Cookies on jisc.ac.uk
About cookies
To help improve this site we place small files, known as cookies, onto your computer. Some are essential for the site to work properly, others are to improve the experience you have.
You can update your settings and stop this site using non-essential cookies by clicking on the Civic logo at the bottom left of your screen.
Please note, if you have used the site in the past these cookies may still be on your computer - but by disabling them in your settings we will no longer access them.
You can also decide to stop this or any site from using any cookies. To learn more about cookies and how to manage them visit KnowCookies.com.
How we use cookies
We use cookies for several purposes on this website – we’ve listed each of them below with more details about why we use them and how long they’ll last.
Essential cookies
Website operation
The system that runs our website sets cookies to allow it to run smoothly.
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| AWSALB | Used to make sure the website can cope with unexpected traffic | 2 years |
| AWSALBCORS | Used to make sure the website can cope with unexpected traffic | 2 years |
| CookieControl | This cookie is set by Civic Cookie Control to remember your cookie preferences. | 3 months |
| csrftoken | Prevents cross-site request forgery by verifying trusted user actions and submissions. | 1 year |
| sessionid | Stores login status so the site remembers you during your visit. | When you close your browser |
| _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_combi | This cookie is created when a visitor is chosen for a particular variation for a test. This cookie makes sure that visitors see the same variation when they revisit the page in the future. | 100 days |
| _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_split | This cookie is created when one of the variations is chosen for the visitor, but the visitor is not yet redirected to the variation page. It exists so that VWO can verify that the variation page corresponds to the chosen variation after landing on the page. | 100 days |
| _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_combi_choose | This cookie stores the chosen combination. It’s a temporary cookie that gets deleted when the campaign changes are applied | Persists until campaign changes are applied |
| _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_exclude | This cookie is created when a visitor has been excluded from a Test Campaign due to the traffic percentage specifications. | 100 days |
| _vis_opt_out | This cookie indicates that the visitor should not be made part of any campaign. | 10 years |
| _vis_opt_s | This cookie tracks session created for a visitor, ie the number of times the browser was closed and reopened. | 100 days |
| _vis_opt_test_cookie | This cookie is created to detect if the cookies are enabled on the visitor’s browser or not. It also helps in tracking the number of browser sessions a visitor has gone through. | When you close your browser |
| _vwo | This cookie is a jar of all the VWO cookies. It is currently created only for the Safari browser. | 365 days |
| _vwo_consent | This cookie independently tracks the visitor's consent status for VWO to ensure compliance. It can store essential testing campaign data when VWO is partially blocked, allowing for accurate tracking once consent is given. | 365 days |
| _vwo_ds | This cookie stores persistent visitor-level data for VWO Insights | Depends on the retention period of the account |
| _vwo_referrer | This cookie stores referral info allowing VWO to identify the original Traffic source in case of the Split URL campaign | 15 seconds |
| _vwo_sn | This cookie stores session-level information | 30 minutes and reset again to 30 minutes on visitor activity |
| _vwo_uuid | This cookie generates a unique id for every visitor and is used for the report segmentation feature in VWO. | 365 days |
| vwo_uuid_{CAMPAIGNID} | This cookie is created for each cross-domain campaign. It generates a unique id for every visitor and is used for the report segmentation feature in VWO. | 365 days |
| _vwo_uuid_v2 | This cookie calculates unique traffic on our website. | 366 days |
Analytics and performance cookies
You can tell us to stop using these at any time and update your settings by clicking on the Civic logo at the bottom left of your screen.
Measuring website usage (Google)
We use Google to collect information about how people use our site, and rough demographics as to what groups of people are using our site. We do this to make sure it’s meeting your needs and to understand how we could improve it.
