Cookies Policy
20250701_rev01 · COMPARED WITH 20220603_rev01 · ARCHIVE SNAPSHOT, DATE APPROXIMATE
Full text changes — 20220603_rev01 to 20250701_rev01
| 1 | **Cookie****Provider Information****Type****Storage Period****Purpose**IDE | |
| 1 | ### List of Cookies, Purpose, and Storage Periods | |
| 2 | 2 | |
| 3 | Google Ads (Google LLC) | |
| 4 | 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA | |
| 3 | Below is a list of cookies on the PLOS website, information about the cookie provider, type of cookie, its purpose, and its storage period. | |
| 5 | 4 | |
| 6 | [https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en-US](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | |
| 5 | #### First Party | |
| 7 | 6 | |
| 8 | Marketing2 YearsUsed by Google DoubleClick to register and report the website user's actions after viewing or clicking one of the advertiser's ads with the purpose of measuring the efficacy of an ad and to present targeted ads to the userNID | |
| 7 | | Cookie | Provider Information | Type | Storage Period | Purpose | | |
| 8 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | |
| 9 | | JSESSIONID | PLOS, USA | Strictly necessary | Session | Manages a user's authentication and session | | |
| 10 | | plos-device-detected | PLOS, USA | Strictly necessary | 2 Hours | Manages display of desktop and mobile interfaces | | |
| 11 | | CASTGC | Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA | |
| 12 | [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | Strictly necessary | Session | Ticket-granting cookie to support authentication and single sign-on. | | |
| 13 | | CSRF-TOKEN | PLOS, USA | Strictly necessary | Session | Cross Site Request Forgery Token for site security. | | |
| 14 | | flanders\_session | PLOS, USA | Strictly necessary | Session | Reduces database calls by remembering data about the user as they click between pages on the PLOS website. | | |
| 15 | | plosDataLinkSurveyHush | PLOS, USA | Strictly Necessary | 24 Hours | Manages the number of times users are asked to opt-in to a survey. | | |
| 9 | 16 | |
| 10 | Google Ads (Google LLC) | |
| 11 | 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA | |
| 17 | #### Third-Party | |
| 12 | 18 | |
| 13 | [https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en-US](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | |
| 19 | | Cookie | Provider Information | Type | Storage Period | Purpose | | |
| 20 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | |
| 21 | | IDE | Google Ads (Google LLC), 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | Marketing | 2 Years | Used by Google DoubleClick to register and report the website user's actions after viewing or clicking one of the advertiser's ads and present targeted ads. | | |
| 22 | | NID | Google Ads (Google LLC), 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | Marketing | 6 Months | Registers a unique ID that identifies a returning user's device. Used for targeted ads. | | |
| 23 | | 1P\_JAR | Google Ads (Google LLC), 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | Marketing | 30 Days | Remembers preferences. | | |
| 24 | | gid | Google Ads (Google LLC), 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | Performance and Analytics | 2 Years | Collects information about how visitors use our website. Used to compile reports and improve the website. | | |
| 25 | | ga | Google Ads (Google LLC), 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | Performance and Analytics | 2 Years | Collects information about how visitors use our website. Used to compile reports and improve the website. | | |
| 26 | | gads | Google Ads (Google LLC), 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | Marketing | 1 Year | Collects information about how visitors use our website. Used to compile reports and improve the website. | | |
| 27 | | GCLB | Google Cloud (Google LLC), 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | Strictly Necessary | Session | Maintains continuity of session when IP addresses may change. | | |
| 28 | | dc\_gtm | Google Analytics (Google LLC), 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | Performance and Analytics | 1 Minute | Collects information about how visitors use our website. Used to compile reports and improve the website. | | |
