Cookie policy

Cookies are tiny files that are installed on your web browser, whether on a desktop, tablet or mobile device, when you visit a website. They let websites recognise that a user on an individual computer has previously visited the site. Cookies save information about that user session for use during future website visits.

On this page:

Cookie consent

We provide a tool that lets you choose which cookies to accept, apart from 'necessary cookies' needed to make the site work properly. Web browsers give you different ways to set up how they handle cookies. This can vary from only allowing cookies from websites that you trust to blocking all cookies.

Here are official instructions for the most popular browsers:

For more advice on managing cookies, visit the All About Cookies website.

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Changes to this policy

In line with changing legal requirements, we will update the Macular Society’s cookie policy as the need arises.

Page last updated: 29 August 2023
Next scheduled review: 29 December 2023

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Necessary cookies

Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as page navigation and access to secure areas. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.

Cookie Control by Civic

This tool gives you control over the cookies you allow when you visit our website.

Cookie Purpose Duration
CookieControl This cookie records the categories of cookies that you choose to allow or block from other service providers we use. Persistent

Umbraco

Umbraco is our website technology platform. We use it to serve static web pages, online forms, site search and our shop.

Cookie Purpose Duration
n/a n/a n/a

Azure

Our site is hosted on Azure, Microsoft's cloud hosting solution.

Cookie Purpose Duration
ARRAffinity, ARRAffinitySameSite Azure Web Sites for load balancing our application and ensures that, during any browsing session, the visitor's page requests are forwarded to the same server Session

ASP NET Core

ASP NET Core is the open-source version of ASP.NET, the popular web-development framework for building web apps on the .NET platform.
Umbraco makes use of ASP NET Core functionality.

Cookie Purpose Duration
ai_session, ai_user

SessionTelemetryInitializer updates the Id property of the Session context for all telemetry items with value extracted from the ai_session cookie generated by the ApplicationInsights JavaScript instrumentation code running in the user's browser.

UserTelemetryInitializer updates the Id and AcquisitionDate properties of User context for all telemetry items with values extracted from the ai_user cookie generated by the Application Insights JavaScript instrumentation code running in the user's browser.

Session
.AspNetCore.Mvc.
CookieTempDataProvider

Determines the settings used to create the cookie in CookieTempDataProvider.

SameSite defaults to Lax. Setting this to Strict may cause browsers to not send back the cookie to the server in an OAuth login flow. SecurePolicy defaults to SameAsRequest. HttpOnly defaults to true. IsEssential defaults to false, This property is only considered when a user opts into the CookiePolicyMiddleware. If you are using this middleware and want to use CookieTempDataProvider, then either set this property to true or request user consent for non-essential cookies.

Session
.AspNetCore.Antiforgery Determines the settings used to create the antiforgery cookies. Session

Stripe

We use Stripe to process credit or debit card transactions:

  • donations
  • shop purchases
  • joining the Macular Society as a paid member
  • renewing subscriptions 
Cookie Purpose Duration
__stripe_mid Stripe is used for credit card payments. Stripe uses a cookie to remember who you are and to enable our website to process payments without storing any credit card information on its our servers. One year
__stripe_sid Stripe is used for credit card payments. Stripe uses a cookie to remember who you are and to enable our website to process payments without storing any credit card information on its our servers. One hour

Recaptcha

Cookie Purpose Duration
_GRECAPTCHA This cookie provides our forms with spam protection. reCAPTCHA sets a necessary cookie (_GRECAPTCHA) when executed for the purpose of providing its risk analysis. Session

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Analytical cookies

Analytical cookies help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on its usage.

Adalyser

We use Adalyser to measure the effectiveness of TV advertising.

