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GWI Cookie Policy

What are cookies? 

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit. They are widely used to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide useful information to the owners of the site.  

Websites this cookie policy is applicable to 

Cookies we use 

Strictly Necessary (Essential Cookies)  

These cookies cannot be opted-out of since they are essential for the running of the website.  

Essential cookies are necessary for the website to function properly and to provide the user with the services they have requested. They are used for a variety of purposes, including: authentication, session management, security, the detection and prevention of fraudulent activity, and user preferences (such as their language, location, and font size). 

For paying GWI Executive members (www.globalwaterintel.com), Segment cookies are used to track your site interactions for usage reporting purposes, which includes information such as your email address and organisation name. Lead contacts/Paying Members can opt out of this for their organisation by contacting sales@globalwaterintel.com. If you opt out, we will track interactions anonymously by organisation for internal GWI purposes.

Cookie Name Expires Purpose
LinkedIn / Microsoft MSN Li_gc 6 months Stores cookie consent preferences.
Widget mediator zopim AWSALBCORS 7 days Provides load balancing functionality.
Vimeo __cf_bm 30 minutes Read and filter requests from bots.
Calendly __cf_bm 30 minutes Read and filter requests from bots.
Google _GRECAPTCHA 6 months Provides spam protection.
GWI _WaterData_session Session Allows the app to store the current session.
_desaldata_session Session
_new_ultrapuremicro_session Session
_leading_utilities2_session Session
_global_water_leaders_session Session
_ultrapure_water_rails_session Session
.nr-data.net JSESSIONID Session Used to maintain an anonymous user session by the server.
CommuniGator wow.session 20 minutes IIS session code.
wow.schedule 20 minutes Load balance session queue.
GWI gwi-cookie-consent 150 days Allows the app to store cookie consent information.
gwi-cookie-consent-custom 150 days
GWI / Auth0 auth0.*_ 1 day Used for authentication.
legacy_auth0.* 1 day
GWI / Segment ajs_anonymous_id 1 year Used for anonymous usage reporting.
ajs_user_id 1 year Used for usage reporting per customer, unless your company has opted out of usage reports.
Wix _wixAB3 6 months Used for system monitoring/debugging.
_wixCIDX 3 months
_wixUIDX 4 months
_wix_browser_sess Session
wixClient Session Session cookie required for site functionality.
wixLanguage 12 months This saves user language preferences.
wixSession2 Session Used for system effectiveness measurement.
XSRF-TOKEN Session Cookie for fraud detection of calls.

Performance / Analytical cookies 

Performance cookies are used to understand how users navigate and interact with websites. For example, analytic cookies may collect how many users are on a specific website, how long a user stays, and which pages they visit. The data supports the development of the website to understand what works. These cookies monitor only the performance of the site as the user interacts with it. These cookies don’t collect identifiable information on visitors. All data collected is anonymous and only used to improve the functionality of a website. 

Cookie Name Expires Purpose
Google Analytics _gid 1 day These cookies are used to collect information about how visitors use our websites. We use the information to compile reports and to support website improvements. For example, the number of visitors to the website and pages they have visited.

 

Read Google’s overview of privacy and safeguarding data for more information.
_ga 2 years
_gat 1 minute
_utmv 2 years
_utma 2 years
_utmc Session
_utmz 6 months, 2 days
_utmt 10 minutes
_utmb 30 minutes
LinkedIn / Microsoft MSN AnalyticsSyncHistory 1 month Used to store information about the time a sync took place with the lms_analytics cookie.
lms_analytics 1 month Used to identify LinkedIn Members off LinkedIn for advertising.
lidc 1 day Provide load balancing functionality.
YouTube YSC Session To store and track interactions.
LinkedIn (Oribi) Ln_or 1 day Used to determine if Oribi analytics can be carried out on a specific domain.
CommuniGator wow.anonymousid 1 year, 1 month Anonymous visitor ID.
wow.utmvalues 20 minutes Stores the UTM values for the session.
Hotjar _hjSessionUser_ 1 year Assigns a Hotjar User ID unique to the site and ensures data from subsequent visits to the same site are attributed to the same user ID. Hotjar does not track users across different sites.
_hjUserAttributes 1 minute Stores User Attributes sent through the Hotjar Identify API.
hjViewportId Session Stores user viewport details such as size and dimensions.
hjActiveViewportIds Persistent Stores user active viewports IDs and an expiration timestamp that is used to validate active viewports on script initialisation.
Force24 F24_autoID 6 months if anonymous

10 years if not anonymous

 This is a temporary identifier on a local machine or phone browser that helps us track anonymous information to be later married up with F24_personID. If this is left anonymous it will be deleted after 6 months. Non-essential, first party, 10 years, persistent.
F24_personID 10 years This is an ID generated per individual contact in the Force24 system to be able to track behaviour and form submissions into the Force24 system from outside sources per user. This is used for personalization and ability to segment decisions for further communications. Non-essential, first party, 10 years, persistent.

