Last Updated: 09 September 2025
The survey you complete (Survey) is conducted by Trendstream Limited (GWI). This Survey Cookie Notice provides information about how and when we use cookies and similar technologies during the survey process.
For information about the cookies and similar technologies we use on our website (gwi.com) please see our GWI Website Cookie Notice.
What is a Cookie?
A cookie is a piece of data (text file) sent to your computer’s browser when you visit a website. Cookies and similar technologies are used for a range of purposes, including to remember your identity when completing a survey so you can pick up where you left off. We also use similar technologies referred to as ‘tags’ and ‘tracking pixels’ created for, or provided by, clients. These tags or tracking pixels may be used to track your internet activity, including what pages you visit on other sites, to determine the effectiveness of advertising on your behavior. When we refer to ‘cookies’ in this notice, we are also referring to any other similar tracking technologies.
We might add, remove or update the cookies we use, and update this notice accordingly. We will let you know by updating the date at the top of this notice.
What is the difference between first and third party cookies?
First party cookies are set by the website you visit and only that website can access and read those cookies.
Third party cookies are set by someone other than the owner of the website you visit. These cookies can be used to track you on other websites that use the same third party service.
Cookies set in our survey may be set by us, third parties we are working with or customers.
What types of cookies does GWI use?
GWI uses both persistent and session cookies. This means:
Persistent: these cookies remain on your devices for a set period of time and the duration is set out in this GWI Survey Cookie Notice. Please note that these cookies will remain after you have closed your browser.
Session: these cookies are used to identify a visit to our survey and they will expire after a short period of time and deleted after you’ve closed your browser.
Our categories of cookies
Strictly necessary cookies.
These are cookies that are required for the operation of our survey. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into the survey. GWI uses an internal tool and a third party supplier (Qualtrics) to manage collection of your survey responses and both of these serve these cookies. As these are strictly necessary to deliver our survey, you cannot refuse them.
Functional cookies
These are used to recognise you when you return to our survey. This enables us to personalize our content for you and remember your preferences. For example, your language preference in the survey. These may be set by GWI or third party suppliers whose services are used to deliver the survey.
Analytics/performance cookies
They allow us to recognise and count traffic sources so GWI or a third party supplier used to deliver the survey can measure and improve the performance. For example, cookies that store your Identifier and session details to allow us to understand average completion times for surveys.
Advertising cookies
These cookies may be set by GWI or by our clients. They may be used by GWI to provide its GWIQ Services and Pseudonymized RLD to clients (described below). They may also be used by clients to uniquely identify your device in order to create tailored advertising experiences based on your interests.
When does GWI use cookies and similar technologies during a survey?
When you agree to take part in one of our surveys, you are asked to consent to the collection of cookies and similar technologies as part of the survey consent flow. GWI will only drop and use these non essential cookies and similar technologies if you have given your explicit consent.
How does GWI use cookies and similar technologies?
We use the data collected from cookies to:
What are the GWIQ Services?
For our GWIQ services, we drop a cookie and similar technologies on your device to identify the websites you use and your exposure to our customer’s online adverts and websites. This means that GWI is able through its GWIQ Services to provide customers with anonymous and aggregated insights about their advertising campaigns.
The GWIQ Services include: i) reporting on whether a target audience (made up of you and others that are not identifiable to our client) have seen our client’s online advert (GWIQ Audience Validation) and ii) reporting on whether a target audience (made up of you and others that are not identifiable to our client) have seen our client’s website. We also use a GWIQ cookie to see if you have seen an advert or website and then invite you back to complete an additional survey based on whether you did or didn’t see such advert or website (GWIQ Advertising Effectiveness). For example, GWI may report to customers: X% of your target audience was exposed to your online advert in magazine website one vs Y% in magazine website two or 75% of your target audience watched 80% of your video advert before closing it.
