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Published on 23rd February 2026

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Cookie Policy

Cookie Policy

 

INTRODUCTION TO THE USE OF COOKIES AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES ON OUR SERVICES

 

This Cookie Policy applies to our digital products and services which include our website (www.stv.tv); our STV Player App; and our newsletters (the “Services”), regardless of the platform you use to access them. Whenever you use our Services data may be collected through the use of cookies and similar technologies. This Cookie Policy does not apply to our STV Commercial website, or to our News website or app. Separate policies apply to those, which can be found on the relevant website/app.

 

In this policy we explain what cookies are, the types of cookies we use on our Services and what we use them for; that other people may use cookies on our Services; how you can opt out of viewing more relevant ads based on data we collect, including from cookies and how you can manage and control cookies.

 

If, after reading this policy, you are still struggling with cookies or want additional information on cookies we use on our Services, feel free to contact privacyteam@stv.tv.

 

By using our Services, without changing your web browser settings, we’ll assume you’re happy to the use of cookies and similar technologies as described it in this policy. You can change your web browser settings at any time.

 

Please note that we update our Cookie Policy from time to time, so please take a fresh read through every so often. If we make significant changes, we will make that clear on our Services, or by some other means of contact such as email.

 

This Cookie Policy was last updated on 11 December 2025.

 

WHAT ARE COOKIES AND WHAT ARE THEY USED FOR?

 

A Cookie is a small amount of data which often contains a unique identifier that is sent to your computer, tablet or mobile phone web browser when you visit a website or application (“App”). If your web browser settings allow it, such cookies are stored on your device’s hard drive and are read by the website or App on each subsequent visit.

 

When you use our Services, the pages you view (along with a cookie) are downloaded to your device. This enables us to find out whether a device (and probably its user) has used our Services before.

 

Cookies do many different jobs. They let you move from web page to page efficiently. They allow us to collect data about your experience of our Services which helps us improve the performance of our Services, personalise your experience and make your visits and use of our Services as straightforward, efficient and enjoyable as possible. They can also help to ensure that adverts (ads) you see online are more relevant to your interests.

 

Some cookies are erased when you close the browser on your website or app. Others stay longer, sometimes forever, and are saved onto your device so they're there when you come back.

 

WHAT ARE SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES AND WHEN ARE THEY USED?

 

We also use something called "local storage", which is a technology that is similar to cookies and performs very similar functions, such as caching data to enable us to: improve our websites/apps; allow you to register as a user of our Services; keep you “signed-in”; remember “resume points” in videos you have watched; to manage parental control functions; track activity to enable us to serve advertisements to you in accordance with this policy and to count the number of people who view programmes/adverts on our Services. Like cookies, local storage will either be for a session or persistent.

 

Local storage performs very similar functions to cookies. It involves the storage of local files on the hard drive of the device you use to access our STV Player App on Apple iOS and Android devices. These locally stored files are essential to the operation of our Apps. It is not currently possible to opt out or remove these files from the device without deleting the App(s). For Apple iOS and Android, YouView, Samsung, Freeview, Roku, Now TV, Chromecast devices we send anonymous data to our analytical processor, to track usage and for quality purposes. Our apps also use SDKs (software development kits) These SDKs are stored on your device when you download the app and perform similar roles to cookies.

 

We may use Meta Pixel on our Services. Meta Pixel is a small bit of code that is used in conjunction with cookies. Meta Pixel allows Facebook to capture certain information about your journey across our Services such as the pages you visit, the type of content you view and how much of that content you view. We use similar technologies and processes in relation to Google and TikTok. Please refer to our Privacy Policy for more information on how we process information collected via tracking pixels.

 

When we talk about “cookies” in this policy we mean cookies or similar technologies.

 

WHAT TYPES OF COOKIES ARE USED?

 

The following types of cookies are used on our Services.

 

(i) Essential: these cookies are essential to help you use and navigate the Services and access their features and are needed to allow us to analyse the use and performance of our Services to enable us to keep improving your experience. They are also needed to provide you with advertising and to provide you with a personalised experience of our Services.

 

These cookies don’t collect things like your name or email address, they instead store your IP address and your STV unique ID (which we can use to link information collected by cookies back to you). Without these cookies, our Services won’t operate as it should. In general, these cookies are functional and analytical. 

Some examples of things that these cookies do include:

 

  • identify you as signed into our Services and keep you signed in throughout your visits so that you don’t need to sign in each and every time you visit;

  • remember security settings, such as parental controls, which restricts access to certain content;

  • remember your place in a video if you leave the "On Demand" section of our Services at STV Player before you've finished watching a programme, so that you can pick up where you left off the next time; 
  • limit the number of times that some ads which you may view on our Services are shown to you within a short space of time. This is sometimes called “frequency capping”;
  • to keep our sites and apps and your personal information secure, especially when you make any payments;
  • enable us to provide the appropriate regionalised service relevant to your location;
  • remember your preferences;
  • in order to keep improving our Services and track viewing of our content for purposes set out in this policy, we use an analytics service provider (Conviva)which sets cookies to enable us to gather statistics such as how many active users we have at any given time and how often they visit our Services;  which parts of our Services are most popular (e.g. which programmes are watched so we know which are popular amongst all our viewers), analyse patterns of behaviour among our users and understand what browsers are used (so we can maximise compatibility).
  • track the content you’ve watched so that we can pay companies who have licensed us the rights to show you those programmes and so we can report aggregate usage for internal or external reporting purposes– for this purpose- we are currently participating in a research project carried out by the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB) to gather anonymised statistics about the usage of media players. The aim is to understand the number of users and the extent of use of these players and the content within them. Several other major broadcasters are also participating in the project. BARB has chosen Kantar Media to collect this data. All data is collected anonymously and will not be used by us for any other purpose but for this project;
  • personalise your use of our Services, such as by serving tailored programme recommendations based on your previous viewing; 
  • collect anonymous data on how you use our Services in order to make improvements and to identify and fix any technical issues;
  • in order to keep improving our Services, we use an analytics service provider (Conviva) which sets cookies to enable us to gather statistics such as how many active users we have at any given time and how often they visit our Services;  which parts of our Services are most popular (e.g. which programmes are watched so we know which are popular amongst all our viewers), analyse patterns of behaviour among our users and understand what browsers are used (so we can maximise compatibility).

