Cookie Notice
Last Updated: 24th September 2026
SOPHOS EDUCATION LTD (trading as “Studia”) | Company No. 14321333 | ICO Registration No. ZC191104
10 St. Edmunds Square, London, England, SW13 8SA
1. What Are Cookies?
Our website and platform use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to improve your experience. This notice explains what cookies are, which ones we use, and how you can control them.
A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or on the hard drive of your device. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your device and stored there. They help us provide you with a good experience when you use Studia and allow us to improve our Platform.
Information for Parents and Guardians
Because Studia is used by children, we keep cookies to a minimum: strictly necessary ones, plus a few for analytics, functionality and email marketing. We do not use advertising or targeting cookies, and we do not share cookie data with advertisers.
2. Types of Cookies We Use
We use four categories of cookies: Strictly Necessary, Performance and Analytics, Functionality, and Marketing.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are required for the Platform to function. They enable core features such as logging in, staying logged in, processing payments securely, and protecting against certain types of online attacks. You cannot opt out of strictly necessary cookies — without them, the Platform cannot work properly.
Performance and Analytics Cookies
These cookies count visitors and show which pages are visited most and whether errors occur. Our analytics providers give your browser a random identifier. When you are signed in we store it against your account, so it is linked to you and is not anonymous. It is never used for advertising. These cookies require your consent and can be switched off in your cookie preferences.
Functionality Cookies
These cookies remember your preferences and settings — for example, your subject filters, display preferences, and where you left off in a video. They make your experience more convenient and personalised. These cookies require your consent and can be switched off, though doing so may affect some Platform features.
Marketing Cookies
These cookies support our own email marketing. When our email marketing provider, Klaviyo, is enabled, it may set cookies to power onsite sign-up forms and popups and to recognise you across visits so our marketing communications are relevant. We do not use advertising, ad-network, or cross-site tracking cookies, and we do not share cookie data with advertisers. These cookies require your consent and can be switched off in your cookie preferences.
3. Cookies We Use
The table below lists the cookies we use on the Studia Platform and website, including equivalent browser storage (localStorage and sessionStorage). Where we refer to cookies by pattern (e.g. ph_*_posthog), several related cookies share that prefix. The Platform also writes short-lived storage with a studia. prefix during sign-in, booking and subscription journeys — including the date of birth you entered. It is strictly necessary and is cleared when the journey ends.
| Cookie Name | Purpose | Duration | Category | Provider |
|---|---|---|---|---|
__session | Set by Clerk (our authentication provider) to maintain your signed-in session and keep you securely logged in as you move between pages | Session | Strictly Necessary | Clerk |
__client_uat | Set by Clerk to record whether you have an active session, so the Platform knows if you are signed in (set to 0 when you are signed out) | Session | Strictly Necessary | Clerk |
CookieConsent | Set by Cookiebot to record your cookie consent choices so we don’t ask you again | 1 year | Strictly Necessary | Cookiebot |
__stripe_mid | Set by Stripe (our payment provider) to prevent fraudulent payment transactions | 1 year | Strictly Necessary | Stripe |
__stripe_sid | Set by Stripe to maintain your payment session when booking a 1-to-1 session | Session | Strictly Necessary | Stripe |
studia_support_active | Set on .studia.io when you start a support conversation on our Help Centre (help.studia.io). It contains no personal data — its presence is the only signal — and tells the Platform to load the support chat widget so your conversation can continue as you browse | 7 days, refreshed on activity | Strictly Necessary | Studia |
__Host-studia_gate | Set when you enter Studia with an access key during our invitation-only period, so you are not asked for it again. It contains no personal data | 90 days | Strictly Necessary | Studia |
studia_sso_signout | Set briefly when you sign out, so that signing out of Studia also ends your Help Centre session. Cleared as soon as that has happened | Momentary | Strictly Necessary | Studia |
__studia_clerk_handshake_recovery | Set for ten seconds while your sign-in session is recovered, so you are not signed out by mistake | 10 seconds | Strictly Necessary | Studia |
_ga | Google Analytics 4 — distinguishes unique users and supports aggregate usage analytics across the Platform | 14 months | Performance/Analytics | Google LLC |
_ga_* | Google Analytics 4 — per-property session state used by GA4 to aggregate usage analytics | 14 months | Performance/Analytics | Google LLC |
ph_*_posthog | PostHog — stores a device identifier and session state so we can understand aggregate feature usage and surface technical issues. The same identifier is also held in your browser’s local storage; both are deleted if you withdraw consent to analytics cookies | 12 months | Performance/Analytics | PostHog Inc. |
muxData | Set by Mux Data, our video analytics provider, to measure playback quality — start-up time, buffering and errors. It does not affect playback | Session (browser storage) | Performance/Analytics | Mux |
<integrationId>.appUserId | Stored by the Zendesk support chat widget to identify your support conversation, so an open conversation can continue as you move between the Help Centre and the Platform | Persistent (browser storage) | Functionality | Zendesk |
<integrationId>.clientId | Stored by the Zendesk support chat widget to identify your browser to the support conversation service | Persistent (browser storage) | Functionality | Zendesk |
<integrationId>.sessionToken | Stored by the Zendesk support chat widget to keep your support conversation session active without asking you to sign in again | Persistent (browser storage) | Functionality | Zendesk |
ZD-* | Additional Zendesk support widget state — for example, whether the chat window is open — stored while the support widget is active | Persistent (browser storage) | Functionality | Zendesk |
__kla_id | Set by Klaviyo, our email marketing provider, to run onsite sign-up forms and to recognise you across visits so our own marketing emails are relevant. Not used for third-party advertising | 2 years | Marketing | Klaviyo, Inc. |
Not a cookie — your viewing history. When you are signed in, we record which Livestream replays you have watched and how far through you are, so playback resumes and tutors can see attendance. It is stored on our servers against your account, not in a cookie. The cookie banner does not control it, and clearing cookies does not remove it. Retention and your right to have it deleted are covered by our Privacy Policy.
