When we provide services, we want to make them easy, useful and reliable. Where services are delivered on the internet, this sometimes involves placing small amounts of information on your device, for example, your computer or mobile phone. These include small files known as cookies, and JavaScript code. They cannot be used to identify you personally.
These pieces of information are used to improve services for you, for example, by:
- enabling a service to recognise your device so you don’t have to give the same information several times during one task
- recognising that you may already have given a username and password so you don’t need to do it for every web page requested
- measuring how many people are using our services, so they can be made easier to use and there is enough capacity to ensure they are fast
- analysing anonymised data to help us understand how people interact with our services so we can make them better.
You can manage these small files and learn more about them from the Directgov article, ‘Internet browser cookies – what they are and how to manage them‘.
You may refuse to accept cookies by activating the setting on your browser which allows you to refuse the setting of cookies. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of our site. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you visit our site.
For more information on deleting and controlling cookies visit AboutCookies.org.
Similarly you can set up your browser to disable JavaScript – please see your browser’s help pages for instructions on how to do this.
First-party cookies
None.
Third-party cookies
We use a number of suppliers who may set cookies on their websites’ on its behalf.
Cookies for improving service
Google Analytics sets cookies to help us accurately estimate the number of visitors to the website and volumes of usage. This is to ensure that we provide a fast service that is available when you want it. You may wish to visit Google’s Privacy Center.
| Name | Typical content | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _utma | randomly generated number | 2 years |
| _utmb | randomly generated number | 30 minutes |
| _utmc | randomly generated number | when user exits browser |
| _utmz | randomly generated number + info on how the site was reached | 6 months |
Cookies for sharing our pages
We use AddThis on many of our pages to enable you to socially bookmark content from the site. The selection of buttons displayed is tailored to each visitor’s past use of social media sites to enable you to quickly post a link to a page on our site from the services you use most frequently.
| Name | Typical content | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| di and bt | randomly generated string of letters and numbers | 2 years |
| dt | x | 1 month |
| loc | randomly generated string of letters and numbers | 3 months |
| psc | number | 2 years |
| uid | randomly generated string of letters and numbers | 2 years |
| uvc | two numbers | 2 years |
| uit | single number | end of session |
| ssc | name of last used social media service | 2 years |
Cookies for commenting on our blog
WordPress sets cookies so that you don’t have to fill in your name and email address every time you want to comment on our blog, and so you can see your comments that are awaiting moderation. Our WordPress spam filter also sets cookies to ensure spam comments from automated bots are caught before they appear on the blog.
| Name | Typical content | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| wordpress_test_cookie | WP+Cookie+check | when user exits browser |
| wordpress_logged_in_[random letters and numbers] | username entered + string of letters and numbers | less than 2 weeks |
| randomly generated letters | randomly generated letters | when user exits browser |
| SJECT | letters | when user exits browser |
Cookies for social media
We have a Twitter account (@FoodSecurityUK). Twitter uses cookie technology. For more information, please see the Twitter Privacy Policy.
How to control and delete cookies
We will not use cookies to collect personally identifiable information about you.
However, if you wish to restrict or block the cookies which are set by our websites, or indeed any other website, you can do this through your browser settings. The ‘Help’ function within your browser should tell you how.
Alternatively, you may wish to visit AboutCookies.org which contains comprehensive information on how to do this on a wide variety of browsers. You will also find details on how to delete cookies from your machine as well as more general information about cookies.
Please be aware that restricting cookies may impact on the functionality of our website.
If you wish to view your cookie code, just click on a cookie to open it. You’ll see a short string of text and numbers. The numbers are your identification card, which can only be seen by the server that gave you the cookie.
For information on how to do this on the browser or your mobile phone you will need to refer to your handset manual.
To opt-out of third-parties collecting any data regarding your interaction on our website, please refer to their websites for further information.
Contact
Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to web@foodsecurity.ac.uk.
