Cookies are small files that are placed in your browser by websites that you visit. They are widely used to do things like store preferences and to enable shopping carts and log-in areas.
First-party vs third-party cookies
If a cookie is 'first-party' then it is set by the website you visit and will not track you when you leave the site. A 'third-party' cookie is often set by another website, not the one you are visiting, and it tracks your activity across websites. We only use first-party cookies. This means that the information the cookies gather cannot be used or accessed by any other organisation (e.g. for tracking purposes).
The cookies we use on this site
1. Google Analytics cookies
Google Analytics is a program that sets cookies so that the site owner can see the patterns of activity on their site. We use Google Analytics so that we can then generate reports about the site, such as about how popular parts of the site are, which browsers people are using, and which countries they are viewing the site from. This helps us improve the site and ensures we design the site for the browsers and devices that most people are using.
The three cookies Google Analytics uses are: _ga, _git and _gid. These work together to give us information about how people use the site. This information is collected in an anonymous form. We cannot identify you from the information gathered, or track your web browsing outside of the ELIXIR site.
2. Feature detection cookies
The ELIXIR site sets a cookie called has_js that detects which features your browsers can support. This is so that our web pages can be delivered in an appropriate format. No personal information is gathered from it.
3. Authentication cookies
If you log in to the intranet a session cookie (SimpleSAMLSessionID) will be set in your browser. This lets the web pages know that you have authenticated on the site.
Google Analytics cookies are not essential to the operation of the site. If you would like to opt-out then you install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
Feature detection and authentication cookies these are important for the site to function, especially if you want to use the intranet. This How-to Geek article tells you how to disable all cookies.