Cookies

Find out more about the cookies we use on our different websites

What are cookies

When you use our website, we place cookies on your computer, tablet, or mobile phone’s storage device. Cookies are small text files made up of letters and numbers. Using cookies is common practice and helps us to give you the best experience possible on our website. Cookies are harmless and can’t be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Find out more about cookies on the Information Commissioner's Officer (ICO) website.

What's a pixel

We also use pixels, which are snippets of code that enable cookies to be downloaded to your device. Pixels identify a device as it browses different websites, so that targeted advertisements can be shown to that user. We don’t receive any personally identifiable information from pixels.

What cookies we use

We use a variety of cookies across our different websites depending on what the website does. We use them to:

  • make website features work;
  • analyse how you're using the websites so we can make it even better and relevant to you; and
  • help us advertise to you on other websites, like Facebook.

We use the following cookies on all of our websites – the Girlguiding website, GO, our donation platform, our activity centre websites, learning platform and online shop:

  • ga, _gid, _rollupGa, _gat_UAxxxxxxxx-x, __utma, __utmb, __utmc, __utmz, __utmv, __utmx and __utmxx
    • All of these are cookies from Google Analytics, a tool that analyses how people use our websites and helps us make changes to the websites which will improve your experience when you use them. It's widely used across the internet and all the data is anonymised so that the data cannot be identified as yours. Find out more about how Google uses cookies.
  • Doubleclick.net
    • This cookie is set by Google Adwords to track what people do on our websites, for example, registering to become a volunteer. This helps us analyse how our Google Adwords advertising is performing. Find out more about how Google uses cookies.
  • Fbevents.js and <!--Facebook Pixel Code -->
    • This cookie is set by Facebook to track what people do on our websites, for example, if someone signs up for an event. This helps us analyse how our Facebook advertising is performing. The Facebook pixel is a piece of code that matches you to your Facebook user ID when you do something on our websites. This data is anonymous, and we can't see any information that identifies you on Facebook. We can use the pixel to build custom audiences to advertise to you on Facebook about things that might be of interest to you.
    • For example, we may want to let people know that they can book tickets for an event. So we may build a custom audience of people who have shown an interest in the event by visiting the event webpage before booking was open and run adverts to those people to tell them that booking is now open. Find out more about Facebook's cookies and interest-based advertising and how to opt out.
  • PREF, VSC, VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE and remote_sid
    • These cookies are set by YouTube when you watch a YouTube video that's embedded on our websites. They collect information about how and where people have watched the video. The data is anonymised so that the data cannot be identified as yours. Find out more about how Google and YouTube use cookies.
  • Uwt.js and <!-- Twitter universal website tag code -->
    • This cookie is set by Twitter to track what people do on our websites, for example if someone fills out a webform. This helps us analyse how our Twitter advertising is performing. The Twitter tag is a piece of code that matches you to your Twitter user ID when you do something on our websites. This data is anonymous and we cannot see any information that identifies you on Twitter.
    • Similar to the Facebook pixel code, we can use this tag to build custom audiences to advertise to you on Twitter about things that might be of interest to you. Find out more about Twitter's cookies and interest-based advertising and how to opt out.
  • Howuku cookies
    • Howuku is an analytics, feedback and user experience optimisation tool that helps us better understand your needs and experiences on our website. We use this information to make improvements to the content and navigation on our site so that it's easier to use; this may be through the use of a question widget which 'peeps' from the bottom of the page, or collecting mouse click/scrolling behaviour from multiple visitors to our website. Howuku collects data on user behaviour and devices (in particular device's IP address (captured and stored only in anonymized form), device screen size, device type (unique device identifiers), browser information, geographic location (country only), preferred language used to display our website), storing your information in a pseudonymised user profile. Neither Howuku nor Girlguiding will ever use this information to identify individual users or to match it with further data on an individual user. For further details, please see Howuku's privacy policy and their data processing agreement.
    • _hid, created_at, first_session, howuku_session, pageview, unique_session
      • View the full list of cookies and their functions used by Howuku. You can opt-out of being tracked by Howuku by following the instructions in their cookie policy.

These are all of the cookies we use on the Girlguiding website (www.girlguiding.org.uk):

  • ASP.NET_SessionId
    • This cookie is necessary for several website functions to work properly. It's added to your device when you start using our website and holds an ID for the session that you're on the website. This is deleted when you close your internet browser.
  • CookiesAccepted
    • This cookie is necessary to let us know if you've accepted how we use cookies in the pop up banner when you first access the website.
  • __cfuid
    • This cookie is used to help our web pages load faster and can identify that you have visited the website before and are trusted, even if you're browsing from a shared IP address, for example at a coffee shop. It's added to your device when you open our website and expires 1 year after it's created.
  • EPiForm_{xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxx}:{xxxxx}
    • This cookie is used when you start to fill in a form on the website, but don't finish the form and submit it. It will store the information you have filled in, so you can return to it later and finish filling it out. The 'x's refer to a unique identifier which makes every cookie different. It's added to your device when you open our website and expires 90 days after it’s created.
  • EPI-MAR-{xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxx:xx}
    • Sometimes we run tests on our website layout or content by splitting our website visitors into groups at random and showing them slightly different website pages. This is known as A/B testing and helps us continue to improve our website. This cookie is used to record how you have interacted with an A/B test and makes sure you're being shown the right content throughout the test. It's added to your device when you open our website and is removed when the test is finished. Tests vary in length, but usually only last a week or two.
  • EPi_NumberOfVisits
    • This cookie stores the number of times you've accessed different pages on our website. It lets us personalise content for you depending on how many times you've visited different pages. It's added to your device when you open our website and expires 1 year after it's created.
  • .EPiForm_BID and .EPiForm_VisitorIdentifier
    • These cookies are used to identify when you've submitted a form on the website. They're added to your device when you open our website and expire 90 days after they were created.
  • __epiXSRF
    • This cookie is necessary to protect you from cross-site request forgery, which is a form of cyber-attack. It's added to your device when you open our website and is deleted when you close your browser.
  • PollsVotedIn
    • This cookie stores a list of the different polls you've taken part in across our website. It's added to your device when you open our website and expires 1 year after it's created.

These are the cookies we use on GO (go.girlguiding.org.uk):

  • ARRAAffinity
    • This cookie is used for load balancing – or spreading our website visitors across servers to make sure each server can cope with the number of people using the website. It makes sure that every time you visit the website, the things you do are sent back to the same server, but it doesn't hold any personal information about you. It's added to your device when you open our website and expires 1 year after it's created.
  • ASP.NET_SessionId
    • This cookie is necessary for several website functions to work properly. It's added to your device when you start using our website and holds an ID for the session that you're on the website. It expires 1 year after it’s created.
  • .AspNet.ApplicationCookie and .Anonprofile
    • These cookies are used as part of the log in process when you're signing in to GO, but they don't store any personal information about you. They're added to your device when you start using our website and expire 1 year after they're created.
  • _RequestVerificationToken
    • This cookie is necessary to protect you from cross-site request forgery, which is a form of cyber-attack. It makes sure you'll be presented with the correct forms. It's added to your device when you open our website and expires 1 year after it's created.

The only cookie we use on our donate platform (donate.girlguiding.org.uk) that's not already been listed is:

  • ASP.NET_SessionId
    • This cookie is necessary for several website functions to work properly. It's added to your device when you start using our website and holds an ID for the session that you're on the website. This is deleted when you close your internet browser.

These are the cookies we use on our learning platform.

  • TotaraSession.
    • This is an essential one, it's the session cookie. You must allow this cookie into your browser to provide continuity and maintain your login from page to page. When you log out or close the browser this cookie is destroyed (in your browser and on the server).
  • TOTARAID
    • This cookie is purely for convenience. It remembers your username within the browser. This means when you return to this site the username field on the login page will be already filled out for you. It's safe to refuse this cookie - you will just have to retype your username every time you log in.