Targeting / Advertising Cookies 

Targeting cookies are used to track a user’s browsing behaviour and collect data about their online activities. These cookies are used by advertisers and marketers to gather information about a user’s interests and behaviour, which can then be used to display relevant targeted ads or personalised content. 

Tracking cookies work by collecting data about a user’s browsing behaviour, including the websites they visit, the pages they view, and the products or services they search for. This data is then used to create a profile of the user’s interests and preferences, which can be used to display targeted ads or personalised content. 

Cookie Name Expires Purpose
YouTube VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE 6 months Provide bandwidth estimations.
LinkedIn / Microsoft MSN UserMatchHistory 30 days Provide ad delivery or retargeting.
bcookie 1 year Store browser details.
Bscookie 1 year Store logged in users.
ln_or 1 day Used to determine if Oribi analytics can be carried out on a specific domain.
Google DoubleClick IDE 1 year Provide ad delivery or retargeting.
Test_cookie 15 minutes Used by Google DoubleClick to check that cookies can be set.
Google AdSense _gcl_au 3 months Store and track conversions.
Intercom Messenger Intercom-device-id-[app_id] 9 months Unique device identifier. The cookie is used to determine unique devices interacting with the Intercom Messenger to prevent abuse.

Functionality cookies 

Functionality cookies are used to enhance the performance and usability of websites. Functional cookies are necessary for the proper functioning of a website, in this case, they are similar to strictly necessary cookies. They are typically not used for marketing purposes. These cookies store information such as user preferences and settings, as well as login information, which can help a website remember a user’s preferences and make the website more personalised and efficient. 

Some common uses for functional cookies include remembering a user’s language preferences, saving items in a shopping cart, and keeping a user logged in to a website. These cookies can improve the user experience by allowing websites to remember important information and preferences, and they can help websites to load quicker and efficiently. 

Cookie Name Expires Purpose
Vimeo vuid 2 years Store the user’s usage history.
Atlassian Jira Servicedesk Ajs_anonymous_id 1 year Store last visit.
Wufoo.com Ep201 30 mins This cookie is used to embed forms on our website.
Intercom Messenger Intercom-session-[app_id] 1 week Keeping track of sessions. This session cookie is refreshed on each successful logged-in ping, extending it one week from that moment. The user can access their conversations and have data communicated on logged-out pages for 1 week, as long as the session isn’t intentionally terminated with Intercom, which usually happens on logout.
Intercom-id-[app_id] 9 months Unique anonymous identifier.
GWI projectTrackerParams Permanent Local storage setting, recording saved filters on search screens.
Hotjar _hjHasCachedUserAttributes Session To know whether the data set in _hjUserAttributes Local Storage item is up to date or not.
_hjUserAttributesHash 2 minutes, extended every 30 seconds To know when User Attribute has changed and needs to be updated.
_hjSession_ 30 minutes Holds current session data and ensures subsequent requests in the session window are attributed to the same session.
_hjTLDTest Session Enables us to try to determine the most generic cookie path to use, instead of page hostname – this means cookies can be shared across subdomains.
_hjClosedSurveyInvites 1 year Set when a user interacts with a Link Survey invitation modal – this ensures the same invite does not reappear if it has already been shown.
_hjDonePolls 1 year Set when a user completes an on-site Survey – this ensures the same Survey does not reappear if it has already been filled in.
_hjMinimizedPolls 1 year Set when a user minimises an on-site Survey.
_hjShownFeedbackMessage 1 day Set when a user minimises or completes a Feedback widget.

Force24

This is a marketing software we use to send emails to inform you of our offerings which may be of interest to you. Force24 cookies are first party cookies and are enabled at the point of cookie acceptance on our websites. The cookies are listed in the above tables. They allow us to understand our audience engagement thus allowing better optimization of marketing activity. The information stored by Force24 cookies remains anonymous until:

  • Our website is visited via clicking from an email, sent via the Force24 platform and cookies are accepted on the website.
  • A user of the website completes a form created using Force24 software containing email address from either our website or our Force24 landing pages.

The Force24 cookies will remain on a device for 10 years unless they are deleted.

Other tracking

We also use similar technologies including tracking pixels and link tracking to monitor your viewing activities.

Device and browser type and open statistics

All emails have a tracking pixel (a tiny invisible image) with a quary string in the URL. Within the URL we have user details to identify who opened an email for statistical purposes.

Link tracking

All links within emails sent from the Force24 platform contain a unique tracking reference, this reference help us identify who clicked an email for statistical purposes.

For more information, please see Force24’s Cookie Policy: https://force24.co.uk/cookie-policy/ and Privacy Policy: https://force24.co.uk/privacy-policy/.

