Last updated: 10 October 2026
Cookies are small files a website saves in your browser. This page lists every cookie and similar file our website uses and what each one is for.
The short version
Some cookies the site needs to work: keeping you logged in, keeping the site secure and remembering choices you make. Those are always on. Everything else is your choice, and nothing optional is used until you agree: analytics cookies that show us how the site is used, marketing cookies from Facebook and LinkedIn that measure our adverts, and videos and maps from other websites shown in our pages.
When you first visit, a banner asks what you’re happy with. “Reject all” is as easy as “Accept all”, and you can choose each kind separately. We remember your choice for 6 months, then ask again. You can change your mind at any time with Cookie settings, also in the footer of every page. These optional cookies are only used on our public pages, never in the members’ app.
Cookies that keep you logged in
These are only set when you log in.
- wordpress_logged_in_… and wordpress_sec_…: keep you logged in as you move around the site and the members’ app. They last until you close your browser, or for 14 days if you tick “Keep me signed in”. Logging out removes them.
- wordpress_test_cookie: checks that your browser accepts cookies, so you can log in. It is deleted when you close your browser.
- wp-settings-…: only for our team and hosts writing blog posts; remembers how they have laid out the editing screens.
Cookies that keep the site secure
- __cf_bm and cf_clearance: set by Cloudflare, which protects the site, to tell real visitors apart from automated attacks. They are short-lived (usually 30 minutes) and don’t identify you.
- wfwaf-authcookie-…, wf_loginalerted_… and wfls-remembered-…: set by Wordfence, our security software, for people who log in. They let the firewall recognise you, alert you to log-ins from a new device, and remember a trusted device for two-step log-in.
- When you log in, create an account or send one of our forms, Cloudflare Turnstile quietly checks that you’re a person rather than a bot. On our public forms it only loads once you start filling one in. It may use its own short-lived cookies to do the check.
Your cookie choices
- fab_consent: remembers what you chose in the cookie banner, so we don’t ask on every page. It lasts 6 months. It holds your choices and the date, nothing about who you are.
Choices remembered in your browser
These are kept in your browser’s storage rather than in cookies. They never leave your device.
- fab_near: if you give a postcode or press “Use my location” to find groups and events near you, we remember that location so the lists stay sorted nearest first. It is only saved after you ask, and you can clear it with your browser’s settings.
- fabCalView: remembers whether you prefer the calendar as a list or a month view.
- fab_install_hidden: remembers that you’ve added the FindaBiz app to your phone’s home screen, or closed the box suggesting it, so we don’t keep asking. If you chose “Not now” it is ignored after 30 days.
If you use the members’ app, your browser also keeps a copy of one small page, our “you’re offline” message, so it can show it when you have no signal. It contains no personal information.
One more, kept only until you close the browser tab:
- fabby_chat: your conversation with Fabby, our chat helper, so it carries on as you move between pages. It is sent to us only when you send Fabby a message (see our privacy policy).
Counting visits
We count visits to our public pages with Cloudflare Web Analytics, so we can see which pages are useful and how people find us. It doesn’t use cookies, doesn’t store anything on your device and doesn’t identify you: we only see totals, such as how many people looked at a page and which website sent them. It isn’t used on the members’ app or the log-in pages.
Analytics cookies (only if you agree)
We use Google Analytics to see how many people visit, which pages they read and how they found us, so we can improve the site. Google sets these cookies on our website:
- _ga and _ga_…: tell one visit from another, so we can count visitors rather than page views. They last up to 2 years.
Google processes this information for us. You can read how in Google’s explanation.
Marketing cookies (only if you agree)
We advertise on Facebook and LinkedIn. These cookies tell us whether people who saw our adverts went on to visit the site or book, and let us show our adverts to people who have visited before.
- Facebook (Meta Pixel): _fbp on our website (up to 3 months), and cookies such as fr on Facebook’s own website if you’re logged in to Facebook (up to 3 months).
- LinkedIn (Insight Tag): li_sugr, bcookie, lidc, UserMatchHistory and AnalyticsSyncHistory, set by LinkedIn (from 1 day to 1 year).
Facebook and LinkedIn use this information under their own privacy notices.
Videos and maps from other websites (only if you agree)
Some pages may include videos from YouTube or Vimeo, or a Google map. Until you agree, you’ll see a box with a “Load” button instead, so nothing is fetched from those websites. If you load them, the website they come from may set its own cookies, for example YouTube’s YSC and VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE when you play a video (we use YouTube’s privacy-enhanced version, which sets none until you press play), Vimeo’s vuid or Google’s NID.
Content from other websites
Some pages show content fetched from other services: a map from OpenStreetMap on group pages, and reviewers’ profile photos from Google on our reviews. Your browser downloads these directly from those services, so they receive your IP address, as any website you visit does. We don’t use them to track you.
Managing cookies
Use Cookie settings to change what you’ve agreed to. If you take back your agreement, we stop using those cookies straight away and remove the ones set on our website. You can also delete or block cookies in your browser’s settings. If you block the necessary cookies, you won’t be able to log in, but you can still browse the public site.
Questions
Email Gemma Worthington at [email protected]. Our privacy policy explains how we look after your personal information.