Cookie policy

What are cookies?

Cookies are files saved on your phone, tablet or computer when you visit a website.

They store information about how you use the website, such as the pages you visit.

Cookies are not viruses or computer programs. They are very small so do not take up much space.

How we use cookies

We only use cookies to:

  • make our website work
  • measure how you use our website, such as which links you click on (analytics cookies)

We do not use any other cookies, for example, cookies that remember your settings or cookies that help with health campaigns.

Cookies required to make our website work

These cookies make our website work, for example by keeping it secure.

See cookies that make our website work
List of cookies that are needed to make our website work
Name Purpose Expires
Name

nhsuk-cookie-consent

Purpose

Remembers if you used our cookies banner

Expires

When you close the browser (if you do not use the banner) or 1 year (if you use the banner)

Name

ARRAffinity

Purpose

Helps stop our site crashing by spreading traffic across web servers

Expires

When you close the browser

Cookies that measure website use(analytics cookies)

These cookies store information about how you use our website, such as the links you click on. We use them to help make our website better.

See cookies that measure website use
List of cookies that measure website use
Name Purpose Expires
Name

_ga

Purpose

Used by Google Analytics to distinguish users

Expires

2 years

Name

_ga_<container-id>

Purpose

Used by Google Analytics to persist session state

Expires

2 years

Name

SSID

Purpose

Used by Google to track the user’s session on the website

Expires

13 months

Name

__Secure-3PSID

Purpose

Used by Google to track the user’s session across different Google websites

Expires

13 months

These cookies help us show you relevant adverts for our health campaigns on social media, such as Facebook or X (formerly Twitter).

See cookies that help with health campaigns
List of cookies that help with health campaigns
Name Purpose Expires
Name

datr

Purpose

Used by Facebook to help detect fraud

Expires

400 days

Name

sb

Purpose

Used by Facebook to identify your browser securely

Expires

400 days

Name

wd

Purpose

Used by Facebook to help deliver an optimal experience for your device's screen

Expires

7 days

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