Overview
We put small files (known as “cookies”) onto your computer to collect information about how you browse the site.
This page explains what data we collect when you use this website and what we use it for.
Cookies that measure website use
We use Google Analytics and Hotjar to measure how you use the website so we can improve it based on user needs.
We do not allow Google or Hotjar to use or share the data about how you use this site. For further details, please see Google's privacy policy, and Hotjar's privacy policy.
Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics and Hotjar software to collect anonymised information about how you use ons.gov.uk. We do this to help make sure the site is meeting the needs of its users and to help us make improvements to the site.
Regardless of your choice, we do not allow Google or Hotjar to use or share the data about how you use this site.
Google Analytics stores information about:
- how you got to the site
- the pages you visit and how long you spend on them
- what you click on while you are visiting
Cookies collected by Google Analytics
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _ga | Help us count how many people visit the website by tracking if you have visited before | 2 years |
| _gid | Help us count how many people visit the website by tracking if you have visited before | 24 hours |
Hotjar
Hotjar stores information about:
- whether you have participated in a Hotjar survey
- the way in which you interact with a page
- what you click on while you are visiting the site
Cookies collected by Hotjar
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _hjSessionUser | Set when a user first lands on a page. Ensures data from subsequent visits to the same site are attributed to the same user ID. | 1 year |
| _hjHasCachedUserAttributes | Checks whether the data set in _hjUserAttributes Local Storage item is up to date or not | Per session |
| _hjUserAttributesHash | Store user attributes during a user’s browser session so Hotjar knows when an attribute has changed and needs to be updated | Per session |
| _hjUserAttributes | Local Storage item which stores user attributes | No explicit expiration |
| hjViewportld | Session Storage item which stores user viewport details such as size and dimensions | Per session |
| hjActiveViewportlds | Local Storage item which stores user active viewport IDs and an expiration timestamp that is used to validate | Until browser closed |
| _hjSession_ | Holds current session data. Ensures subsequent requests in the session window are attributed to the same session. | 30 minutes |
| _hjCookieTest | Used temporarily to check if the Hotjar tracking script can use cookies | Per session |
| _hjLocalStorageTest | Used temporarily to check if the Hotjar tracking script can use local browser storage | Per session |
| _hjSessionStorageTest | Used temporarily to check if the Hotjar tracking script can use session storage | Per session |
| hjTLDTest | Stored temporarily and used to determine the root (or top-level) domain so that tracking works on all pages | Per session |
| _hjClosedSurveyInvites | Tell us whether a Hotjar survey invite has been closed to stop it displaying again | 1 year |
| _hjDonePolls | Tell us whether a Hotjar feedback poll has been completed to stop the same poll reappearing | 1 year |
| _hjMinimizedPolls | Keep Hotjar feedback poll widgets minimised (once minimised by the user) when the user navigates through the website | 1 year |
For further details, please see Google’s privacy policy, and Hotjar’s privacy policy.
Cookies that help with our communications and marketing
Some of our pages may contain content from other sites, like YouTube and Vimeo. We allow these third-party sites to set cookies when you view this content on our website; they will measure how you engage with the video.
YouTube videos
We use YouTube to show videos on some pages. YouTube sets cookies when you visit one of these pages.
Cookies collected by YouTube
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _use_hitbox | This is a randomly generated number that identifies your browser | When you close your browser |
| VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | Lets YouTube count the views of embedded YouTube videos | 9 months |
Vimeo videos
We use Vimeo to show videos on some pages. Vimeo sets cookies when you visit one of these pages.
Cookies collected by Vimeo
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| vuid | Vimeo-generated ID used for generating analytics information for the video owner | 2 years |
| player | Stores preferences for player controls (i.e. volume, stream quality, captions) | 1 year |
| flags | Specifies feature flags enabled by the video owner | 1 year |
| [clip_id]_password | Stores an encoded password entered to authenticate a password-protected clip | Per session |
| [webinar_uuid]_webinar_registrant | Stores the ID of a user who has registered for a webinar. | 7 days |
| lc_[hash] | Stores the ID of a user who has submitted information through a video registration form | 7 days |
| player_clearance | Vimeo cookie used for bot prevention | 7 days |
Cookies that remember your settings
These cookies do things like remember your preferences and the choices you make, to personalise your experience of using the ONS website.
We currently do not use these cookies but do store your choice to accept or reject them as part of our strictly necessary cookies.
We will update this page if these cookies are introduced in future.
Strictly necessary cookies
Cookies message
We’ll set cookies to ensure your computer remembers you’ve seen this message, so it won’t appear again, and to save your settings.
Cookies set by the Cookies consent message
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _cookies_policy | Saves your cookie consent settings | 1 year |
| _cookies_preferences_set | Tells us that you have saved your cookie consent settings | 1 year |
We previously set the cookies in the following table to store the user’s chosen consent preferences for non-essential cookies. These cookies are no longer being set, accessed, or active. They were replaced as part of our website update with the cookies in the previous table.
Users may still have them stored in their browser if they visited the site and saved any cookie preferences before 6 June 2025. They will automatically expire in one year from the date of being set, or users can remove them at any time by clearing cookies in their web browser settings.
When users visit the site, they will be prompted to set new cookie consent preferences. These preferences will be saved in the new cookies listed previously. A user’s new consent preferences will take priority, ensuring the current consent preferences are followed.
Cookies previously set by the Cookies message
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| ons_cookie_policy | Saves your cookie consent settings | 1 year |
| ons_cookie_message_displayed | Tells us that you have saved your cookie consent settings | 1 year |
Language cookie
Our website includes some content in both English and Welsh to meet user needs. You can switch between English and Welsh versions of a page using the language toggle.
We set a cookie to remember the language you choose, so that we can show you the correct version of the website.
Cookies set by the language toggle
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| ons_language | Stores your selected language (for example, English or Welsh) so the website is displayed in the correct language | Per session |
Local storage set by the time series tool
The time series tool helps users to select and download multiple time series datasets. It stores information about any time series you have selected and added to your basket.
Cookies set by the time series tool
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| rememberBasket | Stores whether you have saved your basket | 10 years |
| timeseriesbasket | Stores the time series you have selected | 10 years |
Cloudflare cookies
We use Cloudflare to cache content on the ONS website. This is to improve performance and identify bot traffic and potential security threats. Read more in the Cloudflare cookies policy.
Cookies set by Cloudflare
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| __cf_bm | Identifies when a user is active or inactive on the ONS website | After 30 minutes of continuous inactivity |
| _cfuvid | Used by the rate limiting provided by Cloudflare to identify unique visitors. Users that do not provide the cookie may be grouped together with other users, which may increase the likelihood of them being rate limited (or blocked) from accessing our services. | Per session |
| cf_clearance | Used by the challenge screen presented by Cloudflare to store if a user has successfully completed the validation that a user is human. The challenge screen can be displayed to users in response to suspicious behaviour and suspected attacks. | 30 minutes |