| 29 | | gat\_master | Google Analytics (Google LLC), 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | Performance and Analytics | 1 Minute | Collects information about how visitors use our website. | | |
| 30 | | wordpress\_test\_cookie | WordPress (Automattic, Inc.), 60 29th Street #343, San Francisco, CA 94110 USA [Privacy Policy](https://automattic.com/privacy/) | Strictly Necessary | Session | Tests whether WordPress can place cookies. Does not identify the user. | | |
| 31 | | gat\_journalsMaster | Google Analytics (Google LLC), 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | Performance and Analytics | 1 Minute | Collects information about how visitors use our website. | | |
| 32 | | \_ceir, is\_returning | Crazy Egg, 16220 Ridgeview Ln La Mirada, CA 90638, USA [Privacy Policy](https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy) | Performance and Analytics | 1 Year | Tracks whether a visitor has visited the site before. | | |
| 33 | | \_CEFT | Crazy Egg, 16220 Ridgeview Ln La Mirada, CA 90638, USA [Privacy Policy](https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy) | Performance and Analytics | 1 Year | Stores page variants assigned to visitors for A/B performance testing. | | |
| 34 | | \_cer.s | Crazy Egg, 16220 Ridgeview Ln La Mirada, CA 90638, USA [Privacy Policy](https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy) | Performance and Analytics | Session | Tracks a recording visitor session unique ID, host, and start time. | | |
| 35 | | \_cer.v | Crazy Egg, 16220 Ridgeview Ln La Mirada, CA 90638, USA [Privacy Policy](https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy) | Performance and Analytics | Up to 31 Days | Tracks whether a visitor has visited the site before. | | |
| 36 | | \_ce.s | Crazy Egg, 16220 Ridgeview Ln La Mirada, CA 90638, USA [Privacy Policy](https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy) | Performance and Analytics | 1 Year | Tracks a recording visitor session unique ID, host, and start time. | | |
| 37 | | \_ce.cch | Crazy Egg, 16220 Ridgeview Ln La Mirada, CA 90638, USA [Privacy Policy](https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy) | Performance and Analytics | 1 Second | Used to check if cookies can be added. | | |
| 38 | | \_ce.gtld | Crazy Egg, 16220 Ridgeview Ln La Mirada, CA 90638, USA [Privacy Policy](https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy) | Performance and Analytics | 1 Second | Used to identify the top-level domain. | | |
| 39 | | ce\_need\_secure\_cookie | Crazy Egg, 16220 Ridgeview Ln La Mirada, CA 90638, USA [Privacy Policy](https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy) | Performance and Analytics | 1 Second | Used to determine cookie security parameters. | | |
| 40 | | ce\_successful\_csp\_check | Crazy Egg, 16220 Ridgeview Ln La Mirada, CA 90638, USA [Privacy Policy](https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy) | Performance and Analytics | 24 Hours | Determines if the page has a Content Security Policy rule that would prevent tracking. | | |
| 41 | | \_\_hs\_opt\_out | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [privacy@hubspot.com](mailto:privacy@hubspot.com) | Necessary | 6 month | This cookie is used by the opt-in privacy policy to remember not to ask the visitor to accept cookies again. | | |
| 42 | | \_\_hs\_do\_not\_track | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [privacy@hubspot.com](mailto:privacy@hubspot.com) | Necessary | 6 month | This cookie can be set to prevent the tracking code from sending any information to HubSpot. | | |
| 43 | | \_\_hs\_initial\_opt\_in | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [privacy@hubspot.com](mailto:privacy@hubspot.com) | Necessary | 7 days | This cookie is used to prevent the banner from always displaying when visitors are browsing in strict mode. | | |
| 44 | | \_\_hs\_cookie\_cat\_pref | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [privacy@hubspot.com](mailto:privacy@hubspot.com) | Necessary | 6 months | This cookie is used to record the categories a visitor consented to. | | |
