cookies.html.erb

---
title: Cookies
---

<div class="govuk-width-container">
  <main id="main-content" class="govuk-main-wrapper" role="main">
    <div class="govuk-grid-row">
      <div class="govuk-grid-column-two-thirds">
        <% if config.new_cookie_banner == true %>
          <%= partial 'partials/cookie-settings-confirmation.html.erb' %>
        <% end %>

        <h1 class="govuk-heading-l" id="heading-1">Cookies</h1>
        <p class="govuk-body-l">GOV.UK&nbsp;Pay puts small files (known as ‘cookies’) on to your computer.</p>
        <p class="govuk-body">Cookies are used to:</p>
        <ul class="govuk-list govuk-list--bullet">
          <li>secure your payment session</li>
          <li>remember the notifications you’ve seen so we don’t show them again</li>
        </ul>

        <p class="govuk-body">Cookies are also used to remember any government users who’ve signed in to our payments admin tool.</p>

        <p class="govuk-body">You’ll normally see a message on the site before we store a cookie on your computer.</p>

        <p class="govuk-body">
          Find out
          <%=
            link_to 'how to manage cookies',
                    'https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/online/cookies',
                    'data-click-events' => '',
                    'data-click-category' => 'Content',
                    'data-click-action' => 'External link clicked',
                    :class => 'govuk-link'
          %>.
        </p>

        <h2 class="govuk-heading-m">Card payment session</h2>
        <p class="govuk-body">If you pay for a government service using a credit or debit card, GOV.UK&nbsp;Pay uses cookies to keep your payment session secure.</p>
        <table class="govuk-table">
          <thead class="govuk-table__head">
            <tr class="govuk-table__row">
              <th class="govuk-table__header govuk-!-width-one-third" scope="col">Name</th>
              <th class="govuk-table__header" scope="col">Purpose</th>
              <th class="govuk-table__header govuk-!-width-one-quarter" scope="col">Expires</th>
            </tr>
          </thead>
          <tbody class="govuk-table__body">
            <tr class="govuk-table__row">
              <th class="govuk-table__cell govuk-table__head" scope="row">frontend_session_2</th>
              <td class="govuk-table__cell">We use this to secure your payment session</td>
              <td class="govuk-table__cell">3 hours</td>
            </tr>
            <tr class="govuk-table__row">
              <th class="govuk-table__cell govuk-table__head" scope="row">session</th>
              <td class="govuk-table__cell">We use this to secure your payment session</td>
              <td class="govuk-table__cell">1 hour</td>
            </tr>
          </tbody>
        </table>

        <h2 class="govuk-heading-m">Detection of fraud</h2>
        <p class="govuk-body">
          In some limited circumstances, we may use Google reCAPTHCA to help us confirm legitimate use and protect GOV.UK&nbsp;Pay from fraud, spam and misuse. You’ll be required
          to check an ‘I’m not a robot’ checkbox and possibly complete a picture challenge. Google’s reCAPTCHA technology, when used, will apply the following cookie:
        </p>

        <table class="govuk-table">
          <thead class="govuk-table__head">
            <tr class="govuk-table__row">
              <th class="govuk-table__header govuk-!-width-one-third" scope="col">Name</th>
              <th class="govuk-table__header" scope="col">Purpose</th>
              <th class="govuk-table__header govuk-!-width-one-quarter" scope="col">Expires</th>
            </tr>
          </thead>
          <tbody class="govuk-table__body">
            <tr class="govuk-table__row">
              <th class="govuk-table__cell govuk-table__head" scope="row">_GRECAPTCHA</th>
              <td class="govuk-table__cell">GOV.UK&nbsp;Pay uses this, on rare occasions, to prevent fraudulent testing of card numbers.</td>
              <td class="govuk-table__cell">6 months</td>
            </tr>
          </tbody>
        </table>

        <h2 class="govuk-heading-m">Our introductory message</h2>
        <p class="govuk-body">
          You may see a pop-up welcome message when you first visit GOV.UK&nbsp;Pay. We’ll store a cookie so that your computer knows you’ve seen it and knows not to show it again.
        </p>
        <table class="govuk-table">
          <thead class="govuk-table__head">
            <tr class="govuk-table__row">
              <th class="govuk-table__header govuk-!-width-one-third" scope="col">Name</th>
              <th class="govuk-table__header" scope="col">Purpose</th>
              <th class="govuk-table__header govuk-!-width-one-quarter" scope="col">Expires</th>
            </tr>
          </thead>
          <tbody class="govuk-table__body">
            <tr class="govuk-table__row">
              <th class="govuk-table__cell govuk-table__head" scope="row">seen_cookie_message</th>
              <td class="govuk-table__cell">Saves a message to let us know that you have seen our cookie message</td>
              <td class="govuk-table__cell">1 month</td>
            </tr>
          </tbody>
        </table>

