Privacy & Cookies
This page explains what the PIVtools website collects, why, and how to change your mind. The short version is that we count visits anonymously without storing anything on your device, and we only set cookies if you accept them.
What we collect
This site uses Google Analytics 4 to record anonymous usage statistics. That covers which pages are viewed, roughly where in the world visitors are, which browser and device type they use, and how they arrived at the site.
By default this runs in a cookieless mode. Nothing is stored on or read from your device, and the measurements carry no identifier that would let us recognise you on a later visit. We rely on our legitimate interest in knowing which parts of the documentation are actually read, and you can object at any time using the controls below.
If you accept cookies, we can additionally tell repeat visits apart, which makes the visitor counts more accurate. We do not attempt to identify individual visitors, we run no advertising, and advertising signals are permanently disabled. Data is not sold or shared with anyone beyond Google acting as our analytics processor.
Cookies we set
No analytics cookies are set unless you press Accept. Declining leaves your browser untouched, and anonymous cookieless measurement continues unless you also opt out below.
| Name | Purpose | Retention |
|---|---|---|
| _ga | Distinguishes one browser from another so repeat visits are not double-counted. Only set after you accept | 2 years |
| _ga_8M59P7YDJG | Maintains the analytics session state for this site. Only set after you accept | 2 years |
| pivtools-cookie-consent | Remembers your choice above. Stored in your browser's local storage, never sent to a server, and set whether you accept or decline | Until cleared |
Changing your mind
You can withdraw or grant cookie consent at any time. This clears your stored choice and brings the banner back. Clearing your browser cookies and site data for this domain has the same effect and also removes any analytics cookies already set.
You can also object to analytics altogether. Opting out stops the cookieless measurement as well, and no analytics code is loaded on any page. Both settings are stored in this browser, so they need setting again on other devices.
Who is responsible
The data controller is the University of Southampton. For any question about this site's use of data, or to exercise your rights under UK GDPR, contact M.T.Taylor@soton.ac.uk. The University's central privacy notice is available at southampton.ac.uk.
The PIVtools software
This notice covers the website only. The PIVtools application itself runs locally on your own machine, collects no telemetry, and sends nothing to us.