CommuniGator

While we transition to Force24, we will use cookies through CommuniGator. This is a marketing software used to send emails to inform you of our offerings which may be of interest to you. We will cease use of CommuniGator by the 28th February 2025. CommuniGator uses reverse IP lookup to identify visitors to our websites when you accept cookies. The cookies are listed in the above tables. It includes the use of:

a) GatorLeads Cookies 

GatorLeads is a tool that identifies the organisation that website visitors belong to, based on a reverse IP lookup. GatorLeads also use cookies to process this identification, and personal information about individual users is stored. Cookies used by GatorLeads store information about your current web browsing session (pages viewed, time on site, etc.) and the dates and times of previous visits to our website.  

This information is used by us to profile website visitors in order to better understand the way in which our website content is viewed, and which organisations may be interested in our offerings.  

b) Website cookies and link tracking  

Cookies allow us to provide important site functionality. They also allow us to remember what links and pages have been clicked or viewed during a session. If you have provided us with personal information, for example, completing a contact form, we may associate this personal information with other information. This allows us to identify and record what is most relevant to you.  

c) IP address lookup 

We use third parties to provide information about visitors to our websites. When you visit our website and opt-in to cookies, we will record your IP address. This address will be matched against public and proprietary IP address databases to provide us with information about your visit. This information may identify the organisation which the IP address is registered to, but not individuals. In some circumstances, i.e., single person companies, it may be possible to identify personal information from publicly available ICANN data.  

d) Email marketing post-click tracking cookies 

These cookies are used to report on the pages of our websites that have been viewed by visitors who have followed links from our email marketing campaigns. This analysis helps us to understand additional content that is viewed by the contacts in our database and therefore, allows us to improve and tailor future campaigns to those contacts’ specific areas of interest.  

For more information, please see CommuniGator’s Cookie Policy: https://spotler.co.uk/cookie-policy and Privacy Policy: https://spotler.co.uk/privacy-policy. 

Hotjar

We use Hotjar when you opt-in for cookies on our websites in order to better understand our users’ needs and to optimise your service and experience. The cookies are listed in the above tables.

Hotjar is a technology service that helps us better understand our users’ experience (e.g., to help us improve the user experience on the site, and to identify pain points) and this enables us to build and maintain our service with user feedback. Hotjar uses cookies and other technologies to collect data on our users’ behaviour and their devices. This includes a device’s IP address (processed during your session and store in a de-identified form), device screen size, device type (unique device identifiers), browser information, geographic location (country only), and the preferred language used to display our website. Hotjar stores this information on our behalf in a pseudonymised user profile. Hotjar is contractually forbidden to sell any of the data collected on our behalf.

For further details, please see the ‘about Hotjar’ section on Hotjar’s support site.

Similar Technologies  

Cookies are not the only way some companies are able to gather information about website usage. Other tools that behave like cookies are often referred to as ‘similar technologies’.  

Alongside Google Analytics, we use Google Signals. Google Signals compiles multi-platform data reports on Google users who have enabled personalised advertising in their Google accounts. We use this for its cross-device reporting and remarketing capabilities, thereby improving our effectiveness in advertising through Google Ads. All data is anonymous and we are unable to identify individual Google users.  

You may access and/or delete this data via My Activity within your Google Account. You may also opt out of this entirely by visiting Ad Settings within your Google Account and turning this off.    

Cookies Controlled by Subscriber State 

The cookies listed below are active where you are a member of WaterData or DesalData and your paying member or lead contact has not opted the company out of these cookies.

The cookies are used to provide the paying member or lead contact with an annual usage report to support in decision making and resource allocation.

These cookies cannot be turned off on an individual basis. Please speak to your paying member or lead contact of your membership if you have any questions. The paying member or lead contact can opt-out of these cookies on a company-wide basis.

Cookie Name Expires Purpose
GWI Ahoy_visitor 2 years This is set by GWI for analytics measurement.
Ahoy_visit 4 hours
Ahoy_track 7 days
GWI / Segment ajs_user_id 1 year Used for usage reporting per customer

How do I change my cookie settings? 

When you first visit one of our websites, a pop up will appear to notify you that we use cookies and will allow you to accept all cookies, deny all non-essential cookies, or choose your own cookies settings. 

If you select to choose your own cookies settings, you will be displayed with the different cookie types and you can toggle them on or off depending on your preference. 

If you change your mind about your cookie preference, you can change your preference at any time. Simply go to the cookie policy page (can be found in the footer of the website) and locate the ‘change cookie preferences’ button below the policy.

If you visit several of our websites, you will need to set your cookie preference for each website.  

Alternatively, most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings.  

Find out how to manage cookies on popular browsers: 

To find information relating to other browsers, visit the browser developer’s website.  

To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites, visit http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout