Cookies
Cookies
To ensure that ECHA’s websites function properly, we place small data files called cookies on your device (see below “1. What are cookies?” and “2. How do we use cookies on ECHA’s websites?”).
Every time you visit ECHA’s websites, you will be prompted to accept all cookies or accept only essential cookies (see below “3.1 Consent to collecting your browsing experience” for further details).
1. What are cookies?
A cookie is a small text file that is saved on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. It may, for instance, enable a website to remember your actions and preferences (such as login and language) for a certain period of time, so that you do not have to re-enter such preferences upon returning to the website or while browsing from one page to another. Cookies can also be used to establish anonymised statistics about your browsing experience, with the purpose of improving the service offered.
Different types of cookies exist:
- First-party cookies are cookies set by the website you are visiting. Only that website can read them. A website might use first-party cookies from an external service to analyse how people use the site, such as Europa Analytics (see below ”3 Europa Analytics and its cookies”).
- Third-party cookies are cookies set and stored by a different website in a manner that is outside the control of the site you are visiting.
- Session cookies are cookies temporarily saved in your web browser. They are deleted automatically when you close your browser.
- Persistent cookies are cookies saved on your device and that are not deleted automatically when you close your browser, unlike a session cookie.
2. How do we use cookies on ECHA’s websites?
ECHA’s websites use two types of first-party cookies: necessary cookies and analytics cookies.
2.1. Necessary cookies
We use these cookies to remember e.g.:
- your preferences, such as language;
- whether you have already replied to a pop-up survey;
- whether you have agreed (or not) to ECHA's use of cookies or our Legal Notice) .
Enabling these cookies gives you a better browsing experience. You can choose to delete or block these cookies, but it may prevent some features of ECHA’s websites from working as intended (see below “5: How to control cookies” for further details on how to delete or block cookies)
2.2. Analytics cookies
With your consent, we use first-party cookies to collect information about your browsing experience. This enables us to collect anonymous statistics that help us improve our websites and services. This is done through Europa Analytics. Please note that clicking on only essential cookies in the cookies banner, as featured on the first page you visit of ECHA’s websites, will only disable analytics cookies involving Europa Analytics (see below ”3 Europa Analytics and its cookies”).
Further information regarding all the first-party cookies used by ECHA’s websites and the purpose behind their use is provided below:
| Name | Service | Purpose | Cookie type and duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu_cookie_consent | Cookie consent kit | Stores your cookie preferences (so you won’t be asked again) | First-party session cookie deleted after you quit your browser |
| cck3 | Cookie consent kit | Stores your preferences for 3rd-party cookies (so you won't be asked again) | First-party session cookie deleted after you quit your browser |
| cck1 | Cookie consent kit | Stores your cookie preferences (so you won’t be asked again) | First-party persistent cookie, 6 months |
| pk_id# | Europa Analytics | Recognises website visitors (anonymously - no personal information, directly identifying the user is collected ). | First-party persistent cookie, 13 months |
| _pk_ses# | Europa Analytics | Identifies the pages viewed by the same user during the same visit. (anonymously – no personal information is collected on the user). | First-party persistent cookie, 30 minutes |
| COOKIE_SUPPORT | User preferences | Indicates visitor’s support for cookies | First party persistent cookie, 1 year |
| GUEST_LANGUAGE_ID | User preferences | Indicates visitor’s language preferences | First party persistent cookie, 1 year |
| LFR_SESSION_STATE_10140 | Session ID cookie | Uniquely identify a visitor associated to the session and to receive indications that the visitor actively uses the website. The cookie-related information is not used to identify the visitor personally. | First-party session cookie deleted after you quit your browser |
| JSESSIONID | Session ID cookie | Uniquely identify a visitor associated to the session and to receive indications that the visitor actively uses the website. The cookie-related information is not used to identify the visitor personally. | First-party session cookie deleted after you quit your browser |
The cookie-related information is not used to identify you personally. These cookies are not used for any purpose other than those described.
Europa Analytics and its cookies
Europa Analytics is the service that monitors your browsing experience on ECHA’s websites. We use it to evaluate our websites’ effectiveness and efficiency.
