The ODS service puts small files (known as ‘cookies’) onto your computer to collect information about how you browse the site. Find out more about the cookies we use, what they’re for and when they expire.
We use Google Analytics software (Universal Analytics) to collect anonymised information about how you use the ODS service. 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 and to government digital services.
We do not allow Google to use or share the data about how you use this site.
Google Analytics stores information about:
Google Analytics sets the following cookies.
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _ga | These help us count how many people visit the ODS service by tracking if you’ve visited before | 2 years |
| _gid | These help us count how many people visit the ODS service by tracking if you’ve visited before | 24 hours |
| _gat_UA-XXXXXXXX-X (where XXX is a random key) | Google Analytics cookie to throttle the request rate. | 1 minute |
Google isn’t allowed to use or share our analytics data.
You can opt out of Google Analytics cookies.
These cookies do things like remember your preferences and the choices you make, to personalise your experience of using the ODS service.
You may see a banner when you visit the ODS service inviting you to accept cookies or review your settings. We’ll set cookies so that your computer knows you’ve seen it and not to show it again, and also to store your settings.
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| seen_cookie_message | Lets us know that you’ve seen our cookie message | 1 year |
| cookie_policy_ods | Lets us know that you’ve saved your cookie consent settings | 1 year |
The ODS service uses an anti forgery token to help secure the service
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| .AspNetCore.Antiforgery.xxx (where xxx is a random key) | Used to help secure the service | Expires on next request |
When you use the ODS service, we'll set a cookie to remember your progress through the forms. These cookies do not store your personal data and are deleted once you've completed the transaction.
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| .MyApplication | Session identifier | 60 minutes |
You can change which cookies you’re happy for us to use.
Last Updated 23 September 2021