

Help: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647

Mozilla Firefox:

1. Click the menu button (three lines) in the top right
2. Go to “Settings”
3. Click “Privacy & Security” in the left menu
4. Under “Cookies and Site Data”, choose your preference:
   • “Standard” (blocks third-party tracking cookies)
   • “Strict” (blocks all third-party cookies)
   • “Custom” (choose what to block)
5. To delete cookies, click “Manage Data” or “Clear Data”

Help: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enhanced-tracking-protection-firefox-desktop

Safari (Mac):

1. Go to “Safari” menu and click “Preferences”
2. Click the “Privacy” tab
3. Under “Cookies and website data”, choose your option:
   • “Block all cookies”
   • “Allow from websites I visit”
   • “Allow from current website only”
   • “Always allow”
4. To remove existing cookies, click “Manage Website Data”

Help: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/safari/sfri11471/mac

Microsoft Edge:

1. Click the three dots in the top right corner
2. Go to “Settings”
3. Click “Cookies and site permissions” in the left menu
4. Click “Cookies and site data”
5. Choose your preferred option
6. To delete cookies, click “See all cookies and site data”

Help: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/delete-cookies-in-microsoft-edge-63947406-40ac-c3b8-57b9-2a946a29ae09

Safari (iPhone/iPad):

1. Go to “Settings”
2. Scroll down and tap “Safari”
3. Tap “Block All Cookies” to block cookies
4. Tap “Clear History and Website Data” to delete existing cookies

Mobile Browsers: Cookie settings are usually found in the Settings or Privacy menu of your mobile browser.

OPTION 3: USE THIRD-PARTY TOOLS

Browser Extensions: You can install browser extensions that block tracking cookies and online trackers: • Privacy Badger (https://privacybadger.org) • Ghostery (https://www.ghostery.com) • uBlock Origin (https://ublockorigin.com)

Google Analytics Opt-Out: Install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

Advertising Opt-Out: Opt out of personalized advertising from multiple advertising networks: • Your Online Choices (EU): https://www.youronlinechoices.com • Network Advertising Initiative (US): https://optout.networkadvertising.org • Digital Advertising Alliance (US): https://optout.aboutads.info

OPTION 4: USE PRIVATE/INCOGNITO BROWSING

Private browsing mode (also called Incognito mode) prevents your browser from storing cookies after you close the window.

How to use: • Chrome: Ctrl+Shift+N (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+N (Mac) • Firefox: Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+P (Mac) • Safari: Cmd+Shift+N (Mac) • Edge: Ctrl+Shift+N (Windows)

Note: This prevents cookies from being saved, but websites can still set cookies during your browsing session.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU BLOCK COOKIES?

If you block or delete cookies, the impact on your experience will depend on which cookies you block:

If You Block Essential Cookies: • Our website may not function properly • Forms may not work • You may not be able to request a quote or book a service • Security features may not work • You may experience errors

We strongly recommend keeping essential cookies enabled.

If You Block Analytics Cookies: • Your experience will not be affected • The website will work normally • We won’t be able to see how visitors use the site • This may limit our ability to improve the website

If You Block Functionality Cookies: • The website will still work • You may need to re-enter your preferences each visit • Some convenience features may not be available • Enhanced features like live chat may not work

If You Block Marketing Cookies: • Your experience will not be affected • The website will work normally • You’ll still see advertisements online, but they won’t be personalized to your interests • We won’t be able to measure the effectiveness of our advertising

COOKIES WE USE – DETAILED LIST

Below is a comprehensive list of cookies we use on our website:

ESSENTIAL COOKIES

Cookie Name	Purpose	Duration	Set By
cookie_consent	Stores your cookie preferences	12 months	Home Assist 365 Ltd
PHPSESSID	Maintains your session	Session	Home Assist 365 Ltd
security_token	Prevents cross-site request forgery	Session	Home Assist 365 Ltd
[Add others]

ANALYTICS COOKIES

Cookie Name	Purpose	Duration	Set By
_ga	Distinguishes unique visitors	2 years	Google Analytics
_gid	Distinguishes unique visitors	24 hours	Google Analytics
_gat	Throttles request rate	1 minute	Google Analytics

FUNCTIONALITY COOKIES

Cookie Name	Purpose	Duration	Set By
location	Remembers your location	30 days	Home Assist 365 Ltd
preferences	Stores your site preferences	12 months	Home Assist 365 Ltd

MARKETING COOKIES

Cookie Name	Purpose	Duration	Set By
_gcl_au	Stores and tracks conversions	90 days	Google Ads
IDE	Stores ad preferences	2 years	Google Ads
_fbp	Tracks visits across websites	90 days	Facebook
fr	Delivers advertising	90 days	Facebook
[Add others]

This list is updated regularly. For the most current list, please contact us.