| 45 | | \_\_hs\_gpc\_banner\_dismiss | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [privacy@hubspot.com](mailto:privacy@hubspot.com) | Necessary | 180 days | This cookie is used when the Global Privacy Control banner is dismissed. | | |
| 46 | | \_\_hs\_notify\_banner\_dismiss | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [privacy@hubspot.com](mailto:privacy@hubspot.com) | Necessary | 180 days | This cookie is used when the website uses a Notify consent banner type. | | |
| 47 | | hs\_ab\_test | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [privacy@hubspot.com](mailto:privacy@hubspot.com) | Necessary | End of the session | This cookie is used to consistently serve visitors the same version of an A/B test page they've seen before. | | |
| 48 | | \_key | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [privacy@hubspot.com](mailto:privacy@hubspot.com) | Necessary | 14 days | When visiting a password-protected page, this cookie is set so future visits to the page from the same browser do not require login again. | | |
| 49 | | \_\_hsmem | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA[privacy@hubspot.com](mailto:privacy@hubspot.com) | Necessary | 7 days | This cookie is set when visitors log in to a HubSpot-hosted site. It contains encrypted data that identifies the membership user when they are currently logged in. | | |
| 50 | | hs-membership-csrf | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [privacy@hubspot.com](mailto:privacy@hubspot.com) | Necessary | End of the session | This cookie is used to ensure that content membership logins cannot be forged. | | |
| 51 | | \_\_cfruid | | |
| 52 | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [privacy@hubspot.com](mailto:privacy@hubspot.com) | |
| 14 | 53 | |
| 15 | Marketing6 MonthsRegisters a unique ID that identifies a returning user's device. The ID is used for targeted ads1P\_JAR | |
| 54 | Cloudflare, Inc. 101 Townsend St. San Francisco, CA 94107 | |
| 55 | [dpo@cloudflare.com](mailto:dpo@cloudflare.com) | |
| 16 | 56 | |
| 17 | Google Ads (Google LLC) | |
| 18 | 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA | |
| 57 | | Necessay | End of the session | This cookie is set by HubSpot's CDN provider because of their rate limiting policies. Learn more about Cloudflare cookies. | | |
| 58 | | \_\_cfuvid | | |
| 19 | 59 | |
| 20 | [https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en-US](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | |
| 60 | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [privacy@hubspot.com](mailto:privacy@hubspot.com) | |
| 21 | 61 | |
| 22 | Marketing30 DaysRemembers preferencesgid | |
| 62 | Cloudflare, Inc. 101 Townsend St. San Francisco, CA 94107 | |
| 63 | [dpo@cloudflare.com](mailto:dpo@cloudflare.com) | |
| 23 | 64 | |
| 24 | Google Ads (Google LLC) | |
| 25 | 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA | |
| 65 | | Necessay | End of the session | This cookie is set by HubSpot's CDN provider because of their rate limiting policies. Learn more about Cloudflare cookies. | | |
| 66 | | \_\_cf\_bm | | |
| 26 | 67 | |
| 27 | [https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en-US](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | |
| 68 | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [privacy@hubspot.com](mailto:privacy@hubspot.com) | |
| 28 | 69 | |
| 29 | Performance and analytics2 YearsCollects information about how visitors use our website. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the websitega | |
| 70 | Cloudflare, Inc. 101 Townsend St. San Francisco, CA 94107 | |
| 71 | [dpo@cloudflare.com](mailto:dpo@cloudflare.com) | |
| 30 | 72 | |
| 31 | Google Ads (Google LLC) | |
| 32 | 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA | |
| 33 | ||
| 34 | [https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en-US](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | |
| 35 | ||
| 36 | Performance and analytics2 YearsCollects information about how visitors use our website. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the websitegads | |
| 37 | ||
| 38 | Google Ads (Google LLC) | |
| 39 | 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA | |
| 40 | ||
