Cookie Policy
Like most websites, we sometimes place small data files on your computer. These are known as cookies.
Cookies improve things by:
- remembering settings (where provided), so you don’t have to keep re-entering them whenever you visit a new page
- measuring how you use the website so we can make sure it meets your needs
Our cookies aren’t used to identify you personally. They’re just here to make the site work better for you. You can manage and/or delete these small files as you wish.
- to learn more about what cookies are and how to manage them visit AboutCookies.org
- to opt out of Google analytics go to https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout and install the add-on for your current web browser
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit. They are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site. Some cookies are during advertising, so you are shown adverts that are more personalised to you, based on your previous internet behaviour.
Some examples of cookies could be:
- storing information to personalise the website to your requirements website that sells things may use a cookie to record items you have in a shopping basket
- cookies can be used to record users behaviour on a website, for example to record the pages they have viewed
There are 2 different types of cookie that can be placed in your browser by a website. Session cookies are only used for the period you use the website, and are deleted when you close your web browser. A new cookie would then be placed in your web browser if you were to visit the same website again in the future. Persistent cookies remain in your browser once you have left the site and closed your web browser. The next time you visit the site the information in the cookie will be used to ensure the website works as set up at the previous visit. For example to display certain things on the homepage. Persistent cookies will expire if the website that set them is not visited again within a certain timescale
How we use cookies
We use cookies in various places across our domain, in our sub domains and third party systems.
Examples include:
- We use a google analytics cookie on our website and all our online systems to record website usage
- We use a number of essential session cookies to enable certain parts of the website to function properly
Measuring website usage (Google Analytics)
Google Analytics stores information about what pages you visit, how long you are on the site, how you got here and what you click on. We do not collect or store your personal information (e.g. your name or address) so this information cannot be used to identify who you are.
We do not share or allow Google to use our analytics data.
The following cookies are set by Google Analytics:
| Name | Typical Content | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _utma | randomly generated number | 2 years |
| _utmb | randomly generated number | 30 minutes |
| _utmc | randomly generated number | when you close your browser |
| _utmx | randomly generated number | 18 months |
| _utmxx | randomly generated number | 18 months |
| _utmz | randomly generated number and information on how the site was reached (e.g. direct or via a link, organic search or paid search) | 6 months |
Remembering if you’ve seen our introductory message
On your first visit to devon.gov.uk, you’ll be greeted by an introduction message. When you close the message, we’ll store a cookie so that your computer knows you’ve seen it and knows not to show it again (and again…). However if you have chosen to disable cookies in your browser this message will reappear each time you visit.
| Name | Typical Content | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| devongel | The word ‘accepted’ once you have closed the introduction box. | 6 months |
| wad_post_time | Timestamp of the most recent #WeAreDevon post | When the browser cache is cleared |
YouTube cookies
We occasionally embed videos from our official YouTube channel using YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode. This mode may set cookies on your computer once you click on the YouTube video player, but YouTube will not store personally-identifiable cookie information for playbacks of embedded videos using the privacy-enhanced mode. To find out more please visit YouTube’s embedding videos information page.