These are the cookies we must use on our recruitment platform (https://girlguidinguk.ciphr-irecruit.com/applicants).

  • .ASPXAUTH, ASP.NET_SessionId, AdminAuth
    • The platform needs these cookies to work properly. They make sure basic functions and security features of the website work.
  • CookieAcceptance
    • The platform uses this cookie to tell us if you've accepted how we use cookies in the pop up banner when you first go on the platform.
  • SERVERID
    • This is the session cookie. It's to keep you logged in from page to page. When you log out or close your browser this cookie is deleted in your browser and on the server.
  • __RequestVerificationToken
    • The platform needs this cookie to protect you from cyber-attacks like cross-site request forgery. It makes sure you’re presented with the right forms. It's added to your device when you open the platform and is deleted when you close the browser.
  • Registration_Id
    • The platform needs this cookie to keep track of who is currently logged into the platform. It's added to your device when you log into your account on the platform and is deleted when you log out or close the browser.
  • FullName
    • The platform needs this cookie to keep track of the name of the logged in user without accessing the database. It's added to your device when you log into your account on the platform and is deleted when you log out or close the browser.
  • AuthCookie
    • This cookie is needed to keep track of referred jobs. This cookie is deleted in minutes.
  • AssessmentTicket
    • The platform needs this cookie to determine whether you have the ability to take an assessment. When you log out or close your browser this cookie is deleted in your browser.
  • BookedAssessmentTicket
    • The platform needs this cookie to determine whether you have booked an assessment. When you log out or close your browser this cookie is deleted in your browser.
  • InterviewTicket
    • The platform needs this cookie to determine whether you are eligible to book an interview. When you log out or close your browser this cookie is deleted in your browser.
  • BookedInterviewTicket
    • The platform needs this cookie to determine whether you have any interview bookings. When you log out or close your browser this cookie is deleted in your browser.

Third party cookies

Other websites may set cookies while you browse our websites, usually if you're already logged into your accounts with them. These are often, but not always, social media accounts and part of the reason they use cookies is so that you can use the buttons on our website to share pages that interest you. These cookies also help us understand how people are using and interacting with our websites and we use this information to improve our websites and online advertising. Please note that we have no control over these third party cookies and pixels, and you should check the relevant third party websites for more information about these.

Third party targeting

We use third party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites to provide advertisement about goods and services that may be of interest to you. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They store your IP address or other digital identifiers. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Third party cookies we use

We use the following third party cookies on all of our websites – the Girlguiding website, GO, our donation platform, our activity centre websites and our online shop. Please visit the relevant third party websites to find out more about how they're used:

Targeting cookies

  • These cookies are set via our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by our partners to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant ads on other sites. If you do not allow these cookies, you will not experience our targeted advertising across different websites. The following cookies may be set by our advertising partners: Google AdX, AppNexus, Bluekai, OpenX, Yahoo Ad Exchange (Right Media), DataLogix, Rubicon Project, Index Exchange, SpotX, AdobeDMP, Tapad, PubMatic, Smaato, BidSwitch, Liveramp, Nielsen, Eyeota, Xplusone, XplusOneAPX, XplusOneADX, XplusOne, Dataxu, XplusOneLiveramp, XoneTubemogul, Krux, AOL, TubeMogul, Audience Projects, Taboola, Acxiom, MerkleONE, Sizmek media.net, Roq.ad, AggregateKnowledge, Dataxtrade, NextDoor, TikTok, and WeAre8.

How to manage your cookies

You can view and delete cookies stored on your computer, tablet or mobile phone and if you want to you can prevent cookies from being stored in future. Find out more about how to manage your cookies on the ICO's website.

Managing cookies in your browser

You can control which types of cookies you allow in your web browser. You can turn cookies on or off using your browser's settings. You can also remove cookies and clear your browser's history.

The following links describe how you can change your cookie settings in the popular browsers:

How to manage your cookies on this website

You can update your cookie settings for this website at any time by clicking the icon in the bottom-left corner of any page.