We want to make it as easy as possible for you to understand and control your online privacy. So here is a clear explanation of what cookies are, how we use them, and how you can manage your preferences when you visit our websites.
What are cookies?
A cookie is a tiny text file placed on your computer, tablet or mobile phone by websites that you visit. Cookies do lots of useful jobs. They help make websites work smoothly, provide information about how people browse, and make sure any adverts you see are as relevant as possible.
What we use cookies for
Like most websites, which.co.uk uses cookies. These cookies are safe and secure and don’t store your personal information. We use them, for example, to:
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Preserve your which.co.uk log in state and remember your settings and preferences
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Show the most useful content for you, including articles and adverts about Which? products and services. This means you might see our adverts on other websites
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Understand who visits our websites, how they navigate around them and how easy they find them to use.
What we do NOT use cookies for
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We never show adverts from third parties on our websites.
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We don’t store any personal information in our cookies that can be used to identify you directly, like your name, email, postcode, IP address or financial information (credit card, bank account). Any data we do collect is anonymous.
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We will never sell your data to anyone else for any reason. To read more about how we protect the information we collect about you, please read our Privacy Notice.
How do I change my cookie settings?
Our websites use three kinds of cookies. Some are strictly necessary for making our website work well. But you can choose to turn all the others on or off below. You can also manage what cookies are stored on your computer directly by setting your browser to accept or reject certain cookies. Blocking some types of cookies may mean you can’t use all the services or features on our sites.
Third-party cookies are set by someone other than the owner of the website you’re visiting. Some of our pages may also contain content from other sites like YouTube, which may set their own cookies. If you share a link to a page on one of our sites, the platform you share it on (for example, Facebook) may set a cookie on your browser. We have no control over third-party cookies – you can turn them off, but not through us.
Do not track (DNT) is a feature offered by some browsers which, if enabled, sends a signal to websites requesting that your browsing isn’t tracked. Currently there is no industry-wide standard that has been agreed or universally adopted to determine how such signals are handled and for that reason we do not respond to DNT requests. We will review how this feature, and other technologies similar, evolve and then take steps to incorporate as and when appropriate.
Remember that editing your cookie preferences will not remove any existing cookies from your browser. It’ll only affect the way cookies are used in future.
1. Essential & Performance
Some cookies are essential for the basic functionality of our websites. They let you do things like log in, move from page to page, and use our interactive tools. You can’t choose to turn off these cookies. Without them, our website won’t work properly and we won’t be able to fix any errors.
We also use cookies to run essential analytics and testing tools. These tools measure and improve how our website performs and makes sure that it meets your needs, and that we are always providing the best experience possible for our members, or for people accessing our website for free advice.
List of cookies
| Tool | Cookie name(s) | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudinary | __ar_v4 __lotl | Image storage and optimisation tool used on our Signup website. |
| Brightcove | _bc_uuid _cb _chartbeat2 _v__chartbeat3 _vwo_uuid_v2 ei_client_id | Supports video functionalities on our website. |
| Which? site | _xxxx_session earcusession ASP.NET_SessionId JSESSIONID PHPSESSID sessionCookie NSC_WJQ-{xxxx} __cfduid CFIDCFTOKEN | Website session cookies required for the functionality of all Which? websites. A session cookie contains information that is stored in a temporary memory location and then subsequently deleted after the session is completed or the web browser is closed. |
| Which? site | _compare_products | A cookie to remember products a user has selected to use in our product comparison tables so that they can compare product features |
| Drip | _drip_client_2437764 | A plugin tool that allows us to optimise the loading and sizes of our images. |
| Which? site - Switch | affCookieID affExpiration affiliateID ENERGYSESSION | A cookie used to ensure that Which? receives the correct affiliation with any traffic generated from Which? Switch |
| Amazon Web Services (AWS) | AWSELB | Used to distribute traffic on our sites on several servers in order to optimise response times |
| Which? site - Wills | BASKETCOUNT | Used by the Wills website to support their online ecommerce journey |
| Blaize | blaize_session blaize_tracking_id blaize_meta | A session cookie to support our Login system so customers can view logged in content across our websites |
| BuddyPress | bp-activity-oldestpage | A plugin cookie used to remember what page of activity the "load more" is on when viewing paginated content |
| Click4Assistance | C4ATBCookiexxxx_Cook_DTS C4ATBCookiexxxxx_Cook_ExtSets C4ATBCookiexxxx_Cook_ServerGUID C4ATBCookiexxxx_Cook_VisitorID C4ATBCookiexxxx_Cook_Visits C4ATBCookiexxxxTestP C4ATBWid | Cookies used to enable live chat feature, and request a callback functionality |
| Which? site | consents | Used to track our user interaction with our privacy banner and their cookie settings for our website |
| Which? site | cr_{uniqueID} | Used by our Signup website to support the update payment functionality |
| Which? site - Trusted Traders | has_js | A cookie used on the Trusted Trader website to track user has JavaScript enabled |
| Which? site | identity.cdn.logged_in | A cookie used to serve our members non-cached content on our website |
| YouTube | LOGIN_INFO PREF VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE YSC | We embed videos from our official YouTube channel into some of our websites. This may set cookies on your computer to remember playback features when interacting with our YouTube videos. |
| Which? site - Later Life Care | relative_in_care | This is an essential cookie used on our Later Life Care website to support the advice tool functionality |
| SLI | sli_uuid SLI1 SLI2 SLIBeacon | Cookies used by our search provider SLI to give users relevant results when searching the Which website. It is used to track search activity for attribution. |
| Which? site | source_code | This is a cookie we use to serve customer the right version of our Signup website so that you are signing up to the right product and subscription. |
| Which? site | wakeme | This is an essential cookie used by our Login system to support a single sign on capability so that you can log in or out across our multiple websites |
| Wordpress | wordpress_google_apps_login wordpress_logged_in_{uniqueID} wordpress_sec_{uniqueID} wordpress_test_cookie | This is a cookie that may appear on our websites built on the Wordpress platform. Wordpress is a website building and publishing platform |
| Which? site - Legal Service | yourAuthCookie | Cookie used by our Legal Service website to enable log in functionalities |
| Which? site - Wills | BrowserWarningDisplayed | This is a cookie used on the Wills website to track if the site has been loaded on an unsupported browser, and to show a warning banner if so |
| Which? site - Trusted Traders | search_history | Cookie used on the Trusted Trader website to track search history to give users a customised journey when using the website |
| Which? site - Wills | {customerid}.filters {selectortype}_selector | This is a cookie used on the Wills website that stores the filters and sort settings of the My documents page and to store the state of the Will and Power Of Attorney selector tools to reload state if the customer revisits the website |
| AddThis | __atuvc __atuvs cw_id loc mus na_id na_tc uvc | These are cookies that are created and read by the AddThis social sharing site. Addthis allows the user to share a webpage with many social sites. |
| ads_prefs auth_token ct0 external_referer kdt lang personalization_id remember_checked_on twid _twitter_sess muc guest_id eu_cn csrf_same_site_set dnt tfw_exp rweb_optin | Twitter cookies allow you to tweet about the website content and share our content on Twitter. They are also used by Twitter to collect information about users browsing behaviour for marketing purposes including digital display and social media advertising. | |
| Google Analytics | __qca _ga 1P_JAR _mutm OTZ _gat_UA-{uniqueID} _gid _gat _gat_Embed AMP_TOKEN
| Google Analytics 360 is our main tool for site performance and analytics. It uses cookies to collect anonymous information about how people move around our website and how easily they can find what they’re looking for. This helps us know what we can improve.
To find out more, see Google's privacy notice. Although you can’t opt out of these cookies, you can block them by downloading and installing |
| Google Ads | __gads od | This is a cookie set by Google to measure behaviour around our ads. These cookies can't be read by Google and are used only by Which?. They serve purposes such as measuring interactions with the ads on that domain and preventing the same ads from being shown to you too many times. |
| Google Tag Manager | _dc_gtm_UA-{uniqueID} | This is a cookie used by Google Tag Manager to control the loading of a Google Analytics script tag. It is used by Google tools such as Google Ad Network and gathers information on the demographics of our website’s visitors. You can find out more here |
| Google Optimize | _gaexp | Google Optimize 360 helps us run tests on new features and journeys, so we can continue improving what we offer you. It uses cookies to make sure you have a consistent experience while we run these tests. |
| Which? site | landingContentVertical lastAdTechImpr lastPageName RefTrack RefTrackGroup internalReferral | These are cookies used to track the last referring page ie. the last page user was on. This is used to track conversion behaviour as well as browsing behaviour across our websites |
| Which? site | identity.analytics_flag.logged_in Wm cookies_whitelisted | These are cookies we use for reporting purposes that an active log in was triggered by a user. |
| Which? site | Trialist | Allows Which? to identify that a user is in a Trial state. |
| ResponseTap | adiErr adiLP adiS adiV adiVi _ga | ResponseTap helps us connect you to the right person when you call us from our website. It uses cookies to give you a unique contact number, and to keep that number consistent during your visit. |
| Which? site | contact_ID contact_ID.analytics_flag | Cookies used by Which? to gather information about how our logged in members use our websites. It doesn’t collect or allow us to track any personal information |
| Which? site | solus | This is a cookie used by Which? to track visits to our Money Magazine bundle signup page, to track conversions for that product. It doesn't collect or allow us to track any personal information. |
2. User experience & Insight cookies
These cookies help us get feedback so we can improve what we offer. They’re needed to run reporting tools that gather information about how people are using our website. You can choose to turn these cookies on or off at any time.
List of cookies
| Tool | Cookie name(s) | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| ContentSquare | _cs_id _cs_s _cs_vars _cs_ex _cs_c _cs_optout _CS_MK | ContentSquare records visits on our website, to help us understand how people move around and where we can make the journey smoother. It doesn’t collect any personal or financial information. |
| Keywee | sp | Keywee is a natural-language processing tool we use to scan our content and understand what it is about. They target audiences that have been shown to act on similar content and provides insight into how our content is performing with our targeted audiences, across platforms. |
| Qualaroo (formerly Kissinsights) | ki_r ki_s ki_u ki_t | Qualaroo runs pop-up surveys on our website, so people can give us feedback on what they like and don’t like about our site, and about our products and services. It doesn’t collect any personal or financial information. |
| Loop11 | __utma __utmb __utmc __utmt __utmz __utmze | Loop11 is a testing tool that shows us where we can improve the experience of using our website. It doesn’t collect any personal or financial information. |
| Usabilla | usabilla_campaign_open | Usabilla is a tool that allows us to gather feedback from users on our website. A cookie is used to avoid showing users the same information or forms multiple times. |
3. Advertising & Targeting cookies
We never show adverts from third parties on our website. However, we do advertise our own products and services, and you may see our adverts around the internet too.
We use cookies to measure how well our adverts do and to make sure they’re useful to you – based on what kind of content you read the most.
Some cookies tell us where you saw a particular advert and help us limit the number of times you see it.
We link to a number of external websites where you can buy products or services that we feature on our site. When you click on a link, we may earn commission and your activity may be tracked using cookies.
We also use cookies to make the content in our emails and newsletters more relevant to you.
List of cookies
| Tool | Cookie name(s) | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Google AdWords | _gac_UA-xxxx _gcl_aw _gcl_dc Conversion | This cookie stores campaign information in order to provide Google AdWords with a more reliable way to measure the interactions customers have with our websites. |
| Xanda | mc d | These third party cookies are set by Xanda’s website to track anonymous information on how visitors use our site |
| act c_user datr fr pl presence sb wd xs _fbp | These cookies are set by Facebook. We use this service to show you have viewed our website so that Facebook can also use this information to serve our ads on their platform. Any data collected will be used in accordance with our own privacy policy and the social network's privacy policy. | |
| AdForm | adtrc C cid CM CM14 CTxxxxxx TPC uid | These are cookies used by AdForm. Adform is an advertising technology used to gather statistics about visitors and collect information used to decide which ads to display, such as showing similar products to those a visitor has looked at before. |
| AID ANID APISID CONSENT HSID NID OGPC PLAY_ACTIVE_ACCOUNT PLAY_PREFS SAPISID SID SIDCC SSID DV IDE test_cookie userid | These are Google cookies used to serve advertising ads across the web. Google also uses cookies to help customize ads on Google properties, like Google Search. They use such cookies to remember your most recent searches, your previous interactions with an advertiser’s ads or search results, and your visits to an advertiser’s website. | |
| Apple | as_cn as_disa as_rec as_sfa dssf dssid2 pxro xp_ab xp_abc xp_ci | These are cookies used by the Apple App store. We feature links on our website to encourage our users to download our apps from the Apple App store. They are also used by Apple to collect information about users browsing behaviour for marketing purposes |
| Bing | MUID MUIDB MR NAP ANON _EDGE_V SRCHD SRCHUID SRCHUSR _uetsid | These cookies, managed by Microsoft (Bing), collect anonymous information about how visitors from Bing Ads use our site. We use this information to make sure our advertisements are appearing for relevant search terms. |
| RU4.com | TMP_X1ID X1ID | This is a cookie used on some of our websites, which registers a unique ID that identifies the user's device during return visits across websites that use the same ad network. The ID is used to allow targeted ads |
| Amazon Advertising | ad-id ad-privacy | Used to register user actions and target content on our website based on ad clicks that have come from a different website. |
| _pinterest_ct_rt _pinterest_cm _gid _ga | Pinterest reads the cookie and uses the info to personalise your experience when you use the Pinterest website. If you aren’t logged in or haven’t signed up yet, Pinterest can also use cookies to customise your sign up experience | |
| Impact UTT | clickid | Impact UTT helps us track cross-channel performance or our advertising accurately |
| Awin | bId aw***** AWSESS awpv***** AW | Awin is a partner we work with for some of our retailer links on some of our sites. When you click on a retailer link, we may earn affiliate commission. This supports our not-for-profit mission to empower consumers and in no way affects our recommendations. Please refer to Awin's privacy policy for more information about how they use your data. |
| Digidip | digidip | Digidip is a partner we work with for some of our retailer links on some of our sites. When you click on a retailer link, we may earn affiliate commission. This supports our not-for-profit mission to empower consumers and in no way affects our recommendations. Please refer to Digidip's privacy policy for more information about how they use your data. |
| CJ Affiliate solutions | S LCLK DotomiUser SESS NSID CJSession CJAnalytics | CJ Affiliate solutions is a partner we work with for some of our retailer links on some of our sites. When you click on a retailer link, we may earn affiliate commission. This supports our not-for-profit mission to empower consumers and in no way affects our recommendations. Please refer to CJ's privacy policy for more information about how they use your data. |
| UserMatchHistory AnalyticsSyncHistory li_oatml lms_ads lms_analytics li_fat_id li_sugr U _guid BizographicsOptOut li_giant | These cookies, managed by LinkedIn, collect anonymous information about how visitors from our LinkedIn ads use our site. |