Cookies are small files which get saved onto your computer or other device and store pieces of information about your use of online services. They are used for lots of different things, such as tracking how individuals use our websites, helping us to understand user behaviours, identify improvements and target our marketing activities to be of more relevance to you. They can be used to help store information so you don’t have to keep entering it in, for example when you complete an application form or log in to your account.
The information collected by cookies will not personally identify you as they do not store information such as you name, address, phone number or email in a format that can be read. We cannot search your computer or other devices to obtain information about you or your family; nor can we obtain any information which you keep on your hard drive.
Our cookies will collect information about your computer setting, IP address, connection to the internet and the interactions you have with our website, depending on the category of the cookie and the preferences you set.
We use a range of cookies for different reasons. Some of these are classed as ‘strictly necessary’ which means we have to use them to ensure our website remains operational and secure. You cannot turn off these cookies.
However, other cookies are optional and you can decide whether you want to turn some or all of them off. The table in appendix 1 provides details of the cookies we use, why we use them, how long they stay on your device for and what choices you have over their use.
A first party cookie is one which a website owner adds to its own website. So any cookies which RICS adds to the RICS websites are classed as first party cookies.
However, the RICS websites also have third party cookies operating. Third-party cookies are cookies which are placed on the RICS website by someone other than RICS. These cookies are placed by third parties to remember something about you when you use the RICS websites. Third parties generally use this information for advertisement purposes, for example, to place adverts on other websites you visit, which they think you will be interested in because of what you looked at or did on the RICS website.
As explained previously, if you are using our website, you are unable to turn off any strictly necessary cookies, but you can choose your preferences for all of the others.
When you first use our website, we will present you with a cookie banner which allows you to select your preferences. Once selected, they will last for 12 months, at which point we will show you the banner again to re-select your preferences. However, if you want to change your preferences on our website at any other time, you can access the cookie preference centre using the “Cookie Settings” link in the RICS website footer.
You may also be able to update your browser (e.g. Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer) settings to delete, block and restrict the use of cookies. For more information, check your browser’s ‘Help’ function.
One of the main third-party cookies used is Google Analytics. You can opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites by visiting: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
The use of cookies can change from time to time, but we regularly review and update this policy to help keep you informed on what and why we use, and your choices. This Policy was last updated March 2022.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These are cookies which are required to ensure our website operates effectively and securely. You cannot turn these cookies off.
Cookie Name |
Duration |
Third party cookie |
Third party Host |
Use |
AWSALB |
6 days |
No |
N/A |
These Cookies are managed by the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform and are used for load balancing, which distributes incoming network traffic across a group of backend servers to ensure all users of our website can access what they need, when they need it. |
AWSALBCORS |
6 days |
No |
N/A |
|
incap_ses_xxx_xxxxxxxx |
Session |
No |
N/A |
These are Incapsula DDoS Protectiona and Web Application Firewall cookies and are used to recognise you when you use our website and ensure that appropriate security is maintained during your use of the website |
visid_incap_xxxxxx |
365 days |
No |
N/A |
|
__RequestVerificationToken |
Session |
No |
N/A |
This is an anti-forgery cookie set by web applications built using ASP.NET MVC technologies. It is designed to stop unauthorised posting of content to a website, known as Cross-Site Request Forgery. It holds no information about the user and is destroyed on closing the browser. |
