A cookie is a piece of information in the form of a very small text file that is placed on an internet user's hard drive. It is generated by a web page server, which is basically the computer that operates a web site.
The information the cookie contains is set by the server and it can be used by that server whenever the user visits the site. A cookie can be thought of as an internet user's identification card, which tells a web site when the user has returned."
www.aboutcookies.org
How to Manage Cookies
Please be aware that restricting cookies may impact on the functionality of certain parts of the University of Aberdeen's website.
Most standard web browsers may be configured to refuse cookies: consult your browser's help pages for instructions on how to do this. You may wish to visit http://www.aboutcookies.org.uk which contains comprehensive information on how to manage cookies on a wide variety of browsers.
University of Aberdeen Cookies
General Purpose Cookies
The following cookies may be set by certain pages within our website as necessary.
| Cookie Identifier | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| 32 alphanumeric characters | PHP session ID Used to maintain the security of your browsing session |
When you close your browser |
| abdn_maps | Used to store geolocation, if you have agreed to share that information | 30 minutes |
| abdn_forms | SimpleForms Used to check that cookies are enabled so that the PHP session ID can be used without displaying it in the browser's URL |
1 hour |
| abdn_session_cookie_check | Intranet/standard SimpleCMS login Used to check that cookies are enabled so that the PHP session ID can be used without displaying it in the browser's URL |
1 hour |
| abdn_show_cookie_advisory | Used to determine whether the cookie advisory notice has been displayed | 1 year |
| UoAInfrastructure | Used for balancing of the session to a specific server | Immediately |
Confidential Reporting Service
The following cookies are set set by the Confidential Reporting Service.
| Cookie Identifier | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| confidential_reporting_production_session | Used to temporarily store data relating to the Confidential Reporting form | After 30 minutes or when you close your browser |
Clearing
The following cookies are set by the Clearing website.
| Cookie Identifier | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| abdn_clearing_session | Used to temporarily remember your chosen country of choice in order to determine eligibility | After 24 hours |
Online Store
The following cookies are set set by the third-party company WPM Education for the operation of the University's Online Store.
| Cookie Identifier | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| ASPSESSIONIDCSBBRDCQ | Session ID Used to maintain the security of your browsing session |
When you close your browser |
| WPM%5FStore | Used to maintain the security of your browsing session | Immediately |
| WPM%5FStore%5FSession | Used to maintain the security of your browsing session | Immediately |
AURA
The following cookie is set when using the University's DSpace installation, the Aberdeen University Research Archive (AURA).
| Cookie Identifier | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| JSESSIONID | Session ID Used to maintain the security of your browsing session |
When you close your browser |
MyAberdeen
The following cookies are set when using MyAberdeen.
| Cookie Identifier | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| JSESSIONID | Session ID Used to maintain the security of your browsing session |
When you close your browser |
| cookies_enabled | Used to store cookie setting | When you close your browser |
| NSC_301884.qspe1_wjq1.hspvq | Used to maintain the security of your browsing session | When you close your browser |
| s_session_id | Used to maintain the security of your browsing session | When you close your browser |
| session_id | Used to maintain the security of your browsing session | When you close your browser |
Additionally, MyAberdeen may occasionally display reminders related to your course in pop-up windows, and uses a cookie to determine whether you have already seen a given reminder. An example would be the scefpopup cookie. All such cookies expire when you close your browser.
Third Party Cookies
The University of Aberdeen makes use of external services within its website. Examples of such services include YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and these external services may also place cookies on your device.
Details of how to opt out of receving cookies from the main third parties whose content we use are available below:
To opt out of receiving cookies from other services, we recommend reviewing your browser's cookie settings as noted above.
Other Cookies
The University of Aberdeen relies on statistics generated by your visits to our webpages to plan further improvements to our website. The cookies which are set in order to enable us to collate these statistics are not strictly necessary for the operation of our websites. Links are provided below which will enable you to opt out of receiving these cookies if you wish.
Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics to generate reports on the number of visits to pages on our website, and the resulting statistics help us to plan improvements to our website. Google Analytics is also used by third party widgets implemented on our website.
| Cookie Identifier | Description | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _ga | Random number | 2 years |
| _gat | 1 | 10 minutes |
Google Maps
We use Google Maps to provide location information to users of our website.
| Cookie Identifier | Description | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| NID | Random letters and numbers | 1 hour |
| PREF | Random letters and numbers | End of the year |
Google Tag Manager
We use Google Tag Manager to manage Google Analytics and other tracking cookies which may be used for marketing purposes or evaluating the effectiveness of our website.
| Cookie Identifier | Description | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _dc_gtm_UA-209114-1 | 1 | 10 minutes |
Hotjar
We use Hotjar to analyse online behaviour and improve user experience across our website.
| Cookie Identifier | Description | Expires |
|---|---|---|
|
_hjClosedSurveyInvites |
This cookie is set once a visitor interacts with a Survey invitation modal popup. It is used to ensure that the same invite does not re-appear if it has already been shown. |
1 Year |
|
_hjDonePolls |
This cookie is set once a visitor completes a poll using the Feedback Poll widget. It is used to ensure that the same poll does not re-appear if it has already been filled in. |
1 Year |
|
_hjMinimizedPolls |
This cookie is set once a visitor minimizes a Feedback Poll widget. It is used to ensure that the widget stays minimized when the visitor navigates through your site. |
1 Year |
|
_hjDoneTestersWidgets |
This cookie is set once a visitor submits their information in the Recruit User Testers widget. It is used to ensure that the same form does not re-appear if it has already been filled in. |
1 Year |
|
_hjMinimizedTestersWidgets |
This cookie is set once a visitor minimizes a Recruit User Testers widget. It is used to ensure that the widget stays minimized when the visitor navigates through your site. |
1 Year |
|
_hjDoneSurveys |
This cookie is set once a visitor completes a survey. It is used to only load the survey content if the visitor hasn't completed the survey yet. |
1 Year |
|
_hjIncludedInSample |
This session cookie is set to let Hotjar know whether that visitor is included in the sample which is used to generate funnels. |
1 Year |
|
_hjShownFeedbackMessage |
This cookie is set when a visitor minimizes or completes Incoming Feedback. This is done so that the Incoming Feedback will load as minimized immediately if they navigate to another page where it is set to show. |
1 Year |
Siteimprove
Siteimprove Analytics is a web analytics service. It allows us to recognise and count the number of visitors and so see how visitors move around the site when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way the website works, for example by making sure users are finding what they need easily.
| Cookie Identifier | Description | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| nmstat |
This cookie is used to help record visitors' use of the website. It is used to collect statistics about site usage such as when the visitor last visited the site. This information is then used to improve the user experience on the website. This Siteimprove Analytics cookie contains a randomly generated ID used to recognize the browser when a visitor reads a page. The cookie contains no personal information and is used only for web analytics. |
1000 days |
| siteimproveses |
This cookie is used purely to track the sequence of pages a visitor looks at during a visit to the site. This information can be used to create User Journeys and enable visitors to find relevant information more quickly. |
At end of session |
| szcookiechoice | This cookie is used to determine if the user has accepted or declined cookies. | At end of session |
| sz-feedback-should-hide | This cookie is used to hide/close a feedback widget for specific sessions (visits) on the Analytics Feedback feature. It is set when a user clicks a button in the feedback widget which indicates they don't wish to see the widget again. The cookie contains no personal information and is used only for web analytics. It simply contains the text 'true' when it is set. | At end of session |
| _cfduid | This cookie is set by the CloudFlare service to identify trusted web traffic. It does not correspond to any user id in the web application, nor does the cookie store any personally identifiable information. See: https://support.cloudflare.com/hc/en-us/articles/200170156-What-does-the-CloudFlare-cfduid-cookie-do- | Never |
SoundCloud
SoundCloud provides a platform for sharing and promoting audio.
| Cookie Identifier | Description | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| sc_anonymous_id | Random number separated by hyphens | 10 years |
| __qca | Random letters and numbers | 18 months |
| __utma | Random number | 2 years |
| __utmb | Random number | Immediately |
| __utmc | Random number | At end of session |
| __utmt | 1 | Immediately |
| __utmz | Letters and numbers with referral string | 6 months |
Author: Web Team
Last reviewed: 23 May 2018
Last updated: 05 August 2019