How we use cookies
When you use our website, we add cookies to your device to:
make sure the website works well for you
find out how you're using our website so we can improve it
Our website has different sections for advice in Scotland, England, and Wales. Information collected by cookies is processed by Citizens Advice (in England and Wales) and Citizens Advice Scotland.
By using our website, we assume you agree to us adding cookies to your device. If you want to disable, block or remove cookies, you can do this at any time.
Remove or disable cookies
If you disable all cookies you:
won't be able to have your preferences remembered, like what country you live in
won't be able to fill in forms on our website
might not be able to use webchat or see content from other companies like Youtube videos or SurveyMonkey feedback forms
won't be able to log in - if you work or volunteer for Citizens Advice
To block cookies, you should change the settings in your web browser. You can also delete cookies that have already been set. Click on 'Help' in your web browser and search for 'cookies'.
Cookies from Google Analytics or Mouseflow tell us how you're using our site. You can opt out if you don't want these cookies added to your device.
Opt out from Google Analytics cookies.
Making our website work well
We add cookies to your device so you have a good experience when you use our website - for example:
remembering your preferences
stopping the cookie notice showing all the time
making our online forms work
helping you log in
Cookies other companies add to your device
If you use tools or services on our website that are delivered by other organisations, they might put cookies on your device when you use it.
The tools and services we have on our website from other organisations are:
Google forms, maps and Youtube videos - read Google's privacy policy
SurveyMonkey feedback forms - read SurveyMonkey's privacy policy
EventBrite events sign ups - read EventBrite's privacy policy
embedded X feeds - read X's cookies policy
videos through Vimeo - read Vimeo's privacy policy
embedded maps and presentations provided by Esri - read Esri's privacy policy
website performance with New Relic - read New Relic's cookies policy
Enthuse - our national donation platform - read Enthuse's privacy policy
Cablink assessments from Proprofs - read Proprofs' privacy policy
If you use online chat
When you use online chat, our chat providers LivePerson and Amazon Connect add cookies to your device to make the chat work smoothly.
You can't be identified from any of the cookies and none of your personal information is taken through them.
Finding out how you use our website
We use tools called Google Analytics and Mouseflow to help us understand how you're using our website.
They collect information by putting cookies on your device. They share that data with us and we use it to improve our website - for example, making popular pages easier to find.
Google Analytics and Mouseflow collect information about:
which links you click on
where you move the mouse or cursor across the page
how much you scroll up and down on the page
your browser, device and operating system
the language you're using
your screen's resolution
the length of time you're on our website
your ISP and approximate ISP Location (City, Region, Country)
how you got to our website
The data collected through cookies is all anonymous - you can't be identified by it.We store the information for 6 months and then delete it.
Read more about how Google Analytics uses cookies.
Read more about how Mouseflow uses cookies in their privacy policy.
Full list of cookies
These are all of the cookies that we’ll add to your device when you use our website. Some are added by other organisations.
| Cookie name | What it's used for | How long it’s kept on your device |
|---|---|---|
|
Cookie name
_dd_s |
What it's used for
This helps us understand how you use our website during your visit. This helps us find and fix any problems. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Up to 4 hours. |
|
Cookie name
_energy_apps_session |
What it's used for
This makes our appliance calculator tool work correctly. It stores the information you put in about your appliances. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
_forms_key |
What it's used for
This helps you move through our online forms. It remembers the information you've put in so you don't lose it before you send it. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
_public_website_frontend_session |
What it's used for
We use this to help our website work correctly during your visit. It remembers what you do as you move through our site. |
How long it’s kept on your device
3 months |
|
Cookie name
_smart_meter_tool_session |
What it's used for
This makes our smart meter checker tool work correctly. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
activeChat |
What it's used for
This tells us if you're having a conversation using our online chat service. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
amazon-connect-* |
What it's used for
This helps our online chat service work correctly. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
amazon-connect-session-* |
What it's used for
This helps our online chat service work correctly. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
cobrowse-storage_expiration-22834971 |
What it's used for
This cookie helps our chat service work correctly. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
CustomizationObject |
What it's used for
This stores the settings for our online chat service. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
cwr_s
|
What it's used for
This cookie helps us monitor site performance and fix problems like slow pages or errors. It doesn't store any of your personal information. |
How long it’s kept on your device
30 minutes |
|
Cookie name
cwr_u |
What it's used for
This cookie helps us tell visitors apart so we can understand how people use our website over time. It gives you an anonymous ID and doesn’t store your personal information. |
How long it’s kept on your device
30 days |
|
Cookie name
eprivacy |
What it's used for
This cookie stops the pop-up message about cookies showing on every page you visit - instead, it's only shown on the first 3 pages or until you close it. |
How long it’s kept on your device
1 month |
|
Cookie name
lpLastVisit-* |
What it's used for
This remembers the last time you used our chat service. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you delete it. |
|
Cookie name
lpPmCalleeDfs |
What it's used for
This cookie helps our chat service work correctly. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
LPSID-* |
What it's used for
