What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files which a website can put on your computer or mobile device when you first visit a site or page. The cookie will help the website to recognise your device the next time you visit.
There are many functions cookies serve. For example, they can help a site remember your username and preferences or analyse how well the website is performing.
The Institute’s website uses the following types of cookie files
First party cookies
| Name of cookie file | Purpose of the cookie |
|---|---|
| PHPSESSID | This file is used by our web server to identify a specific user session (“session” – the time you land on our website to the time you leave). This cookie does not contain any personal information and it expires at the end of the session. |
| Cookies with names prefixed by _wordpress | These cookies are used by the Content Management System to identify you as a user or not. They will help your browsing experience and allow us to show specific options for your account. |
Third party cookies
| Name of cookie file | Purpose of the cookie |
|---|---|
| Cookies with names prefixed by _utm | This cookie stores information used by Google Analytics to track a user’s activity on the site. e.g. pages visited, duration of time on each page, most popular content etc |
| hubspotutk | This cookie is used by our CRM platform Hubspot to enable us to identify you. |
| Cookies starting with SL_ | This cookie is used by our user interaction recording software (SmartLook) which we may use from time to time to help improve your experience of our website.Ā We store a session ID that is assigned to each new browser session that is being recorded. The cookies mentioned above are saved for 13 months and can be deleted manually by clearing the browser’s cache. |
Can a website user block cookies?
Cookies help you to get the most out of our website however if you do wish to disable cookies you can do so in your web browser settings. Please remember that if you do choose to disable cookies, you may find that certain sections of our website do not work properly.