| 41 | [https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en-US](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | |
| 42 | ||
| 43 | Marketing1 YearCollects information about how visitors use our website. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the websiteGCLB | |
| 44 | ||
| 45 | Google Cloud (Google LLC) | |
| 46 | 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA | |
| 47 | ||
| 48 | [https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en-US](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | |
| 49 | ||
| 50 | Strictly necessarySessionMaintains continuity of session when IP addresses may changedc\_gtm | |
| 51 | ||
| 52 | Google Analytics (Google LLC) | |
| 53 | 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA | |
| 54 | ||
| 55 | [https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en-US](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | |
| 56 | ||
| 57 | Performance and analytics1 MinuteCollects information about how visitors use our website. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the websitegat\_master | |
| 58 | ||
| 59 | Google Analytics (Google LLC) | |
| 60 | 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA | |
| 61 | ||
| 62 | [https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en-US](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | |
| 63 | ||
| 64 | Performance and analytics1 MinuteCollects information about how visitors use our website. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the websitepersonalization\_id | |
| 65 | ||
| 66 | Twitter (Twitter, Inc.) | |
| 67 | 1355 Market St #900, San Francisco, CA 94103 | |
| 68 | ||
| 69 | [https://twitter.com/en/privacy](https://twitter.com/en/privacy) | |
| 70 | ||
| 71 | Functional2 YearsEnables Twitter integration and social media sharingatuvs | |
| 72 | ||
| 73 | AddThis (Oracle, Corp.) | |
| 74 | ||
| 75 | Oracle Corporation | |
| 76 | Attn: Global Data Protection Officer | |
| 77 | Willis Tower | |
| 78 | 233 South Wacker Drive | |
| 79 | 45th Floor | |
| 80 | Chicago, IL 60606 USA | |
| 81 | ||
| 82 | [https://www.oracle.com/legal/privacy/addthis-privacy-policy.html](https://www.oracle.com/legal/privacy/addthis-privacy-policy.html) | |
| 83 | ||
| 84 | Functional30 MinutesEnables sharing of website content to social media and other platformsatuvc | |
| 85 | ||
| 86 | AddThis (Oracle, Corp.) | |
| 87 | ||
| 88 | Oracle Corporation | |
| 89 | Attn: Global Data Protection Officer | |
| 90 | Willis Tower | |
| 91 | 233 South Wacker Drive | |
| 92 | 45th Floor | |
| 93 | Chicago, IL 60606 USA | |
| 94 | ||
| 95 | [https://www.oracle.com/legal/privacy/addthis-privacy-policy.html](https://www.oracle.com/legal/privacy/addthis-privacy-policy.html) | |
| 96 | ||
| 97 | Functional13 MonthsEnables sharing of website content to social media and other platformswordpress\_test\_cookie | |
| 98 | ||
| 99 | WordPress (Automattic, Inc.) | |
| 100 | 60 29th Street #343 | |
| 101 | San Francisco, CA 94110 USA | |
| 102 | ||
| 103 | [https://automattic.com/privacy/](https://automattic.com/privacy/) | |
| 104 | ||
| 105 | Strictly necessarySessionThis cookie is a test to determine if WordPress can place cookies. It does not identify the user | |
| 106 | ||
| 107 | gat\_journalsMaster | |
| 108 | ||
| 109 | Google Analytics (Google LLC) | |
| 110 | 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA | |
| 111 | ||
| 112 | [https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en-US](https://policies.google.com/privacy) | |
| 113 | ||
| 114 | Performance and analytics1 Minute | |
| 115 | ||
| 116 | Collects information about how visitors use our website | |
| 117 | ||
| 118 | \_ceir, is\_returning | |
| 119 | ||
| 120 | Crazy Egg 16220 Ridgeview Ln La Mirada, CA 90638, USA | |
| 121 | ||
| 122 | [https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy](https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy) | |
| 123 | ||
| 124 | Performance and analytics | |
| 125 | ||
| 126 | 1 year | |
| 127 | ||
| 128 | Track whether a visitor has visited the site before | |
| 129 | ||
| 130 | \_CEFT | |
| 131 | ||
| 132 | Crazy Egg 16220 Ridgeview Ln La Mirada, CA 90638, USA | |
| 133 | ||
