When you consult a website published by an Inserm entity, information may be recorded in “cookie” files stored in the browser of your terminal (computer, tablet or cell phone). This page explains what a cookie is, what it is used for and how you can accept or refuse those that are not essential to the operation and management of the site.

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small text file containing a small amount of information that may be stored temporarily on your computer’s hard drive when you visit a website using your browser, subject to your choices regarding cookies not required for site operation. Cookies are managed by your web browser, and users can read them by right-clicking on the web page and “Inspect code”.

Only the sender of a cookie can modify the information it contains. A cookie can be either a session cookie (persists only for the duration of the browsing session), or a permanent cookie (set for a specific period of time).

The cookie does not identify you personally, but only your terminal’s browser. Some cookies require your prior consent before being installed on your terminal.

What are cookies used for?

Mandatory cookies

These are cookies placed exclusively by the site editor. They are essential for navigation on the site. These cookies cannot be deactivated or configured, otherwise you will no longer be able to access the site or its services, and/or their display will be altered. They enable you to use the site’s main functions and secure your connection. The deposit of these cookies does not require your prior consent. Their lifetime generally does not exceed the duration of the session.

Functional and audience measurement cookies

These cookies are necessary for the operation of the site. Depositing these cookies does not require your prior consent.

These cookies enable us to:

  • Compile anonymous statistics on the number of visitors and use of the various components of the site, to enable the publisher to administer and improve the site;
  • Adapt the presentation of the site to the display preferences of your terminal (language used, display resolution, operating system used, etc.) during your visit to the site, according to the hardware and software your terminal uses for viewing or reading.

The sites published by Inserm entities use the Matomo audience analysis tool, which complies with RGPD specifications and CNIL recommendations on the subject. The Matomo tool can deposit several cookies with a lifetime ranging from session time or a few tens of minutes to 11 months.

List of functional cookies deposited by Inserm:

  • Name: _pk_ses, pk_cvar, pk_hsr

Service provided: Traffic statistics (Matomo)

Purpose: These cookies temporarily store the current session.

Duration: 30 minutes

  • Name: _pk_ref

Service provided: Visitor statistics (Matomo)

Purpose: This cookie is used to store attribution information, the referrer initially used to visit the website.

Duration: 6 months

  • Name: _pk_id

Service provided: Traffic statistics (Matomo)

Purpose: This cookie assigns a unique identifier to the user.

Duration: 13 months

  • Name: _pk_testcookie

Service provided: Statistics (Matomo)

Purpose: Checks whether the browser accepts cookies.

Duration: Session

  • Name: matomo_sessid

Service provided: Protection CSRF (cross-site request forgery)

Purpose: Prevents fraud, protects the user and the reliability of data collected by Matomo.

Duration: 14 days

  • Name: _ mtm_consent, mtm_cookie_consent, matomo_ignore

Service provided: Traffic statistics (Matomo)

Purpose: Store your users’ consent.

Duration: 30 years

Consent banner cookies

These are cookies included in the Complianz tool’s consent banner, necessary for managing cookie-related consent.

The site uses the “cmplz_functional” and “cmplz_statistics” cookies. They enable us to comply with confidentiality regulations by recording the user’s choice to accept functional cookies. Their lifetime is 12 months

Third-party cookies

Some sites may include third-party software applications that may deposit “social”, advertising, targeting and tracking cookies.

In particular, these services include:

  • Viewing content via hosts such as YouTube, Dailymotion, etc. for videos;
  • Information sharing on social networks, which enable you to share site content with other people, or to let these other people know of your consultation or opinion concerning content on our site.

The cookies placed by these third parties may remember the pages and websites you have visited and may collect personal data such as IP address and share it with third parties. These cookies enable advertising agencies to present you with targeted, personalized advertising. Their lifespan is variable, ranging from session time or a few tens of minutes to several years. This site has no control over the process used by content hosts and social networks to collect information relating to your browsing habits, and associated with the personal data they hold. You can manage the placement of these cookies. To view certain content, you must first accept cookies from these third parties.

How can I manage the cookies deposited on this site?

Cookies whose sole purpose is not to enable or facilitate communication by electronic means, or which are not strictly necessary for the provision of an online communication service at the express request of the user, require the prior consent of the Internet user.

To manage the cookies deposited by a site, you have several complementary options:

  • Accept or refuse non-essential or non-functional cookies using a certified consent tool. A “Cookie management” widget button lets you accept or refuse cookies requiring consent, particularly those from third-party companies. A banner clearly explains the types of cookie lifetimes and their purposes.
  • Exercise your choices with third-party companies by consulting their privacy policies. You’ll be able to find out about the purposes for which they are used, including advertising, and the browsing information they may collect through the application buttons available on the site you’re visiting. You can then set your user accounts to accept or refuse the cookies placed by these companies.
  • Control cookies using your browser settings. Most of these cookies can be deactivated by setting your browser to accept only cookies from the sites you visit (refuse “third-party sites”, check the “Do not track me” box on most browsers) in your browser preferences. In “Private Browsing” mode, cookies will only disappear when you close your browser window.
How do I configure my browser?

In order to manage cookies in the way that best suits you, we invite you to configure your browser according to the purpose of the cookie:

  • The browser can be set to warn you before a cookie is installed;
  • The browser can also be set to refuse all types of cookies, or only third-party cookies;
  • Any cookies already installed on the computer can be deleted;
  • Each browser must be set up separately to refuse cookies.

Disable/Delete Cookies on your browser

Use cookie and other tracker blockers via browser extensions such as:

Manage advertising cookies for certain advertisers on two professional platforms and at Google:

Disable social network cookies

–https://support.twitter.com/articles/20170518-utilisation-des-cookies-et-des-technologies-similaires-par-twitter

–https://support.twitter.com/articles/20171379-twitter-prend-en-charge-la-desactivation-du-suivi-dnt#

Setting up your smartphone

For iOS™ : https://support.apple.com/fr-fr/HT201265

For Android™ : https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/32050?hl=fr&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid

Other browsers: For more information on how to manage cookies via other browsers, please consult your documentation or online help files.

You can also consult the CNIL website to learn how to set your browser to control the deposit of cookies on your terminal: https://www.cnil.fr/fr/les-conseils-de-la-cnil-pour-maitriser-votre-navigateur