What is a cookie?
A cookie is a small file downloaded on to your phone, tablet or computer when you visit a website. Cookies allow websites to recognise your device when you make a return visit.
We use several types of cookies on the EDINA website. Some are essential, like cookies that make sure our website works properly with your browser. They always need to be on.
Some cookies you can opt out of or block completely. Opting out or blocking these cookies might affect how the website looks or works for you.
When you leave our website or click on links that take you to an external websites, we can’t control what cookies they set. They will have their own cookie policy and you will need to set your cookie preferences for those websites too.
Why and how we use cookies
There are four reasons why a cookie might be stored on your device when visiting www.edina.ac.uk:
- Cookies that make the website work properly for you and enable you to make use of the secure online services that we provide;
- Cookies that collect data about your use of the website which is then anonymised and used to help us improve our online services
- Cookies that remember your preferences and make the site easier for you to use
- Cookies that are placed by third party services we make use of to enhance the information we present online. We have no control over these third party cookies.
- These cookies are placed on your device either by EDINA or by the third parties whose services we use as part of the website.
Some cookies are retained in your browser for only as long as you visit our website, while others persist for a longer specified or unspecified period.
Strictly necessary cookies
Some cookies we place on your browser ensure that EDINA services and sites delivers you information and services securely and optimally. You must accept these cookies to be able to make use of our online systems.
Functionality cookies
Some cookies enable websites to remember choices their users make, for example, user name, language or text size. These cookies are known as “functionality cookies” and help to improve a user’s experience of a website by providing a more personalised service.
Performance cookies
We use a number of tools that monitor visitor behaviour on our website to help us improve our information and services.
The tool we use most consistently is Google Analytics. Anonymous data about your visit is collected and amalgamated with that of other visitors so we can better understand how people use our website.
You can opt out of providing us with this information if you wish, with no impact on your experience of our website.
Opt out of providing us with website usage data via Google Analytics
Third party cookies
Some EDINA services and sites use third party services or software, such as maps, online videos or social networking features. Many of these services may set cookies on your device.
However, you can block or remove cookies yourself by altering the settings of your browser. Blocking these cookies is unlikely to impact on your experience of our website.
How to block cookies
Most browsers allow some control of cookies through browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.
To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites, visit http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Cookies set across www.edina.ac.uk
Strictly necessary cookies
Some cookies we place on your browser ensure that EDINA Services and Sites deliver you information and services securely and optimally. You must accept these cookies to be able to make use of our online systems.
| Cookie | Cookie Name(s) | Data Stored | When does it expire? | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Session ID | JSESSIONID, PHPSESSIONID, ASPSESSIONID, etc | A random unique number or string of letters and numbers. | A session cookie is required to follow your progress through the Services and Sites. It is essential to ensure that any information you enter or routes you take are remembered by the Services and Sites. Without this cookie, every page you visited would treat you as a completely new visitor. This cookie does not identify you personally and is not linked to any other information we store about you. Session ID Cookies used by EDINA Services and Sites http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Session_ID |
|
| Load balancer | NSC_ | A random unique number or string of letters and numbers. | The cookie is deleted when you close your web browser. | EDINA uses more than one server to provide web pages. When you visit the Services and Sites, you are assigned to one of several servers. This cookie is required to track which server you are communicating with in order to present a consistent user experience and remember information about the data you have entered. This cookie does not identify you personally and is not linked to any other information we store about you. Load balancer Cookies used by EDINA Services and Sites |
| My EDINA Account | edina_selfreg_session | string | 2 hours | Used to maintain the user’s session in the Self Registration system, enable access for individual subscribers. |
| My EDINA Account | edinacookiecheck | number | End of session | Used to test that the user has working cookies. |
| My EDINA Account | edina_cookie_consent | boolean | 2 months | Used to check that the user has consented to the use of cookies. |
Performance cookies
We use a number of tools that monitor visitor behaviour on EDINA’s Services and Sites to help us improve our performance in provision of information and services. These cookies collect anonymous information on the pages visited.
| Cookie | Cookie Name(s) | Data Stored | When does it expire? | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Analytics | utma_ | A unique identifier that represents your browser, the date of your first visit to the website, the date of your two most recent visits to the website, and the total number of times you’ve visited the website in the past including today. | This cookie expires 2 years after your last visit to the website. | Google Analytics is a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”), to help us see how our website is used. In doing so information about your use of our website, including your IP address, may be transmitted to Google and stored on servers in the United States Google’s Privacy Policy Opt out of Google Analytics The information stored in this cookie is used to identify how frequently the same people revisit the EDINA website, and to detect how long people take between each visit. This information is combined with data from thousands of other users to create an overall picture of website use, and is never identified individually. This cookie does not identify you personally and is not linked to any other information we store about you. |
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