How we use cookies

The digitalyouthindex.uk site is run by Nominet UK.

We are keenly aware of the trust you place in us, and our responsibility to protect your privacy. As part of this responsibility, we let you know what information we collect using cookies when you use our websites, why we collect it and how we use it to improve your experience.

About cookies

Cookies are small text files that websites save locally to your computer, which allow sites to store and use information during your visit. They can improve your experience when using a website by:

  • Remembering preferences, so you don’t have to keep re-entering your choices when you visit again
  • Measuring how you use a site, so that changes can be made to ensure it meets your needs

None of our cookies used for our sites can be used to identify you personally. They are just used to help make the site better for you. To learn more about cookies and how to manage them, visit About Cookies or All About Cookies. Read on to find out more about how we use cookies.

How we use Cookies and similar technologies

The digitalyouthindex.uk site uses cookies in several places, and we’ve listed them below with more details about why we use them and how long they will last. You can set your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent, however some website features or services may not function properly without cookies.

We have also listed below pixels and tracking scripts which are used on our website; these are not stored on your browser but fulfil a similar purpose in helping us understand how you use our website and none of these can be used to identify you personally.

Measuring our website usage – Google Analytics

We only use first-party Google Analytics cookies to track anonymous usage statistics and do not collect any personal information that can be used to identify you. This helps us analyse data about webpage usage and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs.

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 allow Google to use or share our analytics data.

In addition to Google Analytics we also use Hotjar to track anonymous usage in the form of heatmaps and user journeys, as before we do not collect any personal information that can be used to identify you. This helps us identify where we can improve our website layout in order to help users find the information they’re looking for.

Cookie Name Expiration Time Description Type
_ga 1 year 1 month 4 days Google Analytics sets this cookie to calculate visitor, session and campaign data and track site usage for the site’s analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognise unique visitors. Analytics
_ga_* 1 year 1 month 4 days Google Analytics sets this cookie to store and count page views. Analytics
_hjSession_* 1 hour Hotjar sets this cookie to ensure data from subsequent visits to the same site is attributed to the same user ID, which persists in the Hotjar User ID, which is unique to that site. Analytics
_hjSessionUser_* 1 year Hotjar sets this cookie to ensure data from subsequent visits to the same site is attributed to the same user ID, which persists in the Hotjar User ID, which is unique to that site. Analytics

Google Analytics does not collect any personal information, as identified in their privacy policy. Google also offers a browser plugin that allows users to opt out of their analytics.

Running our site – session cookies

To run this site we use “session cookies”. These cookies are used to remember selections and preferences that you’ve already made or information that you’ve already given. Certain parts of our sites will not work if cookies cannot be set (for example if you set your browser to refuse all cookies).

Cookie Name Expiration Time Description Type
cookie_notice_accepted 1 year Used to store acceptance of cookies. Necessary
cf_clearance 1 hour Used to identify trusted web traffic, and protect the website against malicious activity. Necessary
__cf_bm 1 hour This cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management. Necessary
cookieyes-consent 1 year CookieYes sets this cookie to remember users’ consent preferences so that their preferences are respected on subsequent visits to this site. It does not collect or store any personal information about the site visitors. Necessary
_uetvid 16 days Used to store and track visits across websites. Marketing/Tracking
_fbp 3 months Used to store and track visits across websites. Marketing/Tracking
_gcl_au Persistent Used to store and track conversions. Marketing/Tracking

Current concerns with cookies

There are many legitimate uses for cookies to enhance convenience and efficiency. However, some uses of cookies can lead to privacy concerns. These concerns typically emerge when a cookie holds personal information identifying you (e.g. a person’s name, e-mail address, billing information, address or similar), or is used across multiple sites to track users and internet usage.

digitalyouthindex.uk does not use any of its first-party cookies to hold any personal information or track users across multiple sites. We use third party social sharing tools that set third-party cookies, which allow you to share content via social networks. If content is shared with a third party site, how this information will be used by the third party is governed by its own privacy policy, and we are not responsible for this (or the types of cookies and similar technologies used by the third party site.)

Other concerns some users have are around privacy, and in particular those third party cookies which are generated by advertisers which track browsing activity across different sites. For all cookies, there are steps that you can take to manage your user preferences on how these are set.

How do I manage cookies or turn them off?

You can manage the cookies stored on your computer, or turn them off completely, through your browser settings. Be aware that this may affect your browsing experience or even prevent you from using certain services such as those with a secure login, which require cookies to be set in order to work.

All modern browsers will let you change your cookie settings to give you broad control over whether cookies can be set or not. For more information, visit the help section for the browser you use.

Here are a few of the most popular:

If you are concerned about third party cookies generated by advertisers, you can visit the Your Online Choices website which allows you to turn these off.

The Network Advertising Initiative also provides opt-out controls for targeted advertising by NAI member ad networks.

Please bear in mind that there are many more networks listed on the Network Advertising Initiative than those that we use at Nominet.

Further information on cookies and similar technologies

For more information about how to manage cookies and their uses visit About Cookies.

For information regarding the updated law on cookies visit the ICO.

 

This page was last updated April 2024.