Cookie Policy
Last updated 24 October 2026
This policy explains the cookies and similar technologies on our website, what each kind does, how we ask for your consent, and how you can change your choice or clear cookies. Our Privacy Policy explains how we use personal information more generally.
What cookies are
Cookies are small text files that a website saves on your device. They let the website remember things, such as the fact that you are signed in. Your browser's storage and similar technologies work in much the same way, so this policy covers them too.
The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) let us use cookies that are strictly necessary for the website to work without asking you. For every other kind, we ask for your consent first.
The kinds of cookies we use
- Necessary: these make the website work. They keep you signed in, remember your answers to the Get started questions, remember your cookie choice, and help Cloudflare, which hosts our website, protect our forms from automated abuse. They are always on, because the website cannot work without them.
- Statistics: only with your consent. They count visits and show which pages people use. Some tools also show heatmaps and recordings of how people move, click and scroll, so that we can find pages that are hard to use.
- Marketing: only with your consent. They measure how many people reach us from an advert and go on to start an application. Some also help show our adverts to people likely to be interested.
Statistics and Marketing cookies are set by other companies, such as Google. These companies may use the information they collect as their own privacy policies describe. Our Privacy Policy links to each one.
How we ask for your consent
When we use any Statistics or Marketing tools, a cookie banner appears on your first visit. It has three tabs: "Consent" explains what we are asking, "Details" lists each category with its cookies, and "About" explains cookies and shows your consent ID.
- Each optional category has its own switch, and every switch starts off.
- You have three equal choices: "Deny" turns every optional category off, "Allow selection" saves the switches as you set them, and "Allow all" turns every optional category on.
- Until you choose, we use only Necessary cookies and no optional tool loads.
- Your choice covers only the tools named in the banner when you made it. If we switch a tool on or off, we ask you again.
- If we are not using any optional tools, there is nothing to ask and the banner does not appear.
Google Consent Mode
We use Google Consent Mode version 2 in its "basic" form. This means Google's tags, such as Google Ads and Google Analytics, do not load at all until you allow their category, so nothing is sent to Google before you choose.
When a Google tag loads, we first tell it what you allowed: analytics_storage follows your Statistics choice, and ad_storage, ad_user_data and ad_personalization follow your Marketing choice. If you change your choice, we update these signals. Google explains how it uses this information in how Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services.
Global Privacy Control
Global Privacy Control (GPC) is a setting in some browsers and browser extensions that tells websites you do not want your information sold or shared. If your browser sends a GPC signal, we treat it as a "no" to Marketing. "Allow all" then turns on Statistics only, and Marketing stays off unless you switch it on yourself and choose "Allow selection". The banner tells you when we have detected the signal. You can find out more on the Global Privacy Control website.
The cookies and tools we use
The tables below come straight from our website's settings, so they always show the cookies we set and the optional tools that are switched on, grouped as Necessary, Statistics and Marketing. Other companies set the lifetimes of their own cookies and can change them.
Necessary
These make the website work: signing in, the Get started questions and keeping our forms safe. They are always on, because the website cannot work without them.
| Cookie | What it does | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
| __Host-mc_session | Keeps you signed in to your account. | 12 hours, or 2 hours for staff |
| __Host-mc_handoff | Protects the sign-in step with our account service. | 10 minutes |
| __Host-mc_wizard | Remembers your answers while you work through the Get started questions. | 24 hours |
| mc_consent | Remembers your choice in the cookie banner and its consent ID. | 12 months |
| __cf_bm and Turnstile cookies | Set by Cloudflare, which hosts our website, to tell people apart from automated traffic and protect our forms. | Up to 30 minutes |
Statistics
Help us understand how people use the website, so we can make it work better. Only with your permission.
We don't use any statistics tools at the moment.
Marketing
Measure how well our adverts work and show them to people likely to be interested. Only with your permission. The providers may also use them as their own privacy policies describe.
Google Ads, provided by Google. How Google uses this information
| Cookie | What it does | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
| _gcl_au, and Google's own cookies on google.com and doubleclick.net | Measure how many people reach us from an advert and go on to apply. | Up to 90 days (Google's own: up to 13 months) |
Partner referrals, provided by MIE Connect. How MIE uses this information
| Cookie | What it does | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
| mc_ref | Remembers which recruitment partner's link brought you here, so they are credited when you sign up. | 30 days |
Other storage on your device
- Your shortlist: when you tap the heart on a course, the course is saved in your browser's storage as
mc_shortlist. After you sign in,mc_shortlist_mergednotes that this device's list has been combined with the one on your account. Your shortlist is not sent to us unless you are signed in as a student. This storage is strictly necessary for a feature you ask for, so it does not need your consent. - The installable app: if your browser supports it, our website can work like an app. To do this it keeps copies of our public files, such as styles, scripts, images and an offline page, so that pages load faster and you see a message when you are offline. It never keeps copies of pages, your account or portal content.
Changing your choice
You can change your mind at any time. Choose "Cookie settings" at the bottom of any page to open the banner again. Set the switches and choose "Allow selection", or choose "Deny" to turn every optional category off.
If you withdraw your consent for a tool that is already running, we reload the page without it. Cookies the tool has already set stay on your device until they expire or you clear them, as described below.
We keep your choice and your consent ID on your device in the mc_consent cookie for 12 months. After that, or if it is deleted, we ask you again.
Records of your choice
Each time you make a choice, we keep a record so that we can show we asked. The record holds a random consent ID, the choice you made for each category, the version of the banner you saw, whether your browser sent a GPC signal, and the time. It does not include your IP address, your browser details or anything else that identifies you. We keep these records for 2 years.
Your consent ID appears in the "About" tab of the banner. Quote it if you contact us about your choice.
Clearing cookies
To remove cookies that have already been set, clear the cookies and site data for mieconnect.com in your browser's settings. Your browser's help pages explain how:
You can also set your browser to block or delete cookies. If you block Necessary cookies, you will not be able to sign in or complete the Get started questions.
Changes to this policy
We update this policy when the cookies or tools we use change. The date at the top of the page shows when it was last updated, and the tables above always show what is switched on now.
Contact us
If you have any questions about cookies, email info@mieconnect.com. For questions about your personal information, email info@mieconnect.com.