 

Our ad delivery partner Freewheel sets cookies to help deliver our advertising, for example displaying our adverts and frequency capping. Remember, you can opt out of your personal information being used for the purposes of targeted ads and personalisation in your user account profile. 

 

If your device or web browser is not set to receive them, aspects of our Services will not work for you. Disabled parental controls, for example, will not work, nor will our Services be able to recognise you as a registered user, and you may not be able to use the STV Player or view our Live or On Demand content.

 

(ii) Non-essential Performance and Analytics Cookies: To measure, test and improve aspects of our service, we and our technology providers use additional non-essential measurement cookies. These cookies are used to enable us to analyse and improve the performance of the service. For example, to understand how long it takes a page to load or for a programme to start streaming.

 

As part of this, we use Microsoft Clarity to create a better experience and to optimise our Services and your interaction with them. Microsoft Clarity is an analytics tool that helps us understand your online experiences by capturing information about how you use and interact with our Service(e.g. time spent on particular pages, which links they choose to click, click rates(to measure things like hesitation or frustration), etc.) through heatmaps to improve our Service. Website usage data is captured using first party cookies and similar technologies to visualise interaction and identify issues. We use this information for site optimisation. For more information about how Microsoft collects and uses your data, visit Microsoft Privacy Statement.

 

(iii) STV Promotions

 

We may use cookies and similar technologies (including pixels) to help us promote our Services and products in promotions that we believe are most relevant to you on third party platforms including TikTok, Facebook and Google. 

 

These cookies and similar technologies capture certain information about your journey across our Services such as the pages you visit, subscriptions, the type of content you view and how much of that content you view. They can also collect information about your interaction with our advertisements on TikTok, Facebook and Google. This information is then used in order to personalise the promotions you may see on the third-party platforms. 

 

Please refer to our Privacy Policy for more information on how we process information collected via these cookies and similar technologies.

  

WAYS TO MANAGE AND CONTROL YOUR COOKIES

 

There are various ways that you can manage and control your cookies, and we outline them below.

  1. UPDATE YOUR COOKIE PREFERENCES
    You can amend your preferences for your device by managing your cookie preferences.

  2. MANAGING COOKIES IN YOUR WEB BROWSER
    You can block most cookies by activating the settings on your web browser that allow you to refuse the setting of some or all cookies. However, if you block all cookies, you may not be able to access all or parts of our services, or you may experience reduced functionality when accessing certain services. Unless you have adjusted your web browser settings so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies as soon as you visit our Services.
The links below take you to the website of some of the major web browsers where you can find out more about how to manage cookies they set.

With new devices being created all the time, including tablets and phones, it is not possible to list every web browser for every device. It may be best to consult the manufacturer’s websites for further instructions regarding cookies.

 

Do Not Track (DNT)

 

Do Not Track is a feature offered by some web browsers which, when enabled, sends a signal to websites to request that your browsing is not tracked, (for example by advertising networks, social networks and analytic companies). Our Services do not currently respond to DNT requests.

 

iii. MANAGING ANALYTICS COOKIES

 

Listed below are the analytics providers we use on our Services where you may have additional options to manage analytics cookies. The following links give you more information about those options. You should note that opting out of analytical cookies will inhibit our ability to learn what you like and don’t like about our Services and improve them.

 

Organisation setting the cookie Purpose(s) for which this cookie is used
Google Analytics For details of how Google processes your data and for your options, click here: https://business.safety.google/privacy/ 
 Kantar Media  This cookie helps us determine the number of unique visitors to the STV Player App, the programmes they watch and for how long. To opt out of having your anonymised activity collected for the BARB project go to: http://optout.2cnt.net 
 Full Story   Full Story captures and analyses how you use our Services in order to enable us to improve your experience of our Services. You can opt out at the following link: https://www.fullstory.com/optout/ 

 

iv. MANAGING ADVERTISING COOKIES

You can turn other organisations’ advertising cookies off. Doing that won’t mean you will receive less advertising when you use our Services; just that the advertising you see may be less relevant to your interests. See below for further information:

 

Organisation setting the cookie Purpose(s) for which this cookie is used
Google  For more information about how Google use data and for your options, click here: https://business.safety.google/privacy/ .

             

FINDING OUT MORE

 

To find out more about cookies, including how to disable/enable them visit www.aboutcookies.org.uk . If you still want to opt out of these other organisations’ advertising cookies, you can do this by visiting the Interactive Advertising Bureau's website www.youronlinechoices.eu which lists all ad serving cookies that are currently set on your device and tells you how to opt-out from each of them. If you would like more information on our use of cookies, you can always contact privacyteam@stv.tv.

 

Updated on 11 December 2025