Cookie Policy

1. What are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work efficiently, securely, and to provide necessary functionality.

2. How We Use Cookies

At KatholicOS, we believe in digital minimalism and respect for user privacy. A new section specifically for "Analytics Cookies (Optional)". Explain that you use Google Analytics 4 to understand how parishes interact with your site, and that these cookies collect anonymous, aggregated data (like page views and time on page).

We only deploy Strictly Necessary Cookies. These are essential for the platform to function and cannot be switched off. Specifically, we use:

• Authentication Cookies: Managed by Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cognito to securely authenticate Parish Administrators and protect against cross-site request forgery.
• Security Tokens: We utilize silent anti-spam tools (such as Cloudflare Turnstile) on our contact forms to verify that you are a human user and prevent abuse.

3. Consent & Managing Your Preferences

Under the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), we are permitted to place Strictly Necessary Cookies on your device without prior consent, as they are technically essential for the KatholicOS platform to function securely.

However, we will only deploy Optional Analytics Cookies (such as Google Analytics) if you provide explicit, affirmative consent via our cookie banner when you first visit the platform. We utilise Google Consent Mode v2 to ensure no tracking occurs until you have actively opted in.

Managing Your Choices:
You have the right to withdraw your consent or change your analytics preferences at any time. You can do this by clicking the "Cookie Preferences" link located in the footer of our website. Additionally, you can configure your browser to block all cookies entirely, though please note that the KatholicOS admin dashboard and contact forms will fail to function if our security features are disabled.

4. Managing Cookies

You can configure your browser to block or alert you about these essential cookies. However, please note that the KatholicOS admin dashboard and contact forms will not function correctly if these security features are disabled.