ARRAffinity |
Session |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is set by websites run on the Windows Azure cloud platform. It is used for load balancing to make sure the visitor page requests are routed to the same server in any browsing session. |
ARRAffinitySameSite |
Session |
No |
N/A |
|
ASP.NET_SessionId |
Session |
No |
N/A |
General purpose platform session cookie, used by sites written with Miscrosoft .NET based technologies. Usually used to maintain an anonymised user session by the server. |
Drupal.visitor.commerce_currency |
364 days |
No |
N/A |
This cookie lets the user to save a currency for use in the eCommerce store. |
FedAuth |
Session |
No |
N/A |
These cookies are related the single sign on process. |
FedAuth1 |
Session |
No |
N/A |
|
MSISAuth |
Session |
No |
N/A |
These cookies are related to single sign on and to control the security context. The cookie is used for subsequent authentications against a service provided by Microsoft called Active Directory Federation Services. |
MSISAuth1 |
Session |
No |
N/A |
|
MSISAuthenticated |
Session |
No |
N/A |
|
MSISContext |
Session |
No |
N/A |
|
MSISIPSelectionPersistent |
Session |
No |
N/A |
|
MSISIPSelectionSession |
Session |
No |
N/A |
|
MSISLoopDetectionCookie |
Session |
No |
N/A |
|
MSISSignOut |
Session |
No |
N/A |
|
MSISTtpDataReceivedCookie |
Session |
No |
N/A |
|
nlbi_####### |
Session |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is used to provide load balancing functionality |
OptanonAlertBoxClosed |
365 days |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is used for cookie compliance and is set after visitors have seen a cookie information notice and in some cases only when they actively close the notice down. It enables the website not to show the message more than once to a user. |
OptanonConsent |
365 days |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is used for cookie compliance. It stores information about the categories of cookies the site uses and whether visitors have given or withdrawn consent for the use of each category. |
refer |
Session |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is used as part of the sign-in process. |
SimpleSAMLSessionID |
Session |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is used to store a session identifier, so that Drupal (a content management system we use on academy.rics.org) can monitor session counts. |
SSESS########### |
Session |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is used to manage your login session. |
__cf_bm |
Session |
Yes |
myfonts.net |
This cookie is necessary to support Cloudflare Bot Management. The cookie helps manage incoming traffic that matches criteria associated with bots. |
AWSALBTG |
3 days |
Yes |
app.glueup.com |
These Cookies are managed by the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform and are used for load balancing, which distributes incoming network traffic across a group of backend servers to ensure all users of our website can access what they need, when they need it. |
AWSALBTGCORS |
3 days |
Yes |
app.glueup.com |
Performance Cookies
We set performance cookies to help us understand our website users’ needs and to enhance and improve your website experiences. Performance cookies are also used for measuring the performance and usage of the website as well as enabling the website to provide personalisation.
To help us do this, we use a company called Hotjar which is a technology service that uses cookies and other technologies to collect data on our website users’ behaviour and their devices. This includes your device's IP address (processed during your session and stored 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 pseudonymized 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 of Hotjar’s support site. Many of the cookies listed below will be Hotjar cookies, or cookies which work with the Hotjar cookies. If you do not allow performance cookies, we will not know when you have visited our websites and will not be able to monitor the websites’ performance.
You can turn these cookies off you by accessing the cookie preference centre using the “Cookie Settings” link in the RICS website footer.
Cookie Name |
Duration |
Third party cookie |
Third party Host |
Use |
_hjClosedSurveyInvites |
365 days |
No |
N/A |
A hotjar cookie used by RICS to ensure that the same invite does not reappear if it has already been shown. |
_hjDonePolls |
365 days |
No |
N/A |
A hotjar cookie used by RICS to ensure that the same survey does not reappear if it has already been filled in. |
_hjMinimizedPolls |
365 days |
No |
N/A |
A hotjar cookie used by RICS to keep on-site widget minimised (if you minimise them) as you navigate the site. |
