Privacy and cookies

Privacy

UK Argo collects standard internet log information and anonymous details of visitor behaviour patterns. The former enables us to trouble shoot problems and the latter to improve the speed of our service and enhance your experience.

We do not capture or store any personal information that can be used to identify an individual.

Cookies

What are cookies?

When websites provide services, they want to make them easy, useful and reliable. Where services are delivered on the internet, this sometimes involves placing small amounts of information on your device, for example, computer or mobile phone. These include small files known as cookies. They cannot be used to identify you personally.

These pieces of information are used to improve services for you through, for example:
1. enabling a service to recognise your device so you don't have to give the same information several times during one task;
2. recognising that you may already have given a username and password so you don't need to do it for every web page requested;
3. measuring how many people are using services, so they can be made easier to use and there's enough capacity to ensure they are fast.
UK Argo only uses cookies as described in category 3. More information on and how to manage cookies is provided in Directgov article 'Browser cookies - what are they and how to manage them'.

Our use of cookies

Our cookies cannot be used to collect personally identifiable information about you. Please be aware that restricting cookies may ultimately impact on the services we provide.

Essential cookies

These first-party cookies enable us to improve the response of our service. These cookies are used by our server load balancing switch. This enables us improve our service by managing and maintaining users sessions.

Name (expiration):
userid (Persists) and sessionid (browser exit)

Cookies for improving service

We use Google Analytics to monitor visitor behaviour patterns. Google Analytics uses first-party cookies as described below to track visitor interactions. First-party cookies are not shared by browsers across domains. For more information see an overview of Google's privacy policy.

Google Analytics cookies are used to collect information about how visitors use our site. They consist of a randomly generated number. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, for example the number of visitors to the site, where visitors have come to the site from and the pages they visited. We use this information to target development activities to help us improve the site and to compile reports.

Name (expiration):
_utma (2 years)
_utmb (30 minutes)
_utmc (browser exit)
_utmz (6 months)

How to control cookies

If you wish you can control which cookies which are set by websites through your browser settings. The 'Help' function within your browser should tell you how. Alternatively, you may wish to visit www.aboutcookies.org which contains comprehensive information on how to allow, block, delete and manage cookies on a variety of browsers.
Within your browser you can also view the cookie code, simply click on a cookie to open it. You will see a short string of text and numbers. The numbers are the identification card, and can only be seen by the server that set the cookie. For information on how to manage cookies on the browser of your mobile phone you will need to refer to the handset manual.