Our choices are deliberately modest. There is no advertising tracking in the delivered code, and the optional settings relate only to what your own browser remembers.
Understanding cookies and local storage
Cookies are small pieces of information which a website may ask a browser to retain and return on later visits. Browser local storage is related technology that holds values on your device without sending them with every request. UK rules governing device storage may apply to both. The Modern Wellman uses a small number of necessary controls and optional on-device preferences, described here in practical terms. The website code does not include advertising pixels, behavioural advertising software or a connected third-party audience analytics platform. You can read the editorial pages without permitting optional storage, and your choice can be changed from the footer.
What Functional means
The Functional button records a necessary-only setting. It allows basic site operation, the local record that your choice has been made and the session used by the general enquiry form for protection against forged submissions and repeated attempts. No optional journal filter memory or article visit counter is enabled by this selection. The choice itself is stored under modernwellman_consent in browser local storage so that you do not see the same banner on every new page; this record is necessary to implement your expressed preference. If optional values had been stored under an earlier choice, changing to Functional removes them. The website continues to provide article search and form validation without optional device storage.
Necessary contact-form session
When you open the contact form, the PHP server starts a session and may set a necessary cookie commonly called PHPSESSID. The session associates a temporary security token and basic submission-rate information with your browser. That token helps protect the enquiry form from unauthorised submissions. Without a working session, the protected form may not accept a request. Session cookies normally end when the browser session closes, although individual browser settings and server session lifetimes affect how long they persist. Ordinary website browsing does not require sending a contact enquiry or providing medical details.
What Partial enables
Partial includes everything in Functional and also permits the Journal category preference to be remembered locally as modernwellman_journal_filter. This means that a reader choosing, for example, Movement can return to the Journal and have that filter selected again on the same browser. The value is just a category label, not a medical profile, and is not sent to a remote measurement service by the website's JavaScript. This preference is optional and is never written before a relevant positive selection. If you choose Functional later, the stored category is deleted. The Journal still works without remembering this selection, and you can always change the active filter in the page interface.
What Accept All additionally enables
Accept All also turns on a simple on-device article visit counter stored as modernwellman_reading_count. The JavaScript increases the number when a journal article page is opened while this preference is active. It is a private local indicator of how often article pages have been visited on that browser, not an account, readership score or server-side analytics report. No identity is associated with it by the script, and no network request sends the counter to The Modern Wellman or to a third party. The counter can be cleared by changing the preference back to Functional or by clearing local storage in your browser. Its inclusion makes the highest choice functionally different without pretending that an advertising tracker exists.
The three buttons and your choice
The three choices are presented as Accept All, Partial and Functional. They are independent, click-operated controls; none is selected in advance as a substitute for your decision. When you click one, the banner closes and a short local record is saved so the site can respect the choice across its pages. You can reopen the same banner through Cookie choices in the footer. Choosing a more limited setting disables the features it excludes and removes any stored values which are no longer permitted. Changing from Functional to Partial or Accept All does not require submitting a contact enquiry or creating any kind of account.
Choices before consent
Optional storage for the Journal category preference and article visit counter is not created merely by opening the homepage. Your selected consent setting is recorded when you choose a button. Necessary security measures remain available when needed to use the enquiry form. You may browse articles, search the Journal and use temporary filters without enabling optional storage. If your browser blocks storage entirely, pages remain readable, although the preference banner may reappear and the contact form's security session may not work. Optional features are described in this policy so you can decide whether they are useful to you.
No third-party analytics or marketing cookies
The website code does not intentionally initialise cross-site advertising cookies, marketing pixels or third-party audience analytics. The three consent buttons describe genuine differences in local functionality rather than implying that a tracking provider has been installed. Some hosting platforms, security layers or external services may set their own technical cookies independently of the website's optional preferences. A service's own cookie use is governed by its configuration and privacy information. The Journal does not use an advertising profile or behavioural targeting feature in the supplied application code, and we do not transmit the optional category label or reading counter to an analytics endpoint.
External visual resources
For its appearance, the site requests Google Fonts from Google servers; the site’s main stylesheet is hosted locally. Font requests can convey connection details such as IP address and browser information to Google. The website itself does not intentionally use these resources to set an advertising identifier, nor does it pass your contact-form message to them. External resources may operate according to their own published policies, which are separate from the local choices described here. If you block remote fonts or scripts, some presentation details may differ, but the site's articles and contact information are still accessible in ordinary HTML.
Browser controls and device differences
Most browsers let you inspect and delete cookies and local storage for a particular website, block third-party cookies, restrict storage or use private browsing. Clearing all site data may remove both optional preferences and the necessary consent record, causing the banner to appear again. Blocking the session cookie may prevent the contact form from passing security checks even though ordinary reading remains available. Preferences are browser- and device-specific: choosing Partial on one phone does not automatically change a setting on a different computer. The operator does not synchronise these choices through a registered user account.
Regulatory context and updates
UK privacy law includes the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations and, where personal data is processed, the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. The Information Commissioner's Office explains that non-essential device storage usually calls for clear information and a meaningful choice, while strictly necessary uses can qualify for an exemption. This policy is intended to show which browser values are genuinely used by The Modern Wellman. You can change your decision through Cookie choices in the footer, or clear local storage using browser settings. For questions about these controls, email [email protected].
Further questions
If you have a question about this document or the information it describes, please contact the Journal. We welcome requests for clarification and will consider corrections to published information.
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