Cookies
We put small files (known as ‘cookies’) onto your computer to collect information about how you browse the site.
Cookies are used to:
- measure how you use the website so it can be updated and improved based on your needs
- remember the notifications you’ve seen so that we don’t show them to you again
Our cookies aren’t used to identify you personally.
Find out more about how to manage cookies.
How we use cookies
Measuring website usage (Google Analytics)
We use Google Analytics software to collect information about how you use the site. We do this to help make sure the site is meeting the needs of its users and to help us make improvements.
Google Analytics stores information about:
- the pages you visit
- how long you spend on each page
- how you got to the site
- what you click on while you’re visiting the site
We don’t collect or store your personal information (eg your name or address) so this information can’t be used to identify who you are.
Google Analytics sets the following cookies:
Universal Analytics
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _ga | This helps us count how many people visit the site by tracking if you’ve visited before | 2 years |
| _gat | Used to manage the rate at which page view requests are made | 10 minutes |
Google Analytics
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _utma | Like _ga, this lets us know if you’ve visited before, so we can count how many of our visitors are new to edpsy.org.uk or to a certain page | 2 years |
| _utmb | This works with _utmc to calculate the average length of time you spend on the site | 30 minutes |
| _utmc | This works with _utmb to calculate when you close your browser | when you close your browser |
| _utmz | This tells us how you reached the site (eg from another website or a search engine) | 6 months |
NB: Cookie guidance wording adapted from gov.uk, shared under the Open Government License.