Google stores information about:
- The pages you visit
- How long you spend on each page
- How you got to the site
- What you click on while you're here
The following cookies are set by Google:
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _ga | This helps us count how many people visit the site by tracking if you've visited before | 2 years |
| _ga_45WGVVS0SK | This cookie is set by Google Analytics and is used to distinguish unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. | 2 years |
Understanding our users' needs (Hotjar and VWO)
We use Hotjar and VWO to better understand our users’ needs and optimise the experience of this website. It helps us understand users’ experiences (eg how much time they spend on which pages, which links they choose to click, what users do and don’t like, etc), which enables us to build and maintain our service with user feedback.
Hotjar and VWO use cookies and other technologies to collect data on our users’ behaviour and their devices. This includes:
- A device's IP address (processed during your session and stored in a de-identified form)
- Device screen size
- Device type (unique device identifiers)
- Browser information
- Geographic location (country only)
- Preferred language used to display our website
Hotjar and VWO store this information on our behalf in a pseudonymised user profile and are contractually forbidden to sell any data collected on our behalf.
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| hjActiveViewportIds | This cookie stores user active viewports IDs. It stores an expirationTimestamp that is used to validate active viewports on script initialisation. | When you close your browser |
| hjClosedSurveyInvites | This sets when a user interacts with a Link Survey invitation modal. It ensures the same invite does not reappear if it has already been shown. | 1 year |
| hjCookieTest | This checks to see if the Hotjar tracking code can use cookies. If it can, a value of 1 is set. It is deleted almost immediately after it is created. | Under 100ms duration, cookie expiration time set to session duration. |
| hjDonePolls | This is used to make sure the same survey does not reappear if you've already filled it in. | 1 year |
| hjMinimizedPolls | This is used when you minimise a survey widget - it makes sure that this stays minimised as you navigate through the website. | 1 year |
| hjSession_* | This holds current session data and ensures subsequent requests in the session window are attributed to the same session. | 30 minutes, extended on user activity. |
| _hjSessionStorageTest | This checks if the Hotjar tracking code can use session storage. If it can, a value of 1 is set. The data stored in _hjSessionStorageTest has no expiration time, but it is deleted almost immediately after it is created. | Under 100ms |
| _hjSessionUser_* | This sets when a user first lands on a page. It ensures data from subsequent visits to the same site are attributed to the same user ID. | 1 year |
| _hjTLDTest | When the Hotjar script executes, it tries to determine the most generic cookie path to use, instead of the page hostname. This is done so that cookies can be shared across subdomains (where applicable). To determine this, Hotjar tries to store the _hjTLDTest cookie for different URL substring alternatives until it fails. After this check, the cookie is removed. | When you close your browser |
| _hjHasCachedUserAttributes | This stores User Attributes which are sent through the Hotjar Identify API, whenever the user is not in the sample. Collected attributes will only be saved to Hotjar servers if the user interacts with a Hotjar Feedback tool, but the cookie will be used regardless of whether a Feedback tool is present. | When you close your browser |
| _hjLocalStorageTest | This is used to check if the Hotjar Tracking Script can use local storage. If it can, a value of 1 is set in this cookie and is deleted almost immediately after it is created. | Under 100m/s |
| _hjViewportId | This stores information about the user viewport such as size and dimensions. | When you close your browser |
| _hjUserAttributes | This stores user attributes sent through the Hotjar Identify API. | No expiration |
| _hjUserAttributesHash | Lets us know when any user attribute has changed and needs to be updated. | 2 minutes duration, extended every 30 seconds |
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_goal_{GOALID} | This cookie is created when a campaign goal is triggered. | 100 days |
| _vwo_ssm | This cookie is used for testing and is created only on sites that use the HTTP protocol. This is used to check if VWO can create cookies on them, post which this cookie is deleted. | 3650 days |
| _wingify_pc_uuid | This cookie stores the subscriber ID to uniquely identify the subscriber. VWO generates this randomly. | 10000 days |
