This Cookie Policy explains how the Innovation Forum × R1X hackathon website uses cookies and similar technologies. It is a DRAFT template for legal review and is not legal advice.
1. About this policy
This Cookie Policy explains how and when the Innovation Forum × R1X hackathon microsite (the "Website") uses cookies and similar technologies, and how you can control them. It should be read alongside our Privacy Policy.
This policy is aligned with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), and with guidance issued by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
The Website is the hackathon microsite at https://r1x.co.uk/public_hackathon/ and its pages (including /apply, /challenges, /insights and /sponsorship). It does not cover the separate R1X website at the r1x.co.uk root.
It also does not cover the participant workspace at https://if-hackathon-workspace.pages.dev. That is a separate, sign-in-only service for people taking part in an event, and it has its own Workspace Privacy Notice, which describes the single strictly necessary session cookie it sets. No analytics, advertising or tracking cookies are set there either.
- Effective date: [EFFECTIVE DATE]
- Version: [VERSION]
2. What are cookies and similar technologies?
Cookies are small text files that a website can place on your device when you visit. They are widely used to make websites work, to remember your preferences, and to collect information about how a site is used. "Similar technologies" include things such as pixels, tags, local storage and software development kits (SDKs) that can store or access information on your device in comparable ways.
Cookies and similar technologies can be:
- First-party — set by the website you are visiting; or
- Third-party — set by a different organisation, for example an analytics or advertising provider.
They can also last for different lengths of time:
- Session — deleted when you close your browser; or
- Persistent — remain on your device until they expire or you delete them.
3. Our privacy-first approach
We have deliberately built the Website to minimise the use of cookies and tracking technologies:
- The Website is a static site (built with Astro).
- Fonts are self-hosted — we do not load Google Fonts or any external font service, so no external font calls are made.
- We do not load analytics cookies (such as Google Analytics) by default.
- We do not load advertising or social-media tracking cookies by default.
- On the /apply page, the registration form submits directly to the HubSpot Forms API. This is a direct API submission and does not embed a HubSpot tracking script or set HubSpot third-party cookies on page load. No cookies are set when the page loads; the only network request from the page is the form submission (a POST) that occurs when you choose to submit.
As a result, the Website should set little or no cookie data during ordinary browsing. This position must be verified before publication — see section 8.
4. Cookies used on this Website
The table below lists the cookies and similar technologies that may apply. Because our design avoids non-essential cookies, this table may contain few or no active entries once verified.
| Name | Provider | Purpose | Type | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [No non-essential cookies set by default] | Innovation Forum × R1X (first party) | The Website does not set analytics, functional or marketing cookies on page load | None / not applicable | Not applicable |
| [POSSIBLE — strictly necessary cookie set by hosting/security layer, e.g. load balancing or CSRF/anti-spam] | R1X hosting / [PROVIDER] | Maintains basic operation, security or integrity of the Website | Strictly necessary | [DURATION — CONFIRM] |
| [POSSIBLE — HubSpot cookie, ONLY if you are taken to a HubSpot-hosted page] | HubSpot (app-eu1.hubspot.com) | If a submission or link takes you to a HubSpot-hosted page, HubSpot may set its own cookies on that page under HubSpot's cookie notice | Functional / analytics / marketing (as set by HubSpot) | [DURATION — per HubSpot] |
[CONFIRM with a cookie audit] — the entries above are indicative. The actual cookies (if any) set by the hosting layer and by any HubSpot-hosted page must be confirmed by a technical cookie scan and reflected accurately in this table before publishing.
Note: the registration form's hidden "honeypot" anti-spam field is a form field, not a cookie, and does not store information on your device.
5. The PECR consent position
Under PECR, the rules depend on the type of cookie:
- Strictly necessary cookies — cookies that are essential to provide a service you have requested (for example, basic security or load-balancing) do not require your prior consent. They cannot be switched off without affecting how the Website works.
- All other cookies — functional, analytics and marketing cookies require your prior, informed consent before they are set. Consent must be freely given, specific and unambiguous, and you must be able to withdraw it as easily as you gave it.
Because the Website does not load analytics or marketing cookies by default, a cookie consent banner may not be required. If any non-essential cookies are introduced in future (for example, analytics), we will implement an appropriate consent mechanism before they are set, and update this policy. [CONFIRM whether a consent banner is required following the cookie audit.]
Where you interact with a HubSpot-hosted page, HubSpot's own cookie notice and consent controls will apply on that page.
6. How to control cookies
You can control and manage cookies in several ways.
Browser settings
Most web browsers let you view, manage, block and delete cookies through their settings. You can usually:
- Delete cookies already stored on your device;
- Block all or some cookies; and
- Set your browser to warn you before a cookie is stored.
Please note that blocking strictly necessary cookies may affect how parts of the Website work. Guidance on managing cookies is available in your browser's help pages and from resources such as ico.org.uk.
Do Not Track
Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" (DNT) setting. There is no agreed industry standard for how websites should respond to DNT signals. Because the Website does not track you across sites or load advertising/analytics trackers by default, DNT signals have no material effect here. If we introduce technologies that could respond to DNT in future, we will update this policy.
7. Changes to this Cookie Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time, for example if we change the technologies we use or to reflect legal or regulatory developments. When we do, we will update the effective date and version below.
- Effective date: [EFFECTIVE DATE]
- Version: [VERSION]
8. Verification note
[CONFIRM via cookie scan before publishing] — before this policy is published, a technical cookie scan of the Website (including the /apply flow and any HubSpot-hosted destination) should be carried out to confirm exactly which cookies and similar technologies are set, so that section 4 and section 5 are accurate and complete.
9. Contact
If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy or our use of cookies, please contact:
- Global Innovation Forum Limited ("Innovation Forum") — Data protection contact: The Data Protection Contact
- Email: [DATA PROTECTION EMAIL] or info@inno-forum.co.uk
- Post: Future Business Centre, Kings Hedges Rd, Cambridge, CB4 2HY, United Kingdom
You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office: Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF; ico.org.uk; 0303 123 1113.
This is a DRAFT template prepared for review by the client's legal team. It does not constitute legal advice.