CookiePurposeDuration
__adal_ca This cookie stores traffic source/campaign data, for the purposes of being able to see which advertising campaign drove a user to visit our site. Two years
__adal_cw This cookie stores visit timestamp data, for the purpose of tying back conversion events to earlier visits. Two years
__adal_id This cookie stores the device ID (generated), in order to uniquely identify a device. Two years
__adal_ses This cookie determines whether there is a currently active session. When this cookie expires, the session ends. Two years

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics (GA) to track website user interaction. We use this data to determine the number of people using our site, to better understand how they find and use our web pages and to see their journey through the website. Although GA records user data such as your geographical location, device, internet browser and operating system, none of this information personally identifies you to us. GA also records your computer’s IP address but Google does not grant us access to this.

CookiePurposeDuration
_ga This cookie contains a unique identifier used by Google Analytics to determine that two distinct hits belong to the same user across browsing sessions. One year
_gid This contains a unique identifier used by Google Analytics to determine that two distinct hits belong to the same user across browsing sessions. One day
__utma This  is used to distinguish users and sessions. The cookie is created when the javascript library executes and no existing __utma cookies exists. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics. Two years
__utmt This is used to throttle the request rate. 10 minutes
__utmb This is used to determine new sessions/visits. The cookie is created when the javascript library executes and no existing __utmb cookies exists. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics. 30 minutes
__utmc This is not used in ga.js. It is set for interoperability with urchin.js. Historically, this cookie operated in conjunction with the__utmbcookie to determine whether the user was in a new session/visit.
__utmz This stores the traffic source or campaign that explains how the user reached your site. The cookie is created when the javascript library executes and is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics. Six months
__utmv This is used to store visitor-level custom variable data. The cookie is created when a developer uses the _setCustomVar method with a visitor level custom variable. This cookie was also used for the deprecated _setVar method. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics. Two years

Google Tag Manager

We use Google Tag Manager to manage efficiently all the third-party code we add to our website. This code is required by the traffic analysis and online advertising services we use.

CookiePurposeDuration
gat_UA-164642617-1 This is our account ID, used to control the request rate. Session
_dc_gtm_ This is used to control the request rate. One mo
_gac_ This contains campaign-related information for the user. 90 days
_gat This is used to control the request rate. One minute
_gcl_au This is used for storing and tracking conversions. Persistent

Hotjar

We use Hotjar to analyse how well particular pages or sections of our website are working.

CookiePurposeDuration
_hjClosedSurveyInvites This cookie is set once a visitor interacts with an External Link Survey invitation modal. It is used to ensure that the same invite does not reappear if it has already been shown. One year
_hjDonePolls This is set once a visitor completes a survey using the On-site Survey widget. It is used to ensure that the same survey does not reappear if it has already been filled in. One year
_hjMinimizedPolls This cookie is set once a visitor minimizes an On-site Survey widget. It is used to ensure that the widget stays minimized when the visitor navigates through your site. One year
_hjShownFeedbackMessage This is set when a visitor minimizes or completes Incoming Feedback. This is done so that the Incoming Feedback will load as minimized immediately if the visitor navigates to another page where it is set to show. One year
_hjid This stores the unique user ID. One year
_hjRecordingLastActivity This should be found in Session storage (as opposed to cookies). This gets updated when a visitor recording starts and when data is sent through the WebSocket (the visitor performs an action that Hotjar records). Session
_hjTLDTest When the Hotjar script executes, we try to determine the most generic cookie path we should use, instead of the page hostname. This is done so that cookies can be shared across subdomains (where applicable). To determine this, we try to store the _hjTLDTest cookie for different URL substring alternatives until it fails. After this check, the cookie is removed. Session
_hjUserAttributesHash User Attributes sent through the Hotjar Identify API are cached for the duration of the session in order to know when an attribute has changed and needs to be updated. Session
_hjCachedUserAttributes This cookie stores User Attributes which are sent through the Hotjar Identify API, whenever the user is not in the sample. These attributes will only be saved if the user interacts with a Hotjar Feedback tool. Session
_hjLocalStorageTest This cookie is used to check if the Hotjar Tracking Script can use local storage. If it can, a value of 1 is set in this cookie. The data stored in_hjLocalStorageTest has no expiration time, but it is deleted almost immediately after it is created. <100 miliseconds
_hjIncludedInPageviewSample This cookie is set to let Hotjar know whether that visitor is included in the data sampling defined by your site's pageview limit. 30 minutes
_hjIncludedInSessionSample This cookie is set to let Hotjar know whether that visitor is included in the data sampling defined by your site's daily session limit. 30 minutes
_hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress The cookie is set so Hotjar can track the beginning of the user's journey for a total session count. It does not contain any identifiable information. Session

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Social cookies

We use some social sharing plugins, to allow you to share certain pages of our website on social media. These plugins place cookies so that you can correctly view how many times a page has been shared.

Facebook

We place advertising on Facebook to raise awareness of macular disease, to solicit donations and to encourage people to join the Macular Society.

CookiePurposeDuration
_fbp This is used by Facebook to track visits across websites to deliver a series of advertisement products such as real-time bidding from third party advertisers. Three months

Tawk.to

We embed a third-party chatbot service called GriefChat on our Bereavement Support page. GriefChat runs on the tawk.to platform.

CookiePurposeDuration
__tawkuuid This cookie is used to collect information about how the visitor interacts with the live chat function on the website. Six months
TawkConnectionTime This allows the website to recoqnise the visitor, in order to optimize the chat-box functionality. Session

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Marketing cookies

Marketing cookies are used to track visitors across websites. They help advertising platform providers display ads that are relevant and engaging for the individual user, and thereby more valuable for publishers and third-party advertisers.

Facebook

Facebook Remarketing allows us to tailor our marketing to better suit your needs and only display ads that are relevant to you in relation to the following purposes:

  • Fundraising via donations, lottery and events
  • Reach our members and existing supporters to communicate important messages
CookiePurposeDuration
_fr Provided by Facebook, this pixel matches Facebook user profiles anonymously, enable retargeting on the Facebook platform, as well as the creation of lookalike audiences. This pixel allows Macular Society to analyse marketing efforts, and serve the most relevant advertising to the correct audience. Three months

Twitter

Twitter allows us to tailor our marketing to better suit your needs.

Cookie
Purpose
Duration
Mbox
This cookie is for marketing on developer.twitter.com
Two years
__ncuid
This cookie is for doubleclick integration and/or analyticsOne year
Twtr_pixel_opt_in
This cookie allows you to share pages and content and for advertising to collect information about users browsing behaviour for marketing purposes including digital display and social media advertising.

14 days

Twid
This cookie is for authentication
One year
Auth_token
This cookie is for account login and authentication
Four  years
Kdt
This cookie is to authenticate a known device
Six  months

Guest_id

This cookie is used for authenticationTwo years
Ads_prefs

This cookie is to opt-out of ads tracking

Four years
Ct0This cookie is for authentication 

Four  years

Cd_user_idThis cookie is for help center functionality on help.twitter.comThree months
Eu_cnThis cookie is for cookie noticesFour months
DntThis cookie is for opt-out of ads personalisationFour  years
Personalization_idThis cookie tracks activities off Twitter for a personalized experienceOne year
D_prefs
This cookie is for your cookie preferencesFour  months
Guest_id_marketingThis cookie is for marketing when logged outOne year
Guest_id_adsThis cookie is for advertising when logged outOne year

LinkedIn

LinkedIn allows us to tailor our marketing to better suit your needs.

Cookie
Purpose
Duration
S_tslvUsed to retain and fetch time since last visit in Adobe AnalyticsSix  months

Gpv_pn
Used to retain and fetch previous page visited in Adobe AnalyticsSix  months
Lms_ads
Used to identify LinkedIn Members off LinkedIn for advertising30 days
_gcl_au

Used through Google Analytics to understand user interaction with the site and advertising
Three months
VID
ID associated with a visitor to a LinkedIn microsite which is used to determine conversions for lead gen purposesOne year
Bcookie
Browser Identifier cookie to uniquely identify devices accessing LinkedIn to detect abuse on the platform
Two years
Li_gc