| pshcrw_update_subId | This cookie is used for retrying the storage of subscriptions with VWO Engage’s Server. Used only in cases when the server is not reachable due to network issues | 10000 days |
| pshcrw_v_k | This cookie stores the public VAPID Key of the customer to identify which VAPID key was used for subscribing | 10000 days |
| pushcrew_opt_out | This cookie is used for opting-out | 10000 days |
| wingify_do_not_show_chicklet | This cookie is used to decide if the chicklet for opting to notifications should be shown or not | 10000 days |
| wingify_donot_track_actions | This cookie persists the information that subscriber actions should be tracked | 10000 days |
| wingify_push_db_status | This cookie stores the subscription sync status of the subscriber with VWO Engage’s Server | 10000 days |
| wingify_push_do_not_show_notification_popup | This cookie stores the information if the first-step opt-in should show up or not. | 14 days |
| wingify_push_gcm_id | This cookie stores the FCM ID of the customer to identify which FCM key was used for subscribing | 10000 days |
| wingify_push_subscriber_id | This cookie stores the subscriber ID to uniquely identify the subscriber. VWO generates this randomly | 10000 days |
| wingify_push_subscriber_lang | This cookie stores the subscriber's browser language | 10000 days |
| wingify_push_subscription_endpoint | This cookie stores the subscription endpoint of the subscription object specific to the browser (Chrome/Firefox) | 10000 days |
| wingify_push_subscription_id | This cookie stores the subscription ID to uniquely identify the subscriber generated by the browser | 10000 days |
| wingify_push_subscription_status | This cookie stores the information if the visitor is subscribed or unsubscribed to VWO Engage | 10000 days |
| wingifyEcomData-* | This cookie is persisted when the subscriber becomes part of Shopify segments created through VWO Engage App | 10000 days |
| wingifyRetrySegment-* | This cookie is persisted when wingifySegment-* cookie cannot be synced with VWO Engage Server | 10000 days |
| wingifySegment-* | This cookie is persisted only when the subscriber is part of a segment that the visitor creates from the VWO Engage App | 10000 days |
| vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_combi_{ACCID} | This cookie is created when a visitor is chosen for a particular variation of a test. It ensures that visitors see the same variation when they revisit the page. | 100 days |
| vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_combi_choose_{ACCID} | This cookie stores the chosen combination. It’s a temporary cookie that gets deleted when the campaign changes are applied | Persists until campaign changes are applied |
| vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_exclude_{ACCID} | This cookie is created when a visitor has been excluded from a campaign due to the traffic percentage specifications. | 100 days |
| vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_goal_{GOALID}_{ACCID} | This cookie is created when a campaign goal is triggered | 100 days |
| vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_split_{ACCID} | This cookie is created when one of the variations is chosen for the visitor, but the visitor is not yet redirected to the variation page. Using this, VWO verifies that the variation page corresponds to the chosen variation after landing on the page. | 100 days |
| _vwo_global_opt_out | This cookie is persisted when a visitor opts out of vwo on all websites in a given browser. | 100 days |
| vwo_uuid_{CAMPAIGNID}_{ACCID} | This cookie is created for each cross-domain campaign. It generates a unique id for every visitor and is used for the report segmentation feature in VWO. It also allows you to view data in a refined manner | 10 years |
Targeting cookies
These cookies are used to deliver adverts more relevant to your interests and measure the effectiveness of our campaigns. They may be set through our site by advertising partners to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant ads on other sites. If you don’t allow these cookies, you’ll still see ads but they may be less relevant.
You can tell us to stop using these at any time and update your settings by clicking on the Civic logo at the bottom left of your screen.
Meta
Meta (Facebook) tracks interactions with our site to help us measure ad performance and deliver more relevant ads on Meta platforms.
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _fbc | Captures Facebook Click ID to link ad clicks with site conversions. | 3 months |
| _fbp | Tracks website visits to deliver targeted ads and measure ad performance. | 3 months |
LinkedIn Insights helps us track conversions, retarget website visitors and understand how users interact with our LinkedIn ads.
