Most websites use cookies in order to improve user experience by enabling the website to ‘remember’ the user, either for the duration of their visit (using a ‘session cookie’) or for repeat visits (using a ‘persistent cookie’).

Cookies are used by the University to collect information for the purposes of managing and improving the services on the University Network, establishing browsing actions and patterns and preparing customised pages. Staff and students at the University of Southampton should be aware that some internal systems, e.g. Banner and My View require the use of cookies to function fully.

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a simple text file that is stored on a computer or mobile device by a website’s server and only that server will be able to retrieve or read the contents of that cookie. Each cookie is unique to a web browser. It will contain some anonymous information such as a unique identifier and the site name and some digits and numbers. It allows a website to remember things like user preferences.

Types of cookies used

Most cookies encountered when browsing the University of Southampton web sites are considered 'third party' cookies. This simply means the web site has used a feature supplied by an external provider, such as Facebook or Google Maps which sets the cookie. Third party cookies are not inherently more or less risky than first party cookies. The only thing to bear in mind is that the external provider, not the University of Southampton, determines what type of information is stored and how it is used.

The most common type of cookie used on our web site is set by Google Analytics, which provides anonymous statistical data to us to show usage trends and to aid in making decisions about what types of content are most popular.

Specific information about the cookies on University of Southampton web sites are contained in our cookie register. In addition, some of our websites may carry cookies specific to that service. Information about these will be contained on the individual website.

Cookie register

Below are some of the most common cookies found on the University of Southampton’s web sites. We update this page on an ongoing basis. Additional lists of cookies may also exist on individual websites for cookies that are specific to that service. Staff and students at the University of Southampton should be aware that some internal systems, e.g. Banner and My View require the use of cookies to function fully.

Google Analytics

Most web pages contain a Google Analytics tracking code to record anonymous information about the date and time of your visit, the type of browser used, approximate geographic location and the URL of any page that led to University of Southampton's web site. That information is aggregated and used by University of Southampton to identify usage trends on our site and to make decisions about which content or presentation styles are most effective.
Find information about opting out of browsing behaviour being shared with Google Analytics by visiting Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on

YouTube

YouTube uses cookies to build video statistics, prevent fraud, and improve the site experience. For more information about Google’s privacy policies, visit Google policies and privacy page.

Google Maps

We have embedded Google Maps in some of our pages. Google may use cookies here to store user preferences or the last location selected. Cookies are set to expire between 6 months and two years. For more information about Google's privacy policies, visit Google's privacy policies page

Doubleclick and Third Party Remarketing

We use of third party vendor’s cookies including Google DoubleClick and Facebook to measure the performance of our online marketing campaigns and to serve ads based on your past visits to this website.

This allows us to reach people who previously visited the University of Southampton website and match the right visitors with the right message.

To find out more about cookies, visit allaboutcookies.org.

You can opt out of cookie-based advertisements from many advertising platforms by visiting ‘Your online choices’ and switching off behavioural advertising from the organisations of your choice.

What to do if you don’t want cookies to be set

In order to not receive cookies, you can modify the browser so that it notifies you when cookies are sent to it or you can refuse cookies altogether. You can also delete cookies that have already been set. Please note that disabling cookies can affect your online experience of the site.

You can restrict or block web browser cookies set on your device through editing your browser settings; the browser Help function gives full instructions. Alternatively, you can visit About cookies, which contains comprehensive information on how to do this on a wide variety of desktop browsers.