What are cookies

As is common practice with almost all professional websites, this site uses cookies, which are tiny files that are downloaded to your computer or mobile device while you are browsing, to improve your experience. This page describes what information they gather, how we use it and why we sometimes need to store these cookies. We will also share how you can prevent these cookies from being stored. However, this may downgrade or 'break' certain elements of the site's functionality.

For more general information on cookies see the Wikipedia article on HTTP Cookies.

How we use cookies

We use cookies for a variety of reasons detailed below. Unfortunately in most cases there are no industry standard options for disabling cookies without completely disabling the functionality and features they add to this site. It is recommended that you leave on all cookies if you are not sure whether you need them in case they are used to provide a service that you use.

Disabling cookies

You can prevent the setting of cookies by adjusting the settings on your browser (see the list below). Be aware that disabling cookies will reduce the functionality of this and many other websites that you visit so that some features may not work. Therefore it is recommended that you do not disable cookies.

How to check cookies are enabled on your PC

Google Chrome

1. Click on the spanner icon (top menu in browser) and select ‘Settings’
2. Click the 'Under the Bonnet' tab on the left, then select the 'Content settings' button
3. Under the cookies section, choose the option that best suits your needs.

Microsoft Internet Explorer

1. Click on 'Tools' (top menu in browser) and select 'Internet options'
2. Click on the 'Privacy' tab
3. Move the privacy slider to the level of privacy you require. Settings above Medium will disable cookies.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Click on 'Tools' (top menu in browser) and select ‘Options’
2. Select the Privacy icon
3. In the history section choose 'Use custom settings for history' from the dropdown menu
4. Cookies can be enabled or disabled by clicking on the appropriate check boxes.

Safari

1. Click on the Cog icon (top menu in browser) and select 'Preferences'
2. Click on Privacy tab and choose the option that best suits your needs.

Opera

1. Click on the 'Tools' at the top of your browser window and select 'Preferences'
2. Select the 'Advanced' tab and choose Cookies from the list on the left
3. Choose the option that best suits your needs.

How to check cookies are enabled on your MAC

Safari on OSX

1. Click on 'Safari' at the top of your browser window and select 'Preferences'
2. Click on the 'Privacy' tab
3. Adjust the level of cookie acceptance here.

Firefox

1. Click on 'Firefox' at the top of your browser window and select 'Preferences'
2. Select the Privacy icon
3. In the history section choose 'Use custom settings for history' from the dropdown menu
4. Cookies can be enabled or disabled by clicking on the appropriate check boxes.

Opera

1. Click on 'Opera' at the top of your browser window and select 'Preferences'
2. Select the 'Advanced' tab and choose Cookies from the list on the left
3. Choose the option that best suits your needs.

The cookies we set

We use cookies when you are logged in so that we can remember this fact. This prevents you from having to log in every single time you visit a new page. These cookies are typically removed or cleared when you log out to ensure that you can only access restricted features and areas when logged in. This site offers email alert services and cookies may be used to remember if you are already registered and whether to show certain notifications which might only be valid to subscribed/unsubscribed users. When you submit data through a form such as those found on contact pages or comment forms, cookies may be set to remember your user details for future correspondence. By using our site you agree that we may place these types of cookies on your device.

Third party cookies

In some special cases we also use cookies provided by trusted third parties. The following section details which third party cookies you might encounter through this site.

This site uses Google Analytics, one of the most widespread and trusted analytics solutions on the web, to help us understand how you use the site and ways that we can improve your experience. These cookies may track things such as how long you spend on the site and the pages you visit so that we can continue to produce engaging content and improve how our website works.

For more information on Google Analytics cookies, see the official Google Analytics page.

By using our site you agree that we may place these types of cookies on your device.

Third party websites and social networks

If you click on a hyperlink from our site to any third party websites (e.g. if you 'share' content from Pearson's website with friends or colleagues through social networks), you may be sent cookies from these third party websites. Third party websites will have their own privacy and cookie policies which Pearson cannot control. Please check the third-party websites for more information about their cookies and how to manage them.

More information

Hopefully that has clarified things for you. As was previously mentioned, if you aren't sure whether you need a particular feature or function it's usually safer to leave cookies enabled in case disabling them does interact with one of the features you use on our site. However, if you are still looking for more information then you can contact us.

Pearson plc
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, UK
+44 020 7010 2310
pearson.communications@pearson.com

Last updated on March 18, 2013.