Cookies policy

What is a Cookie?

A Cookie is a small text file, usually consisting of letters and numbers, placed on your computer, tablet, phone, or similar device, when you use that device to visit a website. A Cookie is acknowledged by your web browser and acts to identify your device.

Cookies are widely used by website owners to make their websites work, or to work more efficiently, as well as to collect and send information about your visit to their website, for example, the number of visits, average time spent, pages viewed, navigation history through the website and other statistics.

Our website uses Cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site.

How Do We Use Cookies?

SFI uses Cookies and various similar technologies, which may include pixel tags, web tokens, beacons, clear GIFs, and JavaScript, to help improve your experience and the performance and efficiency of our website. We will refer to Cookies and similar technologies as “Cookies” for the purpose of this notice.

Cookies may be used to allow us and third parties to know when you visit our website, and to understand how you interact with e-mails, advertisements, or other content.

Cookies, aggregate and other information (such as your operating system, browser version, and the URL you came from) that does not identify individual users, may be obtained and used to enhance your experience and understand traffic patterns. This technology counts who clicked on links or graphics included in e-mail newsletters received from SFI. It is also used as a tool to compile aggregated statistics about how SFI-managed websites are used, to perform analytics and help us to optimise these websites.

What Cookies Do We Use?

We use the following Cookies:

  • Strictly necessary Cookies: These are Cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, Cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.
  • Analytical/performance Cookies: They allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.
  • Functionality Cookies: These are used to recognise you when you return to our website.
  • Targeting Cookies: These Cookies record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make our website more relevant to your interests. We may also share this information with third parties for this purpose.

You can find more information about the individual Cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them in the table below:

CookieTypeDurationDescription
__utmathird party2 yearsUsed to distinguish users and sessions.
__utmbthird party30 minsUsed to determine new sessions/visits.
__utmcthird partyEnd of browser sessionNot used in ga.js. Set for interoperability with urchin.js. Historically, this cookie operated in conjunction with the __utmb cookie to determine whether the user was in a new session/visit.
__utmtthird party10 minutesUsed to throttle request rate.
__utmvthird party2 yearsUsed to store visitor-level custom variable data.
__utmzthird party6 monthsStores the traffic source or campaign that explains how the user reached the site.
_gathird party2 yearsUsed to distinguish users.
_ga_third party2 yearsUsed to persist session state.
_gidthird party24 hoursUsed to distinguish users.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analyticspersistent11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functionalpersistent11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessarypersistent11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-otherspersistent11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performancepersistent11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
CookieLawInfoConsentpersistent11 monthsRecords the default button state of the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.
viewed_cookie_policypersistent11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Please note that third parties (including, for example, advertising networks and providers of external services like web traffic analysis services) may also use Cookies. These Cookies are likely to be analytical/performance Cookies or targeting Cookies

You can block Cookies by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse the setting of all or some Cookies. However, if you use your browser settings to block all Cookies (including essential Cookies) you may not be able to access all or parts of our site.

How Long do Cookies Stay on My Device?

Some Cookies, called “session Cookies,” operate from the time you visit our website to the end of that particular browsing session. These Cookies expire and are automatically deleted when you close your Internet browser.

Other Cookies, called “persistent Cookies,” will stay on your device between browsing sessions, they do not automatically expire when you close your browser. The length of time a persistent Cookie stays on your device varies from Cookie to Cookie. We and others use persistent Cookies for a variety of purposes, such as to store your preferences so that they are available for the next visit, and to keep a more accurate account of how often you visit our website, how often you return, how your use of the website may vary over time etc.