Cookies

Cookies are text files containing small amounts of data which are downloaded to your computer, or other device, when you visit a website. They are useful because they allow us to recognise your computer and improve your experience on our websites. Some cookies are also needed for the operation of our websites.

The table below lists the cookies we use and explains why we use them.

Cookie Cookie name Expiry Purpose Type
Cloudflare _cfduid 1 year Used by Cloudflare (the content network) to identify trusted web traffic, and protect our website against malicious activity. This does not contain any user identification information. Necessary
cf_clearance 1 hour
Universal Analytics (Google)   _dc_gtm_UA-# Session These cookies are used to collect information about how visitors use our website. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the website. The cookies collect information in a way that does not directly identify anyone, including the number of visitors to the website, where visitors have come to the website from and the pages they visited. Analytics
_ga 2 years Analytics
_gid Session Analytics
_gat Session Analytics
gwcc 3 months Analytics
collect Session  Analytics
_gaexp 90 days Analytics 
_gat_UA-* Session Analytics
Hotjar session analytics _hjid 1 year Analytics
_hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress 1 year Analytics 
_hjIncludedInSample 1 year Analytics 
Hotjar website polls _hjDonePolls 1 year This cookie is used to record if you've completed a poll on our website to make sure you're not asked to complete it again.  Analytics - and only used if you complete a poll
_hjMinimizedPolls 1 year This cookie remembers that you minimised a poll to keep it minimised when you next visit. Analytics - and only used if you minimise a poll
Website search SECFOSSESSID Session Used by the website to store an anonymous session ID. This enables our search and content filters to function, and isn't used for analytics purposes. Necessary
Cookies message  CookieAcceptance 1 year Used to store acceptance of cookies. Necessary
reCAPTCHA _GRECAPTCHA 180 days Used to identify bots to protect our website against malicious spam attacks. Used if you use our online complaint forms
Email newsletter  LP-725GFD9D 30 days Used on our email newsletter subscription form to store a unique ID. This means we'll know whether you've signed up before, and can make sure any preferences you've set are reflected in the form. Used if you sign up to our email newsletter
Visme PHPSESSID Session Used to display an embedded chart during a session. Used if you view a page with an interactive chart
Recite Me Recite_Session Session Used to open the Recite Me toolbar. Used if you open the Recite Me accessibility toolbar
Recite.Persist 1 Year Used to display the toolbar across all pages.
Recite.Preferences 1 year Used to save your personal toolbar preferences, such as language.
Website story banner hide_featured_story_%s 90 days Used to store preferences around showing and hiding featured story banners. Functional
YouTube GPS 1 day Registers a unique ID on mobile devices to enable tracking based on geographical GPS location. Analytics
YSC Session Registers a unique ID to keep statistics of what videos from YouTube the user has seen. Analytics
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE 179 days Tries to estimate the users' bandwidth on pages with integrated YouTube videos. Analytics
PREF 8 months Registers a unique ID that is used by Google to keep statistics of how the visitor uses YouTube videos across different websites. Analytics

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