Our authentication provider, Clerk, may set additional strictly necessary cookies (for example, in development environments) to manage your sign-in session securely. We review this list whenever a provider or a feature changes.
4. Third-Party Cookies
Some cookies on the Platform are set by third-party providers that we use to run Studia. These are:
| Provider | Purpose | Privacy Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Cookiebot (Usercentrics) | Consent management platform. Sets the CookieConsent cookie to remember your cookie choices. If you decline a category, we do not load the services in it. Strictly necessary. | cookiebot.com/en/privacy-policy |
| Clerk | Authentication provider. Sets strictly necessary cookies (including __session and __client_uat) to keep you securely signed in. | clerk.com/legal/privacy |
| Stripe | Payment processing provider. Sets cookies to detect fraud and maintain secure payment sessions. | stripe.com/privacy |
| Calendly | Interview scheduling provider. When a tutor books their onboarding interview, Calendly’s booking form opens in a pop-up and may set cookies so it can work. It loads only when the tutor chooses to book. Strictly necessary. | calendly.com/privacy |
| Google Analytics 4 (Google LLC) | Usage analytics. Google Analytics gives your browser a random identifier. When you are signed in, we store it against your account, so it is linked to you and not anonymous. Retention: 14 months. Processed in the United States; transfers safeguarded by the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (Google self-certified since July 2023) with Standard Contractual Clauses as a backup. | policies.google.com/privacy |
| PostHog (PostHog Inc.) | Product analytics. Used to track feature usage within the Platform and identify technical issues. Retention: 12 months. Hosted in the EU via eu.posthog.com (Frankfurt) so event data does not transfer outside the EEA. | posthog.com/privacy |
| Mux (Video streaming) | Video infrastructure and analytics provider. Mux delivers Livestreams and 1-to-1 Sessions and sets nothing on your device. Mux Data separately measures playback quality — start-up time, buffering and errors. It is a Performance and Analytics cookie, not set until you consent. | mux.com/privacy |
| Zendesk | Customer support provider. The Zendesk support chat widget stores functionality keys in your browser (listed above) so a support conversation started on our Help Centre (help.studia.io) can continue on the Platform. These are set only after you consent to functionality cookies, and only while you have an open support conversation. | zendesk.com/company/agreements-and-terms/privacy-notice |
| Klaviyo (Klaviyo, Inc.) | Email marketing provider. When onsite tracking is enabled, Klaviyo may set marketing cookies to power sign-up forms and popups and to link onsite activity to our email marketing. These are used only for Studia’s own marketing, never for third-party advertising, and are set only after you consent to marketing cookies. | klaviyo.com/legal/privacy |
We do not permit our third-party providers to use cookies set on our Platform for their own advertising or marketing purposes.
5. Your Choices About Cookies
You have control over which non-essential cookies we set. Here is how you can manage them:
Cookie Consent Banner
Our cookie consent banner is provided by Cookiebot (a consent management platform from Usercentrics). It records your choices in a strictly necessary cookie called CookieConsent, and no optional cookie is set before you consent. When you first visit Studia, you will see the banner. You can choose to:
- Accept all cookies — allows all cookies including analytics, functionality, and marketing cookies.
- Accept necessary cookies only — only strictly necessary cookies will be set. Analytics, functionality, and marketing services will not load.
- Manage preferences — choose which categories of non-essential cookies to allow.
Changing Your Preferences
You can update your cookie preferences at any time. On our website, use the “Manage Cookies” link in the footer. When signed in, go to My account > Account settings > Privacy > Manage cookies. Both reopen the consent banner. Your choices live in your own browser, so we cannot change them for you.
Browser Settings
You can also choose to block or delete cookies through your browser settings. Please note that if you block all cookies (including strictly necessary cookies), you may not be able to log in or use some parts of the Platform. Instructions for managing cookies in common browsers can be found at:
- Google Chrome: Manage cookies in Chrome
- Mozilla Firefox: Manage cookies in Firefox
- Safari: Manage cookies in Safari
- Microsoft Edge: Manage cookies in Edge
For Parents and Guardians
Cookie choices are stored in the browser being used, so they cannot be set from another account or another device. Every optional cookie is off until someone turns it on, so a child who closes the banner is never tracked. If you have any questions about how cookies affect your child’s account, please contact us at privacy@studia.io.
6. Changes to This Notice
We may update this Cookie Notice from time to time — for example, if we add new platform features that require additional cookies, or if providers change their cookies. We will post any changes on this page with an updated date at the top. Where changes are material, we will notify you by email or through the Platform.
7. More Information
For more information about how we collect, use, and store personal data more broadly, please see our Privacy Policy.
For information about your child’s data specifically, please see our Children’s Privacy Notice.
If you have any questions or concerns about our use of cookies, please contact us at privacy@studia.io. We will acknowledge your message within five working days and reply in full within one calendar month. If you are not satisfied, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK regulator for both data protection and the cookie rules, at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.
Contact Information
| Purpose | Contact |
|---|---|
| Privacy and cookie questions | privacy@studia.io |
| General enquiries | support@studia.io |
| Legal matters | legal@studia.io |
| Post | Studia (Sophos Education Ltd), 10 St. Edmunds Square, London, England, SW13 8SA |
This Cookie Notice was last reviewed on 24th September 2026. Studia recommends that you seek independent advice if you are unsure about any of its provisions.