What are cookies?
A cookie is a simple text file which stores small pieces of information. When you visit one of our websites its server saves the cookie onto your computer or other device. Only that platform’s server will be able to read or retrieve the contents of that cookie.
Cookies do many different jobs like storing your preferences, helping you navigate effectively, and improving your overall experience of a website. Cookies make the interaction between you and our platforms quicker and easier. For example, a cookie might store information so you don’t have to keep entering it.
How does Phoenix Group use cookies?
Some cookies are needed to make our websites work and can’t be turned off. Others are optional and you can change your preferences at any time in ‘Cookie settings’.
| Cookie name | Description | Category | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWSALBCORS | This cookie is managed by AWS and is used for load balancing. | Strictly Necessary | 7 Days |
| ASP.NET_SessionId | General purpose platform session cookie, used by sites written with Microsoft .NET based technologies. Usually used to maintain an anonymised user session by the server. | Strictly Necessary | End of browser session |
| AWSALB | Registers which server-cluster is serving the visitor. This is used in context with load balancing, in order to optimize user experience. | Strictly Necessary | 6 Days |
| AWSALBTGCORS | Registers which server-cluster is serving the visitor. This is used in context with load balancing, in order to optimize user experience. | Strictly Necessary | 7 Days |
| AWSELB | Used to distribute traffic to the website on several servers in order to optimise response times. | Strictly Necessary | End of browser session |
| AWSALBTG | Registers which server-cluster is serving the visitor. This is used in context with load balancing, in order to optimize user experience. | Strictly Necessary | 6 Days |
| __CookieConsentV200 | A JavaScript plugin that alerts users of the use of cookies on this website. | Strictly necessary | End of browser session |
| _gat | This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics, according to documentation it is used to throttle the request rate - limiting the collection of data on high traffic sites. It expires after 10 minutes. | Experience and insight | |
| _ga | This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics - which is a significant update to Google's more commonly used analytics service. This cookie is used to distinguish unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. It is included in each page request in a site and used to calculate visitor, session and campaign data for the sites analytics reports. By default it is set to expire after 2 years, although this is customisable by website owners. | Experience and insight | |
| _gid | This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics. This appears to be a new cookie and as of Spring 2017 no information is available from Google. It appears to store and update a unique value for each page visited. | Experience and insight | |
| _gat_INVDSitecore | This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics, according to documentation it is used to throttle the request rate - limiting the collection of data on high traffic sites. It expires after 10 minutes. | Experience and insight | |
| _surveyCookieTimer | Cookie set for website survey popup functionality. | Experience and insight | |
| _surveyCookieFirstTime | Cookie set for website survey popup functionality. | Experience and insight | |
| __cf_bm | To read and filter requests from bots. | Strictly Necessary | A few seconds |
| _cfuvid | The _cfuvid cookie is set on a user’s browser to assign them a unique ID in addition to identifying them through their IP address. Without this cookie, visitors to a site will be recognized as the same user if they share the same IP, and any data collected will be shared for all users with that IP. | Strictly Necessary | End of session |
| cf_clearance | The Clearance Cookie stores proof that a challenge was passed. If present, it prevents issuing the challenge again and is needed to access the origin server. | Strictly Necessary | 1 Year |
How long are cookies saved for?
This depends on whether they are session cookies or persistent cookies.
Session cookies delete themselves once you close your browser. Session cookies can help with security, and also remember what you’ve done on previous web pages so you don’t have to re-enter information.
Persistent cookies stay on your device after you close your browser. They’re used for lots of different things – one example is remembering your cookie preferences between visits, so you don’t need to keep telling us which cookies to use. In case you’ve forgotten about them, or changed your mind, we’ll ask you to confirm your cookie preferences every 180 days (six months). You can update your choice at any time in ‘Cookie settings’.
What type of cookies does Phoenix Group use?
We use both first and third party cookies on this site.
First party cookies are set by the digital platform you’re using and aren’t shared elsewhere. Often these cookies are used to remember information about how you used a platform.
Third party cookies are placed on your device by a website outside the one you’re on. For example, if you use a social media ’share’ button on a website, the social network (like Facebook) will put a cookie on your device so they know what you’ve liked. If you want to control how third parties can use your data then you need to set your privacy choices on their site. Here’s a list of third parties we work with in relation to cookies:
Cookies and your browser settings
You can use your browser settings to delete Cookies that have already been set at any time. You can also use your browser settings to manage Cookies to switch off a Cookie altogether. If you do this, it could mean that we can't use strictly necessary Cookies properly and so parts of our website may not work correctly.
For more information about how to use your browser settings to clear your browser data or to manage Cookies, check your browser ‘Help’ function.
Blocking or restricting cookies
You can stop cookies being used on your device by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to block the deployment of all or some Cookies. To find out how, visit all about cookies.
Please note, if you use your browser settings to block cookies you may not be able to access all or parts of our website.
It is also important to know that rejecting Cookies will not delete any Cookies that have been saved to your device in the past. You can delete previously saved Cookies via your browser settings.
More information
Changes to this policy
We occasionally update our cookie policy. You should visit this page periodically if you want to keep yourself informed. Last updated on 27th May 2021.
Contact information
We welcome your comments about this policy. Email us at [email protected].