DO NOT TRACK (DNT) SIGNALS

Some browsers offer a “Do Not Track” (DNT) signal that tells websites you don’t want to be tracked.

Our Approach: • We respect your privacy choices • However, there is currently no industry standard for responding to DNT signals • We respond to your cookie preferences set via our cookie banner rather than DNT signals • If you set your cookie preferences to block marketing/analytics cookies, this achieves the same result as DNT

WEB BEACONS AND TRACKING PIXELS

In addition to cookies, we may use web beacons (also called tracking pixels or clear GIFs) in our emails and on our website.

What They Are: • Tiny invisible images (usually 1×1 pixel) • Embedded in emails or web pages • Loaded when you open an email or view a page

What They Do: • Tell us whether you’ve opened an email • Track whether you’ve clicked links in an email • Measure email campaign effectiveness • Track page views and user activity

Where We Use Them: • Marketing emails (to measure open rates) • Our website (in conjunction with analytics cookies) • Online advertisements

How to Block Them: • Block images in your email client • Use browser extensions that block tracking pixels • Disable marketing cookies via our cookie banner

COOKIES IN EMAILS

We may use cookies and tracking technologies in emails we send you.

What They Track: • Whether you’ve opened the email • Which links you’ve clicked • What device you used to read the email • When you opened the email

Why We Use Them: • Understand which emails are most useful • Improve our email content • Send you more relevant information • Measure the effectiveness of our communications

How to Opt Out: • Block images in your email client • Unsubscribe from marketing emails • Configure your email settings to prevent tracking

COOKIES AND MOBILE APPS

If we develop a mobile app in the future, it may use similar technologies to cookies, including: • Device identifiers • Local storage • Software Development Kits (SDKs)

We will provide separate information about data collection in any mobile app.

CHILDREN’S PRIVACY

Our website is not intended for children under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

If you are under 18, please do not use our website or provide any information to us without parental consent.

CHANGES TO THIS COOKIE POLICY

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect: • Changes in technology • Changes in cookie usage • Changes in law or regulation • Changes in our business practices

When We Update This Policy: • We will update the “Last Updated” date at the top • For significant changes, we may notify you via email or a website banner • We may ask you to review your cookie preferences again

We recommend you review this Cookie Policy periodically to stay informed.

COOKIE AUDITS

We regularly audit the cookies on our website to ensure: • All cookies are documented and justified • No unauthorized cookies are present • Cookie lifespans are appropriate • Third-party cookies comply with their stated purposes

Our last cookie audit was conducted: [Date] Next scheduled audit: [Date]

YOUR RIGHTS

Under UK GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), you have rights regarding cookies:

Right to Refuse Cookies: • You can refuse non-essential cookies via our cookie banner • You can delete cookies using your browser

Right to Withdraw Consent: • You can change your cookie preferences at any time • Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal

Right to Information: • You have the right to know what cookies are being used and why • This Cookie Policy provides that information

Right to Complain: • If you’re unhappy with how we use cookies, you can complain to the ICO:

• Website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
• Phone: 0303 123 1113

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT COOKIES

To learn more about cookies and online privacy:

• About Cookies: https://www.aboutcookies.org • All About Cookies: https://www.allaboutcookies.org • ICO Guide to Cookies: https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/online/cookies • Your Online Choices: https://www.youronlinechoices.com

CONTACT US

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

Home Assist 365 Ltd Henleaze Business Centre Harbury Road Bristol BS9 4PN

Email: helpdesk@homeassist365.co.uk Telephone: 0117 9474040

Data Protection Officer: Shaun Downton

We’re happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have.

SUMMARY – YOUR CHOICES

To summarize, here are your main options for controlling cookies on our website:

✓ Accept All Cookies • Gives you the best possible experience • Helps us improve our website • Shows you relevant advertising

✓ Essential Cookies Only • The website will still work • We won’t track your activity • You won’t see personalized ads

✓ Custom Preferences • Choose exactly which cookies you’re comfortable with • Balance privacy with functionality • Update your choices anytime

Whatever you choose, we respect your decision and will handle your data responsibly and in accordance with the law.

POLICY INFORMATION

Policy Title: Cookie Policy Policy Owner: Data Protection Officer – Shaun Downton Approved By: Board of Directors Last Updated: January 2026 Next Review Due: January 2027 Version: 1.0

This Cookie Policy is reviewed annually and updated as necessary to ensure compliance with current privacy law and best practice.

Thank you for taking the time to read our Cookie Policy. We’re committed to being transparent about how we use cookies and giving you control over your privacy.

END OF COOKIE POLICY