How we use your data
…and why it makes thetrainline.com easier to use
Many of the features that make thetrainline.com easy to use rely on us understanding how you use our website and remembering the information you provide. We do this by gathering small amounts of data each time you visit. This data is stored as 'cookies'.
You can choose how much of this data you allow us to use to help improve your experience on thetrainline.com.
The different cookies we use at thetrainline.com…
- Mandatory cookies
- These cookies are essential for us to run our business effectively, so we do not provide an option to opt out of these; they are an important part of providing you with an effective service. By using our website you consent to us creating and retrieving these cookies.
With most web browsers it is possible to configure your internet browser so that it can disable cookies entirely. How you do this will depend on the internet browser you use - however it will result in our website not operating correctly.
-
- System cookies
- These cookies are created each time you visit thetrainline.com and are automatically deleted when you leave our website and close your web browser. They help us keep the website running smoothly. They also make sure that we remember the fact you're logged in once you log in, and remember the selections that you make as you use the website. The website simply won't work properly without these. Other cookies listed here will be active for longer periods than these cookies.
- Identification cookies
- These cookies help us remember who you are when you come back to visit us and allow you to access your favourite journeys before you log in.
- Cookies to track what messages you've seen
- From time to time, we may show information or warning messages on our website. We might use cookies to track which messages we've shown you, so that we don't show them again.
- Cookies to track your cookie preferences
- If you express preferences about whether or not to receive certain types of cookie, we'll use a cookie to store this preference.
- Web analytics cookies / Marketing effectiveness cookies
- These cookies allow us to understand general customer behaviour on thetrainline.com; such as which bits of our website customers use, where they exit the site and, if anything goes wrong, where it happens; helping us to make our website better. We also track how customers find our website, for example which search engine was used or which online adverts were clicked on before visiting us, helping us understand our marketing effectiveness. Data is anonymised and aggregated so we can monitor trends and count visitors rather than tracking individual customers. They have no impact on what you see on the website and do not store or track any of your personal data.
- Cookies for personalising your experience on our website
- These cookies allow us to understand the way you specifically use our website and tailor your experience on thetrainline.com. For example, by understanding the searches and selections you make on our website, we may be able to show you special offers and deals that are more relevant to you. If you have searched for tickets on a particular route, we may show you offers for this route in future.
- Cookies for personalising your experience elsewhere on the internet
- These cookies allow us to understand your online behaviour and tailor your experience outside of our site. For example, the adverts you see for thetrainline.com on other websites may be specially targeted to include the routes that you have searched for on thetrainline.com.
- Cookies for optimising the content shown on our website
- We sometimes may wish to test a change or new feature on the site to see if it is effective before rolling it out to all our users. Cookies allow a random sample of site visitors to see it one way, and a different group another and ensure that you consistently get the same experience on repeat visits.
Cookies used by third parties on thetrainline.com
Some sections of our website are provided by third parties and their policies will additionally apply for these sections (including Hotel, theatre, car hire, insurance, Rail Europe, Eurostar, International Rail, London Pass).
Our website may also contain third party advertisements (including targeted advertisements). These advertisements may create their own cookies and/or collect information in the course of the advertisement being served. We work in partnership with Google and Unanimis and the policies of the relevant advertising networks will apply. To learn more and change your preferences, go to your online choices.
Other third parties may create cookies on our site such as Facebook or Twitter and their policies will apply.
For full details of the data that we gather, please read our privacy policy.
Please note that the preferences selected only apply to the computer and the browser you are using now. If you use a different computer or a different browser, you may want to check the preferences and reapply them.
These preferences will only be applied to www.thetrainline.com website, and not other websites operated by us, or websites operated by other providers on our behalf.