Cookie Policy
How Inside the Newsroom uses cookies and similar technologies, what each type is for, and how you can change your browser settings at any time.
About this document
This Cookie Policy explains how Inside the Newsroom uses cookies and similar technologies on this website. It covers what cookies are, the three types this site relies on, and how third-party services fit in. Read it together with our Privacy Policy, which covers personal information more broadly.
The site is an educational resource about how a CBC News broadcast studio and newsroom operates. It does not sell anything, it does not run advertising, and it does not use cookies to build a profile of you for marketing.
What cookies are
A cookie is a small text file that a website stores on your device when you visit. The file holds a short label and a value, and your browser sends it back to the site on later requests. That round trip is what lets a site recognise the same browser across visits.
Cookies are not programs. They cannot run on your device, read other files, or collect information from other applications. Most of what they do is bookkeeping: remembering that you already dismissed a notice, that you chose a larger text size, or that a page loaded correctly the first time. Similar technologies — local storage and small tracking pixels — do comparable jobs, and this policy covers them the same way.
In plain terms
A cookie is a note the site leaves for itself on your browser. It remembers a setting, not a person.
How we use cookies
We keep the use of cookies narrow. There are three jobs, and each one maps to a type of cookie described in the next section: keeping the site working, remembering basic settings, and understanding in general terms how visitors move through the pages. We do not use cookies to serve advertising on this site, and we do not pass cookie data to advertising networks.
Function
Keep the site working
Pages load, navigation holds your place, and forms submit without losing what you typed. Without these, parts of the site simply stop responding.
Settings
Remember your choices
Display preferences and small interface choices are stored so you are not asked to set them again on your next visit.
Measurement
Understand page use
Aggregate figures tell us which explainers are read and where readers stop. We look at totals, not at identifying individuals.
Types of cookies we use
Three types cover everything this site sets. The list below is the full inventory; if a new cookie is added, this policy is updated before it goes live.
Essential
Required for the site to work
Set when a page loads and cleared when they are no longer needed for that session. They handle navigation state, form submissions, and basic security checks. Because the site cannot function correctly without them, blocking them in your browser will affect how pages behave.
Analytics
Show which pages are read
These tell us which pages are visited and how visitors move between them — for example, whether a reader goes from the control room explainer to the studios section. Figures are reviewed in aggregate, and we use them to decide what to expand or rewrite.
Preference
Hold onto your display choices
Stored after you make a choice, such as a display or accessibility setting, so the site opens the way you left it. They stay on your device until they expire or you clear them.
Advertising
None on this site
Inside the Newsroom does not run advertising cookies and does not build advertising audiences from this site. If that ever changes, this page will say so before the change takes effect.
Third-party cookies
Some features may rely on services run by other companies, most often an analytics provider. When those services load, they can set their own cookies on your browser. Those cookies are not ours to read or manage, and their use is governed by the provider's own cookie and privacy policies — not by this page.
If you want to limit third-party cookies specifically, most browsers offer a setting that blocks them while still allowing the first-party cookies a site needs to run. That setting is a reasonable default if you would rather not be measured at all.
Where a third-party service is used, we choose providers that limit data retention and do not use the data for advertising on this site.
Managing cookies
You are in control of what your browser stores. Every major browser lets you see the cookies already saved, delete them individually or all at once, block new ones, or set a prompt so you are asked before a cookie is written. Those controls live in your browser's settings, usually under a privacy or site-data heading.
One caution: if you block essential cookies, parts of this site will stop working properly. Navigation may reset, and form submissions may not complete. Blocking analytics or preference cookies is harmless — the pages still load and read the same way.
Keep reading
This policy covers cookies only. For personal information, retention periods, and your access rights, the Privacy Policy is the document to read.
Read the privacy policyQuestions about this policy
If something here is unclear, or you want to ask about a specific cookie before it is set, write to us. Cookie questions are answered by the same team that handles privacy requests.
Can I use the site without any cookies at all?
Not comfortably. Essential cookies carry navigation state and protect form submissions, so blocking them breaks parts of the site. You can safely block analytics and preference cookies in your browser settings; pages will still load and read normally.
Do you track individual readers?
No. Analytics figures are reviewed in aggregate — page totals and general movement between sections. We do not build profiles of individual readers, and cookie data is not used to serve advertising on this site.
How will I know if this policy changes?
The current version is always available on this page, and any update replaces the text here. If a change adds a new cookie type, the update is published before that cookie is set.
How do I contact you about a cookie question?
Email [email protected] or call +1-416-205-3311, Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM. You can also use the form on the Contact page.
Where to go next
Cookie questions are one part of the picture. These pages cover the rest of the site and how to reach us.
Reach the team
250 Front Street West, Toronto, ON M5V 3G5, Canada
Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM