A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.
In general, we use cookies and our records of the pages users have visited to gather information about all of our users collectively, such as what areas users visit most frequently and what services are accessed most. We only use such data in the aggregate. This information helps us determine what is most beneficial for our users, and how we can continually create a better overall experience for our users and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs.
Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.
The table below explains the cookies we use and why.
| Cookie | Name | Purpose | Default expiration time |
| Google Analytics | _utma | Used to distinguish users and sessions. The cookie is created when the javascript library executes and no existing __utma cookies exists. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics. | 2 years from set/update |
| Google Analytics | _utmb | Used to determine new sessions/visits. The cookie is created when the javascript library executes and no existing __utmb cookies exists. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics. | 30 mins from set/update |
| Google Analytics | _utmc | Not used in ga.js. Set for interoperability with urchin.js. Historically, this cookie operated in conjunction with the __utmb cookie to determine whether the user was in a new session/visit. | End of browser session |
| Google Analytics | _utmt | Used to throttle request rate. | 10 minutes |
| Google Analytics | _utmz | Stores the traffic source or campaign that explains how the user reached your site. The cookie is created when the javascript library executes and is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics. | 6 months from set/update |
| Google Analytics | ga/gtag | Used to distinguish users. | 2 years |
| Google Analytics | gat | Used to throttle request rate. | 10 minutes |
| YouTube | YSC | YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages. | session |
| YouTube | VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface. | 5 months 27 days |
| YouTube | yt-remote-device-id | YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video. | never |
| YouTube | yt-remote-connected-devices | YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video. | never |
| YouTube | CONSENT | YouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data. | 2 years |
Click here for an overview of privacy at Google
You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.