        <h2 class="govuk-heading-m">GOV.UK&nbsp;Pay admin tool</h2>
        <p class="govuk-body">Only government service owners can access the payments admin tool. It’s used to manage, and report on, payments.</p>
        <table class="govuk-table">
          <thead class="govuk-table__head">
            <tr class="govuk-table__row">
              <th class="govuk-table__header govuk-!-width-one-third" scope="col">Name</th>
              <th class="govuk-table__header" scope="col">Purpose</th>
              <th class="govuk-table__header govuk-!-width-one-quarter" scope="col">Expires</th>
            </tr>
          </thead>
          <tbody class="govuk-table__body">
            <tr class="govuk-table__row">
              <th class="govuk-table__cell govuk-table__head" scope="row">session</th>
              <td class="govuk-table__cell">Remembers if you’ve signed in recently</td>
              <td class="govuk-table__cell">3 hours</td>
            </tr>
            <tr class="govuk-table__row">
              <th class="govuk-table__cell govuk-table__head" scope="row">register_invite</th>
              <td class="govuk-table__cell">Remembers your registration progress if you’ve been invited</td>
              <td class="govuk-table__cell">1 hour</td>
            </tr>
            <tr class="govuk-table__row">
              <th class="govuk-table__cell govuk-table__head" scope="row">govuk_pay_notifications</th>
              <td class="govuk-table__cell">Remember the notifications you’ve seen so we don’t show them again</td>
              <td class="govuk-table__cell">6 months</td>
            </tr>
          </tbody>
        </table>

        <% if config.new_cookie_banner == true %>
          <h2 class="govuk-heading-m">Analytics cookies (optional)</h2>
          <p class="govuk-body">With your permission, we use Google Analytics to collect data about how you use Pay. This information helps us to improve our service.</p>
          <p class="govuk-body">Google is not allowed to use or share our analytics data with anyone.</p>
          <p class="govuk-body">Google Analytics stores anonymised information about:</p>
          <ul class="govuk-list govuk-list--bullet">
            <li>how you got to GOV.UK&nbsp;Pay</li>
            <li>the pages you visit on Pay and how long you spend on them</li>
            <li>any errors you see while using Pay</li>
          </ul>
          <table class="govuk-table">
            <caption class="govuk-visually-hidden">
              Google Analytics cookies
            </caption>
            <thead class="govuk-table__head">
              <tr class="govuk-table__row">
                <th class="govuk-table__header govuk-!-width-one-third" scope="col">Name</th>
                <th class="govuk-table__header" scope="col">Purpose</th>
                <th class="govuk-table__header govuk-!-width-one-quarter" scope="col">Expires</th>
              </tr>
            </thead>
            <tbody class="govuk-table__body">
              <tr class="govuk-table__row">
                <th class="govuk-table__cell govuk-table__head" scope="row">_ga</th>
                <td class="govuk-table__cell">Checks if you’ve visited Pay before. This helps us count how many people visit our site.</td>
                <td class="govuk-table__cell">2 years</td>
              </tr>
              <tr class="govuk-table__row">
                <th class="govuk-table__cell govuk-table__head" scope="row">_gid</th>
                <td class="govuk-table__cell">Checks if you’ve visited Pay before. This helps us count how many people visit our site.</td>
                <td class="govuk-table__cell">24 hours</td>
              </tr>
            </tbody>
          </table>

          <div class="cookie-settings__no-js">
            <h2 class="govuk-heading-s govuk-!-margin-top-6">Do you want to accept analytics cookies?</h2>
            <p class="govuk-body">
              We use JavaScript to set our analytics cookies. Unfortunately JavaScript is not running on your browser, so you cannot change your settings. You can try:
            </p>
            <ul class="govuk-list govuk-list--bullet">
              <li>reloading the page</li>
              <li>turning on JavaScript in your browser</li>
            </ul>
          </div>

          <div class="cookie-settings__form-wrapper">
            <form data-module="cookie-settings-form" id="cookie-settings-form">
              <div class="govuk-form-group govuk-!-margin-top-6">
                <fieldset class="govuk-fieldset" aria-describedby="changed-name-hint">
                  <legend class="govuk-fieldset__legend govuk-fieldset__legend--s">Do you want to accept analytics cookies?</legend>
                  <div class="govuk-radios govuk-radios--inline">
                    <div class="govuk-radios__item">
                      <input class="govuk-radios__input" id="cookies-analytics-yes" name="cookies-analytics" type="radio" value="on" />
                      <label class="govuk-label govuk-radios__label" for="cookies-analytics-yes"> Yes </label>
                    </div>
                    <div class="govuk-radios__item">
                      <input class="govuk-radios__input" id="cookies-analytics-no" name="cookies-analytics" type="radio" value="off" />
                      <label class="govuk-label govuk-radios__label" for="cookies-analytics-no"> No </label>
                    </div>
                  </div>
                </fieldset>
              </div>
              <button class="govuk-button" type="submit">Save cookie settings</button>
            </form>
          </div>
        <% end %>
      </div>
    </div>
  </main>
</div>