Europa Analytics is configured for use by the websites of European Union institutions. It uses first-party cookies to collect data (see table above for information on concerned cookies).
The European Commission retains full control of the data collected through these first-party cookies, by storing the data on its own servers.
Europa Analytics is based on an open-source analytics platform controlled fully by the European Commission. This platform enables the protection of personal data of users thanks to features such as the de-identification of IP addresses.
3.1. Consent to collecting your browsing experience
Europa Analytics registers your browsing experience using cookies, if they are enabled, when you open a page (see table above for information on concerned cookies).
When you visit ECHA’s websites, a banner appears that gives you the option to accept either all cookies or only essential cookies.
- If you accept only essential cookies, you disable Europa Analytics.
- If you accept all cookies, you enable Europa Analytics.
- If you do not make a selection and continue to browse the website, all cookies are enabled by default.
Choosing to accept only essential cookies does not affect your navigation experience.
You can decide to withdraw or give your consent to enabling all cookies at any time.
To see your current status and manage your consent, you can use the box below. In this box, 'opting in' means accepting all cookies, and 'opting out' means accepting only essential cookies:
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.
3.2. Data protection and Europa Analytics
Europa Analytics uses cookies to track the following information about visitors:
- IP address (de-identified)
- Location (country, region, city, approximate latitude and longitude)
- Date and time of the visit
- Title of the page being viewed
- URL of the page being viewed
- URL of the page that was viewed prior to the current page
- Screen resolution of the user's device
- Time in the visitor's local time zone
- Files clicked and downloaded
- Links to another website that were clicked
- Time for webpages to be generated by the server and then downloaded by the visitor
- Main language of the visitor's web browser being used
- Browser version
- Browser plugins
- Operating system version
- Device identifier
- Language of the visited page
- Campaign information
- Site search information
- Events
We use this information to prepare aggregated, anonymous reports on visitor activity. To improve the accuracy of these reports, a first-party cookie stores the following information from this website, which Europa Analytics collects:
- Random unique visitor ID
- Time of the first visit for the specific visitor
- Time of the previous visit for the specific visitor
- Number of visits for the specific visitor
Europa Analytics generates a random ID persistent cookie that allows it to identify when a user returns to the site. This cookie has an expiration date of 13 months, after which it is automatically removed from the user's device. It also uses some session cookies.
3.3. Restricted access to information
Only authorised European Commission staff dealing with Europa Analytics and ECHA staff and duly authorised external sub-contractors who analyse, develop and maintain ECHA’s websites can access the analytical reports generated by Europa Analytics. They access these reports through the European Commission Authentication System (ECAS).
3.4. Masking of IP addresses
Europa Analytics uses an IP de-identification mechanism to automatically mask a portion of each visitor's IP address. This effectively makes it impossible to identify a particular visitor using the IP address.
For statistical purposes, the city and country of origin are determined from the full IP address, then stored and aggregated before the anonymisation mask is applied.
3.5. Visitor logs
Europa Analytics automatically deletes visitor logs after 13 months. The European Commission stores anonymised and aggregated data for an indefinite period for analysis purposes.
4. Third-party cookies
Some of our pages display content from external providers, e.g., YouTube and Twitter. To view this third-party content, you first have to accept their specific terms and conditions. This includes their cookie policies, which we have no control over.
But if you do not view this content, no third-party cookies are installed on your device.
Third-party providers on ECHA’s websites:
- YouTube
- Google Maps
- Microsoft
- Webex
- Ausha podcasts
- Visme
- ThingLink
These third-party services are outside of the control of ECHA. Providers may, at any time, change their terms of service, purpose and use of cookies.
5. How to control cookies
You can control and/or delete cookies as you wish - for details, see aboutcookies.org. You can delete all cookies that are already on your device and most browsers can be set to prevent them from being placed. If you do this, however, you may have to manually adjust some preferences every time you visit a site and some services and functionalities may not work.
6. ‘Do not track’ option
'Do not track' is a browser function that prevents websites from tracking visitors. If you have enabled the 'do not track' option in your browser, Europa Analytics will not process your browsing experience on this website.
A number of browsers have the 'do not track' option: