Website privacy statement

When we ask you to provide information, we will tell you what this data will be used for and we will give you the option to choose if you would like us to send you information about what we do.

We use Google Analytics and Hotjar to collect information about how you use london.gov.uk. We do this to help make sure the site is meeting the needs of its users and to help us make improvements, for example improving site search. We use VWO to AB test changes to the site, to make sure that we are making the right changes and that these changes make it easier to use the website.  

Google Analytics

Google Analytics stores information about:

• the pages you visit on london.gov.uk
• how long you spend on each london.gov.uk page
• how you got to the site
• what you click on while you’re visiting the site

You can opt out of Google Analytics.

Hotjar

Hotjar stores information on some pages of our site including:

• what you click on the site
• how far you scroll
• how long you visit the page
• whether you have taken part in a survey or poll

You can opt out of Hotjar.

VWO 

VWO stores information about: 

• whether you have seen certain pages on london.gov.uk 

• the version of these pages that you see  

• the actions you take on these pages 

You can opt out of VWO here. 

We do not use Google Analytics or Hotjar or VWO to collect or store information that could be used to identify who you are.

Facebook Pixel

We use Facebook Pixel to capture anonymised data about those who use our site who also use Facebook. Facebook’s targeted advertising then delivers our relevant Facebook adverts based on the page viewed.

Facebook pixel stores information about:

• the pages you visit on london.gov.uk
• what you click on while you're visiting the site
• whether you are a Facebook user and have opted in to relevant advertising from Facebook

The data is anonymised, so we cannot see who you are. After 180 days you are deleted from the list of page viewers, unless you view a page with the pixel on it again. Find out more, or opt out of Facebook advertising.

YouTube

We embed videos from our YouTube channel, therefore, due to YouTube's privacy-enhanced policy you may find that cookies are set on your computer once you have clicked to play the videos. However YouTube doesn't store personally-identifiable cookie information relating to playbacks of embedded videos when using their privacy-enhanced mode. You can find out more at YouTube Help.

ShareThis

ShareThis collects information when you sharing london.gov.uk content with the ShareThis Icon.

ShareThis stores information about:

• What content is shared and where – for example, the relevant social media site (e.g., Twitter, Facebook)
• how do you use london.gov.uk, such as how frequently you have visited london.gov.uk, the web search that landed you on a particular page, and other usage data

You can opt out of ShareThis.

We aim to have a secure and reliable website and use appropriate security technology to protect any personal data we process about you. But your use of the internet, and this website, is entirely at your own risk. We have no responsibility or liability for the security of personal information transmitted over the internet.

We will not:

• sell or rent your data to third parties
• share your data with third parties for marketing purposes without express permission

The GLA may be required to share your personal information with the police and other law enforcement agencies for the purposes of crime prevention or detection. If we are asked to disclose your information, we ask the requesting organisation to demonstrate that the data will assist in the prevention or detection of crime, or that the GLA is legally obliged to disclose it.

Cookies are small pieces of data that are downloaded to your computer or mobile device when you visit a website or application.

Cookies are generally used to monitor how a website is used and improve your online experience. They do not give us access to the rest of your computer and are not used to identify you personally.

List of cookies used

• Necessary cookies
  • Sharethis_cookie_test: determines whether the browser accepts cookies
  • has_js: Register whether or not the user has activated JavaScripts in the browser
  • rc::a: Used to distinguish between humans and bots.
  • re::c: Used to distinguish between humans and bots.
  • _tl_tracked: registers UTM tracking info when new Talk London members create an account. Used for internal analytics by the Talk London site admins. 

• Analytics cookies
  • _ga: Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the websites
  • _gat: Used by Google Analytics to throttle request rate
  • _gid: Registers as a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.
  • collect: Used to send data to Google Analytics about the visitor's device and behaviour. Tracks the visitor across devices and marketing channels.
  • _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress: a unique ID assigned by Hotjar to count how many times a website has been visited by different visitors
  • _hjFirstSeen: used by Hotjar to determine if the visitor has visited the website before, or if it is a new visitor.
  • _hjid: Sets a unique ID for the session used by Hotjar to obtain data on visitor behaviour for statistical purposes
  • _hjIncludedInPageviewSample: Used to detect whether the user navigation and interactions are included in the website's data analytics.
  • _hjIncludedInSessionSample: Registers data on visitor's website-behaviour. This is used by Hotjar for internal analysis and website optimisation.
  • _hjTLDTest: Registers statistical data on users' behaviour on the website. Used for internal analytics by the website operator.

  • _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_combi_choose_{ACCID}: This cookie stores the chosen combination. It’s a temporary cookie that gets deleted when the campaign changes are applied 

  • _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_combi_{ACCID}: This cookie is created when a visitor is chosen for a particular variation of a test. It ensures that visitors see the same variation when they revisit the page. Here the Control always has the value of 1, Variation #1 always has the value of 2, Variation #2 has the value of 3, and so on 

  • _vwo_uuid_{CAMPAIGNID}_{ACCID}: This cookie is created for each cross-domain campaign. It generates a unique id for every visitor and is used for the report segmentation feature in VWO. It also allows you to view data in a refined manner 

  • _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_combi: This cookie is created when a visitor is chosen for a particular variation for a test. This cookie makes sure that visitors see the same variation when they revisit the page in the future. Here the Control has a value of 1, Variation #1 has a value of 2, Variation #2 has a value of 3, and so on 

  • _vwo_uuid: This cookie generates a unique id for every visitor and is used for the report segmentation feature in VWO, and it also allows you to view data in a more refined manner 

  • _vwo_uuid_{CAMPAIGNID}: This cookie is created for each cross-domain campaign. It generates a unique id for every visitor and is used for the report segmentation feature in VWO, and it also allows you to view data in a more refined manner 

  • _vis_opt_test_cookie: This cookie is created to detect if the cookies are enabled on the visitor’s browser or not. It also helps in tracking the number of browser sessions a visitor has gone through. The value of this cookie is always 1 

  • _vwo_ds: This cookie stores persistent visitor-level data for VWO Insights 

  • _vwo_sn: This cookie stores session-level information 

  • _vis_opt_out: This cookie indicates that the visitor should not be made part of any campaign. Its value is 1 

• Marketing cookies
  • _fbp: Used by Facebook to deliver a series of advertisement products such as real-time bidding from third-party advertisers.
  • tr: Used by Facebook to deliver a series of advertisement products such as real-time bidding from third-party advertisers.
  • _gcl_au: Used by Google AdSense for experimenting with advertisement efficiency across websites using their services.
  • st_samesite: Used by ShareThis to track visitor's website navigation and preferences.

Read more about how we use cookies.