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Cookies

Find out more about cookies on our websites and how we use them.

Cookies used by Oriel College on our Websites

All of our webpages use “cookies”. Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by the 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.

Different types of cookies have different purposes and operate for different amounts of time.

  • Session cookies are stored in temporary files on your device and are erased form your device when you close your browser.  Session cookies allow websites to link the actions of a website visitor during single browser session, so that any page changes or selections are remembered as you move form page to page.  For example, session cookies will make sure items you put into virtual ‘shopping baskets’ are transferred to ‘checkout’, or keep you logged in as you move within private sections of a website.
  • Persistent cookies are stored on your device between browser sessions, either for a long term or time-limited period.  They are only deleted when they either ’expire’ or when you or your browser delete cookies from your device.  Persistent cookies are used so that a website ‘remembers’ inputs and settings, including recalling log on data so that you do not have to log in again when you next visit..  Persistent cookies may also recall which areas of a website interested you, in order to help you access those areas more easily in the future.  They may also be used to collect data about your interests, choices, and other organisations and websites that you visit, in order to create a profile enabling marketing materials to be appropriately targeted.
  • Third party cookies are cookies that are set by a domain other than the one being visited by the user. For details of any third party cookies we include in our domain, please consult the table below.

Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.

Deleting Cookies

You can also delete cookies already stored on your computer:

  • in Internet Explorer, you must manually delete cookie files (you can find instructions for doing so at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/278835);
  • in Firefox, you can delete cookies by, first ensuring that cookies are to be deleted when you “clear private data” (this setting can be changed by clicking “Tools”, “Options” and “Settings” in the “Private Data” box) and then clicking “Clear private data” in the “Tools” menu.

Doing this may have a negative impact on the usability of many websites, including ours.

Blocking Cookies

Most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies. For example:

  • in Internet Explorer you can refuse all cookies by clicking “Tools”, “Internet Options”, “Privacy”, and selecting “Block all cookies” using the sliding selector;
  • in Firefox you can block all cookies by clicking “Tools”, “Options”, and un-checking “Accept cookies from sites” in the “Privacy” box.

Blocking all cookies will, however, have a negative impact upon the usability of many websites, including this one.

Cookies On Our Sites

Google Analytics

Google Analytics sets cookies to help us accurately monitor the number of visitors to our website and the volumes of usage. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the site. Google Analytics uses the following cookies:

  • __utma: Tracks each user’s amount of visits, and the time of the first, the previous, and the current visit. It expires after 2 years.
  • __utmb: Takes a timestamp of the exact moment in time when a visitor enters the site. It expires after 30 minutes.
  • __utmc: Takes a timestamp of the exact moment in time when a visitor leaves the site. It is deleted when the browser is closed.
  • __utmz: Tracks where a visitor came from (search engine, search keyword, link). It expires after 6 months.

Google Analytics cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the site, where visitors have come to the site from and the pages they visited.

Click here for an overview of privacy at Google.

Other Cookies

  • Cookie preference (cookieaccept). This is a session cookie and it is used to remember a user’s acknowledgement of cookies on the website.
  • YouTube cookies. We 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.Read more at YouTube’s embedding videos information page.
  • Twitter cookies. Our websites use Twitter for Websites widgets to stream social media content onto our webpages. When you view Twitter content or Twitter products integrated into other websites using Twitter for Websites, Twitter may receive information including the web page you visited, your IP address, browser type, operating system, and cookie information. Read more in Twitter’s privacy policy and cookies notice.
  • Instagram cookies. Our websites use an Instagram plugin to stream social media content onto our webpages. Read more about Instagram’s cookies policy and privacy policy.
  • Issuu cookies. Our alumni website (https://alumni.oriel.ox.ac.uk) uses Issuu to display publications online. Issuu may use cookies when users interact with the content. Read more in Issuu’s privacy policy and cookies notice.
  • Ticket Tailor cookies. Our websites use Ticket Tailor to manage bookings and payments for events. Ticket Tailor may use cookies when users are signing up for an event via the booking form on our websites. They are a ‘data processor’, and Oriel College is the ‘data controller’. Ticket Tailor will not use event attendees’ data for any purpose other than their stated function (to collect payment and help us sell tickets to events). Read more in Ticket Tailor’s privacy policy and cookies notice.
  • Localisation. This is used by the website content management systems to keep track of the local time zone. It is a session cookie.
  • Language. This is used by the website content management systems to know the language of the website. This is a session cookie.
  • Mode. This is used by the CMS for reference. It helps identify if the website user is anonymous or logged in (for editing). It is a session cookie.
  • Siteld. This is used by the CMS for reference of the site identifier. It helps manage users across multiple domains for the same client (main site, microsite, mobile site). It is a session cookie.
  • NID; PREF; khcookie. These are third party cookies used by Google for tracking the number of people that are using Google’s maps application. Google’s maps feature in multiple places on our websites. They are session cookies.

WordPress

All of the college’s websites (www.oriel.ox.ac.uk, https://www.alumni.oriel.ox.ac.uk/ and https://www.centreforbible.oriel.ox.ac.uk/) are built on the WordPress content management system.

To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites visit http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

How we use Cookies

Cookies do not contain any information that personally identifies you, but personal information that we store about you may be linked, by us, to the information stored in and obtained from cookies. We may use the information we obtain from your use of our cookies for the following purposes:

  • administer the website;
  • improve your browsing experience by personalising the website;
  • enable your use of the services available on the website;
  • send to you goods purchased via the website, and supply to you services purchased via the website;
  • send statements and invoices to you, and collect payments from you;
  • send you general (non-marketing) commercial communications;
  • send you email notifications which you have specifically requested;
  • send to you our newsletter and other marketing communications relating to our business which we think may be of interest to you by post or, where you have specifically agreed to this, by email or similar technology (you can inform us at any time if you no longer require marketing communications);
  • provide third parties with statistical information about our users – but this information will not be used to identify any individual user; and
  • deal with enquiries and complaints made by or about you relating to the website.

Where you submit personal information for publication on our website, we will publish and otherwise use that information in accordance with the license you grant to us.

We will not without your express consent provide your personal information to any third parties for the purpose of direct marketing.

Changes to our Cookie Statement

Any changes we may make to our Cookie Statement in the future will be posted on this page.

Version control: V.1.0 (August 2022)