_hjShownFeedbackMessage |
365 days |
No |
N/A |
A hotjar cookie used by RICS to keep incoming feedback widget minimised (if you minimise it) as you navigate the site. |
_hjSessionTooLarge |
Session |
No |
N/A |
A hotjar cookie used by RICS used to prevent another cookie collecting data if your session on the site becomes too large. |
_hjSessionRejected |
Session |
No |
N/A |
A hotjar cookie used by RICS in extremely rare situations to prevent severe performance issues. |
_hjSessionResumed |
Session |
No |
N/A |
A hotjar cookie used by RICS to reconnect session/recording after a break in connection. |
_hjid |
365 days |
No |
N/A |
A hotjar cookie used by RICS to identify the Hotjar user ID and ensure behaviours in subsequent visits to the same site are attributed to the same user ID. |
_hjRecordingLastActivity |
Session |
No |
N/A |
This should be found in Session storage (as opposed to cookies). This gets updated when a user recording starts and when data is sent through the WebSocket (the user performs an action that Hotjar records). |
_hjTLDTest |
Session |
No |
N/A |
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 |
_hjUserAttributesHash |
Session |
No |
N/A |
A hotjar cookie used by RICS to keep track and update your attributes |
_hjCachedUserAttributes |
Session |
No |
N/A |
This cookie stores User Attributes which are sent through the Hotjar Identify API, whenever the user is not in the sample. Collected attributes will only be saved to Hotjar servers if the user interacts with a Hotjar Feedback tool, but the cookie will be used regardless of whether a Feedback tool is present |
_hjLocalStorageTest |
Under 100ms |
No |
N/A |
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 |
_hjIncludedInPageviewSample |
30 minutes |
No |
N/A |
We sometimes review users on a sample basis, rather than each user. This cookie is set to let Hotjar know whether that user is included in the data sampling defined by your site's pageview limit. |
_hjIncludedInSessionSample |
30 minutes |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is set to let Hotjar know whether that user is included in the data sampling defined by your site's daily session limit. |
_hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress |
30 Minutes |
No |
N/A |
These are hotjar cookies used by RICS to detect new users of the site and the first pageview of a user. |
_hjFirstSeen |
Session |
No |
N/A |
|
_hjViewportId |
Session |
No |
N/A |
A hotjar cookie used by RICS to store information about the user’s visible area of a web page, such as size and dimensions. |
_hjRecordingEnabled |
Session |
No |
N/A |
Sometimes we may record a user’s session on our website. This cookie is added when a Recording starts and is read when the recording module is initialized to see if the user is already in a recording in a particular session. |
s_pltp |
Session |
No |
N/A |
We give every web page a page name when using Adobe Analytics and this cookie stores the previous page name so we can capture data on the following page |
s_plt |
Session |
No |
N/A |
Stores the time, in seconds, that the previous page took to load. |
s_cc |
Session |
No |
N/A |
This Adobe Site Catalyst cookie determines whether cookies are enabled in your browser |
s_gpv |
Session |
No |
N/A |
This stores any value we capture in Adobe Analytics, such as page name (see ‘s_pltp’) to maintain this value for the duration of the browser session. |
s_ips |
Session |
No |
N/A |
These cookies store the percentage of the web page you viewed, for example if you scroll down to the bottom of a web page, it will be 100 |
s_tp |
Session |
No |
N/A |
|
s_ppv |
Session |
No |
N/A |
Stores values about the scroll depth on the previous page. |
s_sq |
Session |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is set and read by the JavaScript code when the SelectMap functionality or the Activity Map functionality are enabled; it contains information about the previous link that was selected on by the user so that we can build a map of what links are clicked on each web page |
s_fid |
730 days |
No |
N/A |
This cookie identifies unique visitors to the site and is only used where a third-party cookie is also in use and prevents our first party cookie (s_vi) from identifying the visitor. |
s_*** i.e. s_82 |
Session |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is set to determine the time between two specific events such as starting to complete a form and finishing completion of a form |
AMCV_###@AdobeOrg |
730 days |
No |
N/A |
Identifies the same visitor across different Marketing Cloud Solutions we use |
AMCVS_###@AdobeOrg |
Session |
No |
N/A |
The AMCVS cookie serves as a flag indicating that the session you are on has started |
demdex |
180 days |
Yes |
demdex.net |
This cookie helps Adobe Audience Manger perform basic functions such as visitor identification, ID synchronization, segmentation, modelling, reporting, etc. |
mbox |
732 days |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is used by Adobe Target. It keeps a number of values, such as your PC ID, Session ID, to manage how visitors experience Target campaigns |
at_check |
Session |
No |
N/A |
Used by Adobe Target to check if cookies are enabled/supported on the browser |
_ga |
730 days |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is used as part of Google Analytics tracking. Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic |
_gat_UA-xxxxxxx |
1 mintute |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is used as part of Google Analytics tracking |
_gclxxxx |
90 days |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is used as part of Google conversion tracking cookie. It's part of Google Analytics and tracks usage (conversion) of website features. |
_gid |
1 day |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is used as part of Google Analytics tracking |
utm_campaign |
Session |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is used as part of Google Analytics tracking |
utm_medium |
Session |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is used as part of Google Analytics tracking |
utm_source |
Session |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is used as part of Google Analytics tracking |
___utmvxxxxxxx |
730 days |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is used as part of Google Analytics tracking |
ai_session |
Session |
No |
N/A |
This cookie name is associated with the Microsoft Application Insights software, which collects statistical usage and telemetry information for apps built on the Azure cloud platform. This is a unique anonymous session identifier cookie. |
ai_user |
365 days |
No |
N/A |
This cookie name is associated with the Microsoft Application Insights software, which collects statistical usage and telemetry information for apps built on the Azure cloud platform. This is a unique user identifier cookie enabling counting of the number of users accessing the application over time.user |
test |
Session |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is associated with Adobe Analytics tracking. Adobe Analytics is a web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic. |
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality which may include remembering where you got to last time you watched a video on our website. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
You can turn these cookies off you by accessing the cookie preference centre using the “Cookie Settings” link in the RICS website footer.
Cookie Name |
Duration |
Third party cookie |
Third party Host |
Use |
connect.sid |
29 days |
Yes |
vectary.com |
This cookie identifies Vectary's user session |
vuid |
730 days |
Yes |
vimeo.com |
These cookies track the videos on our website |
player |
364 days |
Yes |
vimeo.com |
|
.EPiForm_BID |
90 days |
No |
|
This cookie is for distinguishing one browser from other browsers that a visitor is using while surfing the internet. |
.EPiForm_VisitorIdentifier |
90 days |
No |
|
This cookie is used to identify who is interacting with the application |
__atuvc |
395 days |
Yes |
s7.addthis.com |
This cookie is associated with the AddThis social sharing widget to enable visitors to share content with a range of networking and sharing platforms. It stores an updated page share count. |
__atuvs |
730 days |
Yes |
s7.addthis.com |
Ensures the updated counter is displayed to the user if a page is shared. |
has_js |
Session |
No |
|
Drupal uses this cookie to indicate whether or not the visitors’ browser has JavaScript enabled. |
preferredLanguage |
Session |
No |
|
This cookie captures the user preferred language |
iutk |
179 days |
Yes |
issuu.com |
This cookie recognises the user's device and what Issuu documents have been read. Issuu is a digital publishing and content platform. |
Targeting Cookies
These cookies are designed to help our advertising partners gather information about your device and browser, which they then use to display advertisements to you based on relevant topics that your website usage suggests might be of interest to you. It also helps us to build profiles of those who use our website and gather statistics on the performance of advertisements. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
You can turn these cookies off you by accessing the cookie preference centre using the “Cookie Settings” link in the RICS website footer.
