At Westminster, we use cookies on our website much like most of the websites you might visit.

A cookie is a small text file which is downloaded to your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. When you return to a website you have previously visited or visit a website that uses the same cookies, that website will then recognise these cookies and therefore your device.

Our primary use of cookies is to identify which web pages are accessed, helping us to analyse and improve the navigation and content of our website. We do this mostly through traffic log cookies and analytics services provided by Google in order to give you a better web browsing experience.

Cookies will not be used to store personal information, nor do we use them to identify individuals.

The tables below illustrate the cookies we have identified and that we are presently using on our website. As the website develops, so might the cookie usage and the following list is therefore subject to change:

Remarketing

Remarketing allows us to reach individuals, such as yourselves, who have previously visited our website so that we can show you further content relevant to you based on what you have shown an interest in on our website. This is used this to improve your user experience and help to personalise content shown to you online and can be done through the use of Google Ads and other third-party vendors.

Third-party vendors such as Google display this content to you in the form of ads on sites across the internet and use cookies to serve these ads to you based on the past visits to our website.

You can opt out of Google’s use of cookies by visiting Google’s Ads Settings, as well as opting out of other third-party vendor’s use of cookies by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative opt out page.

Google

Used for tracking of webpages, and standard analytical information.

For more information about Google Analytics cookies, please see Google's documentation.

Facebook

The University of Westminster uses “visitor action pixels” from Facebook Inc (Facebook Ireland Ltd., 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland (“Facebook”), or, if you are based in the USA, 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA) on our website.

Internal Server Error

The server encountered an internal error and was unable to complete your request. Either the server is overloaded or there is an error in the application.

Facebook may link this information to your Facebook account and also use it for its own promotional purposes, in accordance with Facebook’s Data Usage Policy. You can allow Facebook and its partners to place ads on and off Facebook. A cookie may also be stored on your computer for these purposes.

YouTube

YouTube provides us with third-party functionality, allowing us to embed YouTube videos in our pages.

Disabling and opting out of using this cookie may result in limited or degraded functionality.

Hotjar

Hotjar is an analytics and feedback tool that helps us improve the usability of our website. 

Hotjar stores persistent cookies on users' browsers to monitor user behaviour on our website, such as mouse clicks, movements and scrolling on a webpage – this user behaviour information is anonymous.

We also use Hotjar to display short polls on webpages, to allow users to provide feedback on our pages.

Internal Server Error

The server encountered an internal error and was unable to complete your request. Either the server is overloaded or there is an error in the application.

opt out of Hotjar collecting your information at any point.

You can also find out more about Hotjar cookies by visiting the Hotjar website.

Click4Assistance

We use cookies to enable our online live chat communication provided by Click4Assistance. Information about the types of cookies used and the data stored and processed by Click4Assistance can be found visiting the Click4Assistance website.

Web Content Management System

Used for logging into the CMS used by University web editors.

We do not use cookies to:

• Collect any personally identifiable information without first clearly asking for your express permission (we would only do this openly by requesting such information in an online form)
• Collect any sensitive information (we would only do this openly by requesting such information in an online form)
• Pass personally identifiable data to third parties

For more information on the new legislation regarding cookies, see the Information Commissioner's Office guidelines (PDF).

For useful information on cookies, see AboutCookies.org.uk

Enable or disable cookies within your browser

Windows PC

Google Chrome

• Click on Tools, then Options
• Click the Under the Bonnet tab, then Privacy section, and choose the Content settings button.
• Click the Cookie settings tab and choose your preferred settings.

Mozilla Firefox

• Click on Tools, then Options
• Select the Privacy icon in the left-hand panel
• Click on Cookies.

Internet Explorer

• Choose Tools, then Internet Options
• Click the Privacy tab
• Move the slider to choose your preferred settings.

Opera

• Choose Tools, then Internet Options
• Go to Preferences at the bottom of the File menu.
• Click Privacy and select one of the available options.

Safari

• Choose Tools, then Internet Options
• Select Security icon
• Cookie settings are shown in window
• Choose your preferred settings

Apple Macintosh

Mozilla Firefox

• Choose Preferences from Firefox menu
• Select the Privacy
• Choose 'Accept cookies from sites'

Opera

• Choose Preferences from Opera menu
• Select Privacy
• Choose your preferred cookies' settings

Safari

• Choose Preferences from Safari menu
• Select Security icon
• Choose your preferred cookies' settings