In order to provide the GWIQ services, we drop a GWIQ cookie on your device, which may be dropped in three ways: i) when you sign up for your panel, your panel provider will collect your consent and where you have consented, they will redirect you to GWI to drop the GWIQ cookie on your device (this delivers your Panel ID to GWI and leaves the GWIQ cookie on your device); ii) when you visit a GWIQ client’s website, our client will collect your consent and where you have consented, they will execute a tag to collect information relating to the cookies stored on your device and send it to GWI so we can establish if there is a previously dropped cookie on your device. If an existing cookie is present, GWI is able to identify you and retrieve the GWI ID and Panel ID relating to you. If GWI cannot recognise you, it drops the GWIQ Cookie, which leaves the GWI ID on your device only (no Panel ID); iii) GWI may collect your consent directly to drop the GWIQ cookie when you complete a Survey
What is Pseudonymized RLD?
Sometimes, we provide your responses to our Survey (along with the responses of others) to our clients in a non-aggregated form with a unique identifier (Pseudonymized RLD). Our clients receive your responses at an individual level and the unique identifier enables them to identify you from information they may already hold about you (e.g. because you are a customer of theirs, a consumer they have engaged with, or they otherwise hold personal data about you). Our clients may use your survey responses for their own purposes, such as research & development and marketing and advertising services, including developing audience insights, building lookalike models and determining the effectiveness of online advertising.
To enable our clients to re-identify you, we deploy their tags when you complete our Survey (subject to your consent) so that they can establish whether they have previously dropped a cookie on your device. If an existing cookie is present, they are able to identify you and retrieve their own unique ID for you (Client ID), which they send to us. We then match the Client ID to your survey responses and provide them with the Pseudonymized RLD.
What cookies and similar technologies are used during a Survey?
Below please find descriptions of the cookies and similar technologies we use:
Strictly necessary cookies
|
Cookie Name |
Purpose |
Duration |
|
GWI Cookies |
||
|
auth_gwi |
To identify and authenticate a survey respondent user login |
24 hours |
|
Hotjar_session |
Analytics tool to support improving user experience |
1 year |
|
LocalStorage(campaign code and user ID) |
To permit a survey respondent who returns in the same browser to load their survey response history if they have left the survey part way through |
No expiration |
|
bugsnag-anonymous-id |
Error monitoring and debugging errors and bugs |
No expiration |
|
bugsnag_session_2 |
Session information for error monitoring and debugging errors and bugs |
1 year |
|
Third Party Supplier Cookies |
||
|
Qualtrics Survey Platform Cookies |
Available here: https://www.qualtrics.com/support/survey-platform/getting-started/browser-cookies/ |
As set out by Qualtrics |
Advertising cookies
|
Name of Cookie |
Purpose of Cookie |
Duration |
Opt-Out Link |
|
All surveys (whether using GWI internal tool or third party tools) |
|||
|
GWIQ |
Web analytics to assess advertising effectiveness |
12 months |
|
|
Cookie Name |
Purpose |
Duration |
|
Publicis Groupe tag |
Provision of Pseudonymized RLD to Publicis Groupe |
Very short - this is a tag that executes one time only and does not persist |
Managing Cookies
You can always say no to cookies and similar technologies that are not essential cookies.
It is possible to instruct your browser to refuse all non essential cookies and similar technologies. Most browsers are configured to accept cookies by default, but you can update these settings to either refuse cookies altogether, or to notify you when a website is trying to set or update a cookie. Please be aware that the use of cookies and similar technologies is browser-specific. If you use multiple browsers or devices, you will need to modify your preferences on each one. Guides on how to access and use such functionality are available at https://www.aboutcookies.org.uk.
In addition as set out above, you can opt out of GWI’s GWIQ cookie by using the opt out link here: https://www.globalwebindex.net/gwiq/opt-out. This will place an opt out cookie on your browser lasting 12 months.
As mentioned above, you will be asked for consent to the deployment of the Publicis Groupe tag before you complete a Survey and you can opt-out at that time. If you opt out, then the tag will not be deployed. If you do consent, then the tag will execute one time only and will not persist on your device, so no further opt out is necessary if you subsequently change your mind.
Although some cookies can be blocked with little impact to your experience, blocking all cookies may mean your user experience in the survey is impacted negatively and certain features or content may not be available.