Used to store consent of guests regarding the use of cookies for non-essential purposes
Two years
Li_mc

Used as a temporary cache to avoid database lookups for a member's consent for use of non-essential cookies and used for having consent information on the client side to enforce consent on the client sideTwo years
LidcTo facilitate data center selection
24 hours
_guidUsed to identify a LinkedIn Member for advertising through Google Ads90 days
Lms_analytics
Used to identify LinkedIn Members off LinkedIn for analytics30 days
Aam_uuidSet for ID sync for Adobe Audience Manager30 days
LiapUsed by non-www.domains to denote the logged in status of a memberOne year
LangUsed to remember a user's language setting to ensure LinkedIn.com displays in the language selected by the user in their settings.Session
AMCV_14215E3D5995C57C0A495C55%40AdobeOrgIndicates the start of a session for Adobe Experience Cloud
Session
AnalyticsSyncHistory
Used to store information about the time a sync took place with the lms_analytics cookie
30 days
UserMatchHistoryUsed for id sync process. It stores the last sync time to avoid repeating the syncing process in a frequent manner30 days

Google

We use Google AdWords Remarketing to advertise across the Internet. AdWords remarketing will display relevant ads tailored to you based on what parts of the TriggerApp website you have viewed by placing a cookie on your machine. The cookie is used to say “This person visited this page, so show them ads relating to that page.” Google AdWords Remarketing allows us to tailor our marketing to better suit your needs and only display ads that are relevant to you. We use advertising on Google to raise awareness of macular conditions and the Macular Society.

CookiePurposeDuration
_drt_id BCSI-CS-5B059C53EB35D97E ug We sometimes use third-party agencies to advertise and bring traffic to certain parts of the site, for example where we have a specific campaign. These cookie are placed by one of our third-party agencies to allow them to track the activities of visitors that have come to the site from their adverts. At least one session
__Secure-3PSIDCC This is a targeting cookie. It builds a profile of the website visitor's interests in order to show relevant and personalised Google advertising. Two years
__Secure-3PSID This is used by for targeting purposes to build a profile of the website visitor's interests in order to show relevant and personalised Google advertising. Two years
SID This is used for security purposes to store digitally signed and encrypted records of a user's Google account ID and most recent sign-in time. It allows Google to authenticate users, prevent fraudulent use of login credentials, and protect user data from unauthorised parties. This can also be used for targeting purposes to show relevant and personalised ad content. One year
SIDCC This security cookie protects a user's data from unauthorized access Persistent
__Secure-3PAPISID This is used by for targeting purposes to build a profile of the website visitor's interests in order to show relevant and personalised Google advertising. Two years
SSID This is used to store information about how you use the website and any advertising that you may have seen before visiting this website. It also helps to customise advertising on Google properties by remembering your most recent searches, your previous interactions with an advertiser's ads or search results and your visits to an advertisers website. One year
APISID This is used by for targeting purposes to build a profile of the website visitor's interests in order to show relevant and personalised Google advertising. Two years
SAPISID This is used by for targeting purposes to build a profile of the website visitor's interests in order to show relevant and personalised Google advertising. Two years
HSID This is used for security purposes to store digitally signed and encrypted records of a user's Google account ID and most recent sign-in time which allows Google to authenticate users, prevent fraudulent use of login credentials, and protect user data from unauthorised parties. This can also be used for targeting purposes to show relevant and personalised ad content. One year
1P_JAR This collects website statistics and track conversion rates. 30 days
SEARCH_SAMESITE This allow servers to mitigate the risk of CSRF and information leakage attacks by asserting that a particular cookie should only be sent with requests initiated from the same registrable domain. Five months and two days
CONSENT This cookie is used to track consent to cookie use.
NID This is used to store preferences in a unique Google ID to remember your information. This includes your preferred language (for example, English), how many search results you wish to have shown per page (such as 10 or 20), and whether or not you wish to have Google's SafeSearch filter turned on. These preferences can be used for optimised and/or personalised advertising on Google networks One year

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