Analytics Data Collection for Research, Impact Reporting and Fixing Errors
We use Google Analytics to collect data that helps us to understand how our website and interactive film is being used. This data allows us to learn things like how many people have visited this site, where in the world they are from, how many times the interactive film was viewed and which sections have been watched. It also lets us know about errors in our code, so that we can fix them.
We collect, store and process this data from Google Analytics at the University of York for three specific purposes:
- Research: We are conducting a research project that aims to improve this interactive film and other films like it developed in the future. Your analytics data is useful for this research. You can find out more about this research and how your data is used within it by reading this information sheet.
- Impact Reporting: Your analytics data is also valuable for helping us to show that our research is having a positive impact on people's lives, as part of something called the Research Excellence Framework. You can find out more about this and how your data could be used for this purpose in the University of York's Privacy Notice for Research Impact Evidence Collection for REF 2029
- Fixing Technical Errors: When there is a technical error with our film (i.e. it crashes) we use Google Analytics to store some anonymous information about what happened. We collect and process this data on the basis of our legitimate interest in maintaining a functional, secure, and high-quality service for our users. This data is collected, stored and processed in accordance with the terms of the University of York Data Protection Policy.
You can choose whether we collect this data or not. When you visit our website for the first time you will see a popup that asks you to accept or reject our collection of analytics data. If you choose to reject our collection of analytics data, no data will be collected about you. The website and film will still work in full. If you change your mind about whether you consent to our use of analytics cookies, you can .
If you give us consent to collect analytics data, then this will mean that we are collecting some personal data about you that falls within the scope of UK GDPR legislation. If you would like us to delete this personal data, please contact us using the email at the bottom of this page and quote the following reference: . Please be aware that this reference is stored using a cookie. Therefore, if you delete cookies in your browser this reference will be lost and we will have no way to identify your records to delete them. This reference only relates to data collected on this device. If you have used this site on other devices, giving consent for us to collect data with Google Analytics, you will have to provide us with the references listed on them too for all of your data to be deleted.
Cookies
A cookie is a small text file stored on your device (computer, smartphone, or tablet) by your web browser when you visit a website. Cookies allow websites to recognize your device and remember your actions and preferences over a period of time. We use some cookies on this website. This is done in accordance with the principles described in the University of York's policy on cookies. We provide further information about how cookies are specifically used on this website below.
How are cookies used on this website?
This website uses two types of cookies. When describing cookies used on this site, we state the name of the cookie and which of the two categories it falls into. We also provide an expiry period, which details of how long these cookies will remain on your device before they are automatically deleted. If you would like to delete any of the cookies set by this website, you can follow the instructions found at www.aboutcookies.org.
- Strictly Necessary cookies: These are essential for the website to function properly and securely. For this reason, we do not ask for your consent for cookies in the strictly necessary category.
- Analytics cookies: These allow us to understand how visitors interact with websites by collecting and reporting information pseudonymously. We only use these cookies if you have given us your explicit consent.
Google Analytics
In order to collect accurate and useful analytics data, we ask for your permission to set two Google Analytics cookies: and (expiry: 2 years). These analytics cookies allow us to link multiple website visits together on a per-user basis. This helps us to analyze trends, such as whether visitors are new or returning, and how they navigate different sections of the film across multiple visits. You can choose whether to accept or decline this use of cookies using the popup described in the analytics data collection section of this page. If you do not give your consent to set these cookies, the website will work exactly the same and all features will be fully enabled.
Bunny Shield
We use Bunny Shield security services to protect our website from automated "bot" attacks and malicious activity. This service uses strictly necessary cookies, such as and , to verify that your request is legitimate and to perform non-invasive browser fingerprinting. These cookies do not collect personally identifiable information, are used solely for security and performance, and do not track your behavior across other websites. These cookies are short-lived and expire automatically when you close your browser session. More details can be found in the bunny.net documentation.
Our Use of Cookies
We use a strictly necessary cookie (expiry: 1 year) to store a reference that you can use to help us identify any data we have stored about you in case you would like it to be delated later. We store your analytics data consent decision using the strictly necessary cookie so that we don't keep asking you again (expiry: 1 year). We also securely store a record of your consent preferences, including your choices around the use of local storage described in the next section, for up to one year on our server as part of our legal duties, after which this record is automatically deleted. If you would like us to delete the records we hold about your consent choices, please contact us using the email at the bottom of this page and quote the following reference: . Please be aware that this reference is stored using a cookie. Therefore, if you delete cookies in your browser this reference will be lost and we will have no way to identify your records to delete them. This reference only relates to records of consent made using the device you are currently using. If you have provided consent on other devices, you will have to provide us with the references listed on them too for all of your data to be deleted.
Persistent Data Storage
The film will save some information onto the device that you are watching on (e.g. computer, tablet, phone). The data saved is:
- The clips you have watched
- The questions you have asked
- The narrators you have chosen
We save these things onto your device so they're available when you come back and watch again. This data never leaves your device and we have no way of seeing it. We will ask for your consent to save this data to your device when you first watch the film. If you do not provide your consent, then no data will be saved. If you would only like certain types of data to be saved, you can specify this using the film's settings menu. If you choose that the film does not save data to your device it will still work, but will not remember certain things when you come back and use it again. If you'd like to delete the data the film has saved about you from your device, you can do this from the settings menu. We securely store a record of your consent preferences for up to one year as part of our legal duties, after which this record is automatically deleted. If you would like us to delete the consent records we hold about you, please follow instructions found in the cookies section of this page.
Depending on how your web browser implements the local storage of data from Unity it may be possible for other users of your device to access the data we have saved. To prevent other people from being able to read this data if they were to access it, we have scrambled it before it is saved so it can't easily be read (the technical term for this is encryption). However, it is possible that a person with a very advanced level of technical knowledge could unscramble what we have saved and read it. This is because of a limitation to how secure we could make this encryption without requiring you to set a password and login to use the film. Therefore, if you are on a shared device that others have access to, you may wish to either choose to have no data saved or delete it after use.
The persistent storage of data between film viewings is implemented using Unity's Player Preferences API, which in turn uses your browser's implementation of IndexedDB. You can find out more using the links below:
Depending on your web browser and privacy settings, the data we save in local storage may be deleted after a period of inactivity (e.g. 7 days if you are using Apple's Safari browser). Therefore, we reccomend that you backup the questions you have saved in the film if you are not going to use it for a while. You can do this by exporting them using the options available in the "Your Questions" menu in the film.
Geolocation with Azure Maps
We use Azure Maps to determine your country-level location based on your IP address. We process this information under our legitimate interest to ensure compliance with regional content availability.
Contact Us
If you wish to exercise your rights under the UK GDPR to any of the personal data described on this page (e.g. to access, modify, erase it) or if you have questions regarding this policy, please contact:
- Project Leader (jonathan.hook@york.ac.uk)
- Data Protection Officer (dataprotection@york.ac.uk)
If you are unhappy with how the University has handled your personal data, please contact our Data Protection Officer using the details above, so that we can try to put things right. If you are unhappy with our response, you have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.
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