Cookie Name |
Duration |
Third party cookie |
Third party Host |
Use |
__sharethis_cookie_test__ |
Session |
No |
N/A |
Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website |
GoogleAdServingTest |
Session |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is used to determine what ads have been shown to the website visitor. |
_fbp |
90 days |
No |
N/A |
Used by Facebook to deliver a series of advertisement products such as real time bidding from third party advertisers |
__gads |
390 days |
No |
N/A |
This cookie is associated with the DoubleClick for Publishers service from Google. Its purpose is to do with the showing of adverts on the site, for which the owner may earn some revenue. |
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE |
180 days |
Yes |
youtube.com |
This cookie is used as a unique identifier to track viewing of YouTube videos |
YSC |
Session |
Yes |
youtube.com |
This cookie is set by the YouTube video service on pages with embedded YouTube video to keep statistics of the YouTube videos you have seen |
CONSENT |
5966 days |
Yes |
youtube.com |
This cookie collects information about how the end user uses the website and any advertising that the end user may have seen before visiting the said website |
test_cookie |
Session |
Yes |
doubleclick.net |
Used to check if the user's browser supports cookies. |
IDE |
390 days |
Yes |
doubleclick.net |
This cookie is used by Google DoubleClick to register and report your actions after viewing or clicking one of the advertiser's ads with the purpose of measuring the efficacy of an ad and to present targeted ads to you in the future. |
UserMatchHistory |
30 days |
Yes |
linkedin.com |
This cookie is used by LinkedIn for advertisement purposes |
bcookie |
731 days |
Yes |
linkedin.com |
This is a browser Identifier cookie and identifies devices accessing LinkedIn to detect abuse on the platform |
li_gc |
725 days |
Yes |
linkedin.com |
Used to store consent of guests on LinkedIn regarding the use of cookies |
AnalyticsSyncHistory |
30 days |
Yes |
linkedin.com |
Used to store information about the time a sync took place with the lms_analytics cookie if that cookie is used |
lang |
Session |
Yes |
linkedin.com |
Used to remember a user's language setting to ensure LinkedIn.com displays in the language selected by the user in their settings. |
lidc |
1 day |
Yes |
linkedin.com |
To facilitate data centre selection |
bscookie |
731 days |
Yes |
www.linkedin.com |
Used for remembering that a logged in user is verified by two factor authentication. |
lang |
Session |
Yes |
ads.linkedin.com |
Used to remember a user's language setting to ensure LinkedIn.com displays in the language selected by the user in their settings. |
dpm |
180 days |
Yes |
dpm.demdex.net |
Sends events to Adobe Audience Manager |
n/a |
Session |
Yes |
www.facebook.com |
Facebook cookie: it mostly collects data on the interests of users via widgets such as the 'Like' button found on many websites. This is used to serve targeted advertising to its users when logged into its services. In 2014 it also started serving up behaviourally targeted advertising on other websites, similar to most dedicated online marketing companies. |
everest_session_v2 |
Session |
Yes |
everesttech.net |
Part of Adobe Advertising Cloud Cookies. A third-party browser session cookie; one cookie is used for all accounts |
everest_g_v2 |
730 days |
Yes |
everesttech.net |
Created after a user initially clicks a client's ad, and used to map the current and subsequent clicks with other events on the client's website |
__atrfs |
Session |
Yes |
s7.addthis.com |
Collects non-personal information about the visitor’s behaviour and non-personal visitor statistics. |
dmSessionID |
Session |
No |
|
This cookie is associated with DotMailer and enables the owners to track when email campaign recipients land on the target website. |
recordID |
365 days |
No |
|
This cookie is associated with DotMailer. Their software placed on a website enables the owners to track when email campaign recipients land on the target website, which enables monitoring of the effectiveness of a campaign. This cookie is a unique user identifier, enabling persistent linking of behaviour on the site to a particular user and email campaign response. |
personalization_id |
730 days |
Yes |
twitter.com |
This cookie is set by Twitter to measure performance of ad campaigns through Twitter. |
uvc |
395 days |
Yes |
addthis.com |
This cookie tracks how often a user interacts with AddThis |
xtc |
395 days |
Yes |
addthis.com |
This cookie registers the users sharing of content via social media |
dm_i |
Session |
No |
|
This cookie is associated with DotMailer and tracks and identifies a visitor whilst they browse a site’s pages |
mc |
395 days |
Yes |
quantserve.com |
This cookie is provided by Quantserve to track anonymous information about how website visitors use the site. |
muc_ads |
729 days |
Yes |
t.co |
This cookie is set by Twitter |
sp_landing |
1 day |
Yes |
spotify.com |
These cookies are set by Spotify and are used to implement audio content from spotify on our website. It also helps in collecting information on user interaction with this audio content. |
sp_t |
364 days |
Yes |
spotify.com |