Cookies Policy
Nothing about how PLOS uses cookies changed. The only difference is that the scrambled codes behind the "email protected" links in the cookie table were regenerated — a routine technical refresh from the site's spam-protection tool. Every cookie, provider, purpose, and storage period is identical to the previous version.
Cosmetic change: formatting, typos, or contact details.
| 35 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cabab8a3bcaba9b38aa2bfa8b9baa5bee4a9a5a7) | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cdbdbfa4bbacaeb48da5b8afbebda2b9e3aea2a0) | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4d3d3f243b2c2e340d25382f3e3d2239632e2220) | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1c6c6e756a7d7f655c74697e6f6c7368327f7371) | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f9898b908f989a80b9918c9b8a89968dd79a9694) | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9aeae8f3ecfbf9e3daf2eff8e9eaf5eeb4f9f5f7) | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#28585a415e494b5168405d4a5b58475c064b4745) | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e696948f9087859fa68e938495968992c885898b) | 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[\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ff8f8d96899e9c86bf978a9d8c8f908bd19c9092) | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9bebe9f2edfaf8e2dbf3eef9e8ebf4efb5f8f4f6) | Necessary | End of the session | This cookie is used to ensure that content membership logins cannot be forged. | | |
| 41 | | \_\_hs\_opt\_out | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a1d1d3c8d7c0c2d8e1c9d4c3d2d1ced58fc2cecc) | Necessary | 6 month | This cookie is used by the opt-in privacy policy to remember not to ask the visitor to accept cookies again. | | |
± CHANGEDContact link codes refreshed (no visible change) The hidden codes in the HubSpot and Cloudflare "email protected" contact links were rotated. These codes are generated by the website's spam-blocking system and change on their own. The email addresses, providers, and everything else in the cookie table stayed the same. | ||
| 42 | | \_\_hs\_do\_not\_track | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dfafadb6a9bebca69fb7aabdacafb0abf1bcb0b2) | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cebebca7b8afadb78ea6bbacbdbea1bae0ada1a3) | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3b4b49524d5a58427b534e59484b544f15585456) | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4f3f3d26392e2c360f273a2d3c3f203b612c2022) | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ddadafb4abbcbea49db5a8bfaeadb2a9f3beb2b0) | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6b1b19021d0a08122b031e09181b041f45080406) | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cabab8a3bcaba9b38aa2bfa8b9baa5bee4a9a5a7) | 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[\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7a0a08130c1b19033a120f18090a150e54191517) | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c5b5b7acb3a4a6bc85adb0a7b6b5aab1eba6aaa8) | Necessary | End of the session | This cookie is used to ensure that content membership logins cannot be forged. | | |
| 51 | 51 | | \_\_cfruid | |
| 52 | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#99e9ebf0eff8fae0d9f1ecfbeae9f6edb7faf6f4) | |
| 52 | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7b0b09120d1a18023b130e19080b140f55181416) | |
| 53 | 53 | |
| 54 | 54 | Cloudflare, Inc. 101 Townsend St. San Francisco, CA 94107 |
| 55 | [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f89c8897b89b94978d9c9e94998a9dd69b9795) | |
| 55 | [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1276627d52717e7d6776747e7360773c717d7f) | |
| 56 | 56 | |
| 57 | 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 | 58 | | \_\_cfuvid | |
| 59 | 59 | |
| 60 | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e797958e9186849ea78f928594978893c984888a) | |
| 60 | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b6c6c4dfc0d7d5cff6dec3d4c5c6d9c298d5d9db) | |
| 61 | 61 | |
| 62 | 62 | Cloudflare, Inc. 101 Townsend St. San Francisco, CA 94107 |
| 63 | [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6703170827040b081203010b0615024904080a) | |
| 63 | [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9ffbeff0dffcf3f0eafbf9f3feedfab1fcf0f2) | |
| 64 | 64 | |
| 65 | 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 | 66 | | \_\_cf\_bm | |
| 67 | 67 | |
| 68 | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#80f0f2e9f6e1e3f9c0e8f5e2f3f0eff4aee3efed) | |
| 68 | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#18686a716e797b6158706d7a6b68776c367b7775) | |
| 69 | 69 | |
| 70 | 70 | Cloudflare, Inc. 101 Townsend St. San Francisco, CA 94107 |
| 71 | [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#284c5847684b44475d4c4e44495a4d064b4745) | |
| 71 | [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e286928da2818e8d9786848e839087cc818d8f) | |
| 72 | 72 | |
| 73 | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9ceceef5eafdffe5dcf4e9feefecf3e8b2fff3f1) | Performance and analytics | 6 months | The main cookie for tracking visitors. | | |
| 75 | | hubspotutk | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6c1c1e051a0d0f152c04190e1f1c0318420f0301) | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#11616378677072685179647362617e653f727e7c) | Performance and analytics | 6 months | This cookie keeps track of sessions. | | |
| 77 | | \_\_hssrc | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cabab8a3bcaba9b38aa2bfa8b9baa5bee4a9a5a7) | 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 | | |
| 74 | | \_\_hstc | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b5c5c7dcc3d4d6ccf5ddc0d7c6c5dac19bd6dad8) | Performance and analytics | 6 months | The main cookie for tracking visitors. | | |
| 75 | | hubspotutk | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#89f9fbe0ffe8eaf0c9e1fcebfaf9e6fda7eae6e4) | 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 [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6f1f1d06190e0c162f071a0d1c1f001b410c0002) | Performance and analytics | 6 months | This cookie keeps track of sessions. | | |
| 77 | | \_\_hssrc | HubSpot, Inc. Two Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141 USA [\[email protected\]](https://plos.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8afaf8e3fcebe9f3cae2ffe8f9fae5fea4e9e5e7) | 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 | | |