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| AnalyticsSyncHistory | Used to store information about the time a sync occurred with LinkedIn. | 30 days |
| bcookie | Identifies devices accessing LinkedIn to improve security and ad personalisation. | 2 years |
| bscookie | Secure browser ID cookie used for authentication and LinkedIn ad personalisation. | 2 years |
| lidc | Ensures optimal routing and data center selection for LinkedIn services. | 1 day |
| li_gc | Stores user consent for LinkedIn cookies in GDPR-compliant regions. | 30 days |
| UserMatchHistory | Tracks LinkedIn ad performance and user matching across LinkedIn advertising partners. | 2 years |
YouTube
YouTube sets cookies to enable video playback and track user interaction with embedded videos. These are set on both the Google and YouTube domains.
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| __Secure-1PAPISID | This cookie is set by Google and is used to store user preferences and information when viewing pages with Google maps on them. | 13 months |
| __Secure-1PSID | This cookie is set by Google and is used to authenticate users, store session preferences, and perform security measures. | 13 months |
| __Secure-1PSIDCC | Ensures secure delivery of content and protects against malicious activity. | 1 year |
| __Secure-1PSIDTS | This cookie is used for targeting purposes to build user profiles and deliver relevant ads. | 1 year |
| __Secure-3PAPISID | This cookie is set by Google and is used to store user preferences and information when viewing pages with Google maps on them. | 13 months |
| __Secure-3PSID | This cookie is set by Google and is used to authenticate users, store session preferences, and perform security measures. | 13 months |
| __Secure-3PSIDCC | This cookie is set by Google and is used to protect users' data from unauthorised access. | 1 year |
| __Secure-3PSIDTS | This cookie stores an encrypted timestamp that helps maintain user sessions and preserves their preferences and settings across various Google services and websites. | 1 Year |
| __Secure-ROLLOUT_TOKEN | This cookie is used by YouTube to manage the phased rollout of new features and updates. This cookie helps assign users to specific test groups for experimental features, such as changes to the user interface or video player. The __Secure- prefix indicates that the cookie is only transmitted over a secure HTTPS connection, enhancing data security. | 180 days |
| AEC | Ensures requests within a browsing session are made by the user, not other sites. | 6 months |
| APISID | This cookie is used by Google to store user preferences and information when viewing pages with Google maps on them. | 13 months |
| HSID | This cookie is set by Google and is used to authenticate users, store session preferences, and perform security measures. | 13 months |
| LOGIN_INFO | Google may set this cookie on your phone, tablet or computer once you click on the YouTube video player. Used by the YouTube video service on websites with embedded YouTube videos. | 2 years |
| NID | Stores user preferences and personalises ads on Google properties. | 6 months |
| SAPISID | This cookie is set by Google and is used to store user preferences and information, such as the preferred language and browsing preferences. | 13 months |
| SEARCH_SAMESITE | Prevents cross-site request forgery and ensures cookies are sent in first-party context. | Session |
| SID | This cookie is set by Google and is used to authenticate users, store session preferences, and perform security measures. | 13 months |
| SIDCC | Provides security to protect user data from unauthorised access. | 1 year |
| SOCS | Stores user choices regarding cookie consent and personalisation settings. | 13 months |
| SSID | This cookie is set by Google and is used to store user preferences and information, such as the preferred language and browsing preferences. | 13 months |
| VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | Google may set this cookie on your phone, tablet or computer once you click on the YouTube video player. This cookie contains a unique ID used to remember your preferences and other information such as your preferred language. Used to enable personalised recommendations on YouTube based on past views and searches and also to detect and resolve problems with the service. | 6 months |
| VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA | This cookie is hosted by YouTube and used as a unique identifier to track viewing of videos | 5 months |
| YSC | Google may set this cookie on your phone, tablet or computer once you click on the YouTube video player. Used to prevent spam, fraud, and abuse. | Session |
NB: Cookie guidance wording adapted from cookies on gov.uk, shared under the Open Government Licence.
Last updated: 13 November 2025.