Which cookies could be set?
Google’s analytics tag sets two cookies in your browser. _ga lets us count you once rather than on every page you open. The other, named _ga_ plus our measurement ID, holds the current visit together. Both expire after 6 months.
When are they set?
- In the EU, the EEA, the UK and California: only after you choose Accept. Until then, our pages don’t contact Google at all. The same applies in the US when we can’t tell your state.
- Everywhere else: when the page loads, unless you have chosen Reject. A notice tells you, with a Reject button.
- If your browser sends Global Privacy Control, we ask first, wherever you are.
We use the country your connection comes from, and in the US the state, as Cloudflare reports them. That decides which rule applies. We don’t store either.
And when I click Reject?
Nothing is set and nothing loads from Google. The site works the same either way. If cookies were set before, rejecting deletes the two _ga cookies.
What do you do with the numbers?
We look at how people use the site: pages viewed, searches and filters used, and links clicked, including links to issuers. That shows which pages help people check a certification and which ones lose them, so we can fix the weak ones. Reports show totals, not people. What you type in our search box reaches Google only after you choose Accept, wherever you are. Google signals and ad personalization are off, and anything after a “?” in a page address (filters live there) is removed before it reaches Google.
Where is my answer kept, and for how long?
In your browser’s local storage, as “granted” or “denied” plus the date. That is not a cookie, and we never receive it. After 6 months we ask again.
Do you count anything without asking?
On pages in the UK section, and on course pages when you visit from the UK: anonymous usage counts. UK law (regulation 6 of PECR, as changed by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025) lets a site count how it is used without consent, if the visitor is told and can object for free. When you click a link to a course provider, we add one to a daily total for that course. No cookie is set, no ID is used, and nothing is kept per visitor. It is on unless you turn it off: untick "Anonymous usage counts" in "Cookie settings". Your choice is kept in your browser's local storage. Visitors from the EU and the EEA are not counted.
Do issuers set cookies?
Not on our pages. Once you follow a link to an issuer or course provider, you are on their site, under their cookie policy.