HSDS Cookie policy

This Cookie Policy was last updated on 2/12/2025.

As is common practice with almost all professional websites the HSDS uses cookies, which are tiny files that are downloaded to your computer, to improve the efficiency of the HSDS website. By using our website and services, you are consenting to the use of cookies.

This Cookie Policy covers the HSDS website and the Services that we provide and describes what information our cookies gather, how we use that information and why we sometimes need to store these cookies. We will also share how you can prevent these cookies from being stored, however, this may downgrade or ‘break’ certain elements of the site’s functionality.

What are Cookies?

A cookie is a small text file which helps your web browser navigate through our website. The cookie can then be read back later by the web browser as required. The use of cookies is a convenient way of allowing your computer to remember information relating to a website which has been visited. A cookie may be either “persistent”, meaning it is stored by your web browser until an expiry date is passed or until deletion by you, or they can be “session” cookies, meaning they expire when the web browser is closed.

For further information about cookies including a detailed definition, please consult All About Cookies.

How the HSDS uses Cookies

The HSDS uses cookies to enable or enhance the functionality of our website and Services and to track visitor behaviour, such as popular archives and search terms. Each cookie in the list will be labelled as one of the following:

  • Necessary cookies help make a website usable by enabling basic functions like page navigation and access to secure areas of the website. The website cannot function properly without these cookies.
  • Functionality cookies enable a website to remember information that changes the way the website behaves or looks, like your preferred language or the region that you are in.
  • Statistic cookies help website owners to understand how visitors interact with websites by collecting and reporting information anonymously.

The Cookies we set

Necessary Cookies

The following cookies enable our websites and services to function properly.

Cookie Name: HSDS_SERVICES_SESSION

This is a strictly necessary cookie essential for the website’s security and functionality. Its sole purpose is to manage your session by keeping you logged in to the HSDS Service Catalogue after you have entered your credentials. It allows our server to recognise you as an authenticated user as you navigate the site. This is a session cookie, meaning it is automatically deleted when you close your web browser.

Cloudflare Cookies

We use Cloudflare to increase the performance and security of our website. A full list of Cloudflare Cookies and their purposes are available on the Cloudflare website.

Functionality Cookies

These cookies enable a website to remember information that changes the way the website behaves or looks.

Cookie Names: _cfid, _cftoken

These cookies are Coldfusion session cookies used to enhance the functionality of our website within our Archives. These session cookies allow us to remember your search terms and choices when using any of our bespoke search tools within our Archives. These cookies are automatically deleted when you close your web browser. See the ColdFusion documentation for more details

Cookie Name: cookieconsent_status

This cookie records that you have clicked to accept our Cookie Policy so that you don’t repeatedly get challenged by our cookie banner. These cookies expire 1 year from acceptance unless cleared from your browser cache. 

Analytics Cookies

These cookies help us to understand how visitors interact with our Services by collecting and reporting information.

Cookie Name: _pk_ID, 

Cookie Name: _pk_ses

The HSDS uses these Matomo Web Analytics cookies for the purpose of collecting statistics about how visitors use our website. Matomo uses cookies to collect non-personally-identifying information, such as the browser type, language preference, referring site, and the date and time of each visitor request. This information is only processed in a way which does not identify individuals. We do not make, and do not allow Motomo to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting our website. You can read Matomo’s Privacy Policy on their website.

You may choose not to have a unique web analytics cookie identification number assigned to your computer to avoid the aggregation and analysis of data collected on this website.

To make that choice, please click below to receive an opt-out cookie. Please note: if you clear your cookies, delete the opt-out cookie, or if you change computers or Web browsers, you will need to perform the opt-out procedure again.

Third Party Cookies

Social Media Cookies

We may from time-to-time use social media features like the Instagram “Follow” button, the LinkedIn “Share” button, and the Bluesky “Follow” button. When you use these buttons, these social media platforms may set their own cookies. These cookies are governed by the respective platforms’ privacy and cookie policies, which you can review on their websites. We have no control over the content of these cookies.

We may also  embed videos from YouTube on some pages. In most cases these videos are embedded using privacy-enhanced mode and do not set any cookies, but some will use a standard YouTube embed. We have no control over the content of these cookies.

Disabling Cookies

If you wish to restrict or block the cookies which are set by the HSDS, or indeed any other website, you can do this through your browser settings. The Help function within your browser will tell you how. Unfortunately restricting cookies may impact on the functionality of the HSDS website. It is recommended that you leave on all cookies if you are not sure whether you need them or not in case they are used to provide a service that you use.

How We Use ‘LocalStorage’

Local storage is a technology that allows a website to store data in your browser without a cookie. This data can persist even after you close the browser and reopen it. The data stored in your local storage is only accessible by our Services and is not shared with third parties. You can clear this data at any time by clearing your browser’s cache and data for this site.

We use local storage for the following purposes:

  • Saving your preferences: i.e. storting collection lists in INGEST.
  • Remembering your progress: i.e. storing the ‘currently viewed’ organisation in the HSDS Service Catalogue Admin Panel.
  • Improving performance: i.e. we may store certain data, like frequently accessed information, to reduce loading times and improve the overall performance of the site.

We may also  embed videos from YouTube on some pages. In most cases these videos are embedded using privacy-enhanced mode and do not set any cookies, but some will use a standard YouTube embed. We have no control over the content of these cookies.