This helps our website remember you while you're using our chat service. It makes sure your chat doesn't get lost and you can continue your conversation smoothly. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our site by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
lpTabId |
What it's used for
This helps our chat service work correctly if you have our website open in more than one tab. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
LPVID |
What it's used for
This helps our chat service know if you've visited our website before. This helps the chat service work better. |
How long it’s kept on your device
2 years |
|
Cookie name
persistedChatSession |
What it's used for
This helps our online chat service remember your conversation if your internet connection drops. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
X-Source |
What it's used for
This helps our website work correctly. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
| Cookie name | What it's used for | How long it’s kept on your device |
|---|---|---|
|
Cookie name
_ga |
What it's used for
This helps us count how many people visit our website and see if you've visited before. This helps us improve our site. |
How long it’s kept on your device
2 years |
|
Cookie name
_ga_* |
What it's used for
This helps us see how you use our site during your visit, for example, which pages you look at. This gives us useful information to make our site better for you. |
How long it’s kept on your device
2 years |
|
Cookie name
ar_debug |
What it's used for
This helps us find and fix problems with our website. |
How long it’s kept on your device
3 months |
|
Cookie name
ethnio_displayed |
What it's used for
This makes sure we don't ask you to take part in our user research too often. |
How long it’s kept on your device
30 days |
|
Cookie name
geo |
What it's used for
This helps us understand roughly where you are, for example, which country. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you delete it. |
|
Cookie name
mf_* |
What it's used for
This helps us understand how you use our website, for example, where you click and how far you scroll. This helps us make our website easier to use. |
How long it’s kept on your device
3 months |
|
Cookie name
mf_initialDomQueue |
What it's used for
This helps us understand how you use our website, for example, where you click and how far you scroll. This helps us make our website easier to use. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
mf_transmitQueue |
What it's used for
This helps us understand how you use our website, for example, where you click and how far you scroll. This helps us make our website easier to use. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
mf_user |
What it's used for
This helps us understand how you use our website, for example, where you click and how far you scroll. This helps us make our website easier to use. |
How long it’s kept on your device
90 days |
|
Cookie name
mouseflow |
What it's used for
This helps us understand how you use our website, for example, where you click and how far you scroll. This helps us make our website easier to use. |
How long it’s kept on your device
90 days |
| Cookie name | What it's used for | How long it’s kept on your device |
|---|---|---|
|
Cookie name
__Secure-ROLLOUT_TOKEN |
What it's used for
This cookie from YouTube remembers which videos you've played. |
How long it’s kept on your device
180 days |
|
Cookie name
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE |
What it's used for
This cookie from YouTube tries to guess your internet speed so it can play videos in the best quality for you. |
How long it’s kept on your device
6 months |
|
Cookie name
VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA |
What it's used for
This YouTube cookie remembers your privacy settings when you watch our videos. It makes sure we respect your choices about cookies. |
How long it’s kept on your device
6 months |
|
Cookie name
YSC |
What it's used for
This cookie from YouTube helps to count how many times a video has been watched. It helps to track how popular videos are. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
yt-player-bandwidth |
What it's used for
This helps to play videos in the best quality for your internet connection. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you delete it. |
|
Cookie name
yt-player-user-settings |
What it's used for
This remembers your settings for watching videos, like if you've turned on subtitles. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you delete it. |
|
Cookie name
yt-remote-cast-available |
What it's used for
This lets you 'cast' videos from our site to your TV. For example, using a Google Chromecast. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
yt-remote-cast-installed |
What it's used for
This remembers if you have the 'cast' function installed so you can send videos from our site to your TV. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
yt-remote-connected-devices |
What it's used for
This remembers the devices you've 'cast' videos to before, so you can connect to them again easily. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you delete it. |
|
Cookie name
yt-remote-device-id |
What it's used for
This gives your device a unique ID so our site can 'cast' videos to it. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you delete it. |
|
Cookie name
yt-remote-fast-check-period |
What it's used for
This helps the video player on our site work smoothly when you 'cast' a video to another device like your TV. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
yt-remote-session-app |
What it's used for
This helps our site remember your video choices when you 'cast' it to another device like your TV. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
yt-remote-session-name |
What it's used for
This helps our site remember the video session when you 'cast' it to another device like your TV. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you leave our website by closing your browser. |
|
Cookie name
yt.innertube::nextId |
What it's used for
This cookie from YouTube helps to suggest what video to watch next. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you delete it. |
|
Cookie name
yt.innertube::requests |
What it's used for
This cookie from YouTube remembers the videos you've asked to watch. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you delete it. |
|
Cookie name
ytidb::LAST_RESULT_ENTRY_KEY |
What it's used for
This cookie from YouTube remembers the last video you watched so it can pick up where you left off. |
How long it’s kept on your device
Until you delete it. |
This cookies policy only covers citizensadvice.org.uk and its subdomains. Websites we link to should have their own cookies policy.