| 134 | [https://www.crazyegg.com/priva](https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy) | |
| 135 | ||
| 136 | Performance and analytics | |
| 137 | ||
| 138 | 1 year | |
| 139 | ||
| 140 | Store page variants assigned to visitors for A/B performance testing | |
| 141 | ||
| 142 | \_cer.s | |
| 143 | ||
| 144 | Crazy Egg 16220 Ridgeview Ln La Mirada, CA 90638, USA | |
| 145 | ||
| 146 | [https://www.crazyegg.com/priva](https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy) | |
| 147 | ||
| 148 | Performance and analytics | |
| 149 | ||
| 150 | Recording session (expires when the browser is shut down) | |
| 151 | ||
| 152 | Track a recording visitor session unique ID, tracking host and start time | |
| 153 | ||
| 154 | \_cer.v | |
| 155 | ||
| 156 | Crazy Egg 16220 Ridgeview Ln La Mirada, CA 90638, USA | |
| 157 | ||
| 158 | [https://www.crazyegg.com/priva](https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy) | |
| 159 | ||
| 160 | Performance and analytics | |
| 161 | ||
| 162 | Up to 31 days (expires on the first of the month) | |
| 163 | ||
| 164 | Track whether a visitor has visited the site before | |
| 165 | ||
| 166 | \_ce.s | |
| 167 | ||
| 168 | Crazy Egg 16220 Ridgeview Ln La Mirada, CA 90638, USA | |
| 169 | ||
| 170 | [https://www.crazyegg.com/priva](https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy) | |
| 171 | ||
| 172 | Performance and analytics | |
| 173 | ||
| 174 | 1 year | |
| 175 | ||
| 176 | Track a recording visitor session unique ID, tracking host and start time | |
| 177 | ||
| 178 | \_ce.cch | |
| 179 | ||
| 180 | Crazy Egg 16220 Ridgeview Ln La Mirada, CA 90638, USA | |
| 181 | ||
| 182 | [https://www.crazyegg.com/priva](https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy) | |
| 183 | ||
| 184 | Performance and analytics | |
| 185 | ||
| 186 | 1 second | |
| 187 | ||
| 188 | Used to check if cookies can be added. | |
| 189 | ||
| 190 | \_ce.gtld | |
| 191 | ||
| 192 | Crazy Egg 16220 Ridgeview Ln La Mirada, CA 90638, USA | |
| 193 | ||
| 194 | [https://www.crazyegg.com/priva](https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy) | |
| 195 | ||
| 196 | Performance and analytics | |
| 197 | ||
| 198 | 1 second | |
| 199 | ||
| 200 | Used to identity the top level domain. | |
| 201 | ||
| 202 | ce\_need\_secure\_cookie | |
| 203 | ||
| 204 | Crazy Egg 16220 Ridgeview Ln La Mirada, CA 90638, USA | |
| 205 | ||
| 206 | [https://www.crazyegg.com/priva](https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy) | |
| 207 | ||
| 208 | Performance and analytics | |
| 209 | ||
| 210 | 1 second | |
| 211 | ||
| 212 | Used to determine cookie security parameters. | |
| 213 | ||
| 214 | ce\_successful\_csp\_check | |
| 215 | ||
| 216 | Crazy Egg 16220 Ridgeview Ln La Mirada, CA 90638, USA | |
| 217 | ||
| 218 | [https://www.crazyegg.com/priva](https://www.crazyegg.com/privacy) | |
| 219 | ||
| 220 | Performance and analytics | |
| 221 | ||
| 222 | 24 hours | |
| 223 | ||
| 224 | Used to determine if the page has a Content Security Policy rule that would prevent tracking. | |
| 73 | | Necessary | 30 minutes | This cookie is set by HubSpot's CDN provider and is a necessary cookie for bot protection. Learn more about Cloudflare cookies. | | |
| 74 | | \_\_hstc | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [privacy@hubspot.com](mailto:privacy@hubspot.com) | Performance and analytics | 6 months | The main cookie for tracking visitors. | | |
| 75 | | hubspotutk | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [privacy@hubspot.com](mailto:privacy@hubspot.com) | Performance and analytics | 6 months | This cookie keeps track of a visitor's identity. It is passed to HubSpot on form submission and used when deduplicating contacts. | | |
| 76 | | \_\_hssc | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [privacy@hubspot.com](mailto:privacy@hubspot.com) | Performance and analytics | 6 months | This cookie keeps track of sessions. | | |
| 77 | | \_\_hssrc | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [privacy@hubspot.com](mailto:privacy@hubspot.com) | Performance and analytics | End of the session | Whenever HubSpot changes the session cookie, this cookie is also set to determine if the visitor has restarted their browser | |