Cookie Preferences

Effective Date: January 10, 2026
Last Updated: January 10, 2026 

Cookies are small pieces of text sent to your browser by a website you visit. They help the website remember information about your visit, which can both make it easier to visit the site again and make it more useful to you. Similar technologies, including unique identifiers used to identify an app or device, pixel tags, and local storage, can perform the same function. Cookies and similar technologies, as described throughout this page, can be used for the purposes described below.

Part 1: Cookie Preference Center (User Interface Layer)

The Preference Center should be accessible via a “Cookie Settings” link in your footer and a “Customize” button on your initial cookie banner.

  1. Strictly necessary cookies
    • Status: Always Active (Consent not required).
    • Description: Essential for technical operation, security, and basic navigation. These cannot be disabled, as the site would no longer function correctly.
    • Key functions: Maintaining secure login sessions for the member portal, remembering your language settings, and storing your cookie consent status for 12 months.
  1. Functional & personalization cookies
    • Status: Optional (Inert until opted-in).
    • Description: These allow the site to remember choices you make (such as research interests or saved publications) to provide an enhanced experience.
    • Example: Remembering your customized research dashboard layout or font size preferences.
  1. Analytics & performance cookies
    • Status: Optional (Inert until opted-in).
    • Description: We use these to collect anonymous, aggregated data on how researchers interact with our site. This helps us optimize performance and understand which micro-level research topics are most popular.
    • Privacy note: We utilize privacy-first analytics (e.g., Matomo), which anonymizes your IP address before storage.
  1. Targeting & marketing cookies
    • Status: Optional (Inert until opted-in).
    • Description: Set by our advertising and social media partners. They build a profile of your professional interests to show you relevant institute events, symposium calls, or publications on other platforms.

Part 2: Comprehensive Cookie Policy

  1. Introduction

The Microfoundation Institute (“the Institute,” “we,” “us”) uses cookies and similar tracking technologies (pixels, web beacons, and local storage) to provide a secure and efficient user experience. This policy explains how and why we use these technologies and your rights to control them.

  1. Detailed cookie inventory

Cookie Category

Provider

Purpose

Duration

Strictly Necessary

Internal

Session ID, CSRF security tokens, and Consent status.

Session / 12 Months

Functional

Internal/3rd Party

Remembering saved research papers; Language selection.

6 Months

Analytics

Matomo/Google

Tracking page views, bounce rates, and user flow.

2 Years

Marketing

LinkedIn/Meta

Retargeting

90 Days

  1. Legal basis for processing
    • Necessary cookies: Processed under “Legitimate Interest” to ensure site security and functionality.
    • All other cookies: Processed only with your “Explicit, Freely Given Consent”. You have the right to refuse or withdraw consent at any time without penalty to your access to our research.
  1. How to manage your preferences
    • Institute preference center: Use our Cookie settings link found in the footer of every page.
    • Browser controls: You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings (e.g., Chrome, Safari, Firefox). This may impact site performance.
    • Global privacy control (GPC): Our site recognizes GPC signals, automatically opting you out of non-essential cookies if your browser is configured to send this signal.
  1. Third-party data sharing

We do not sell your data. However, marketing cookies may involve sharing pseudonymous identifiers with third-party platforms (like LinkedIn) to help us reach researchers interested in micro-organizational outcomes.

  1. Policy updates

We audit our cookie usage annually. Significant changes to our tracking practices will be communicated via a new banner notification on your next visit.