NHS Address Update Feature Service cookies policy
NHS England ("we" or "us") uses cookies to deliver the “NHS Address update” feature service.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small files we put on your device (for example, your phone, tablet or laptop) when you visit a website.
Cookies are widely used to make websites and apps work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide services and functionalities for users.
How we use cookies
The “NHS Address update” feature service uses two types of cookies:
- Cookies we need to put on your device to make the feature work and keep it secure. These are known as “strictly necessary cookies”.
- Optional analytic cookies to collect information about how the feature is used to help us improve it (sometimes referred to as "performance cookies" or “analytics cookies”.) These analytics cookies help us to improve our service but we will only use them if you say it’s ok by selecting ‘Accept analytics cookies’ in the cookie pop-up when you visit the service.
Important: Important
If you're using a public computer, make sure you:
- log out of the NHS App online
- delete any health record documents you may have downloaded
- delete any cookies from the web browser
Strictly necessary cookies we use
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| session_id | Used to support the core functionality of the service. | 60 minutes |
| address-update-cookie-accept | Persistent cookie. This cookie is set once a visitor has agreed to, or rejected cookies. It is used to save their decision on whether they have accepted or rejected cookies. | 365 days |
| aws-waf-token | Amazon Web Services persistent cookie. This cookie contains encrypted information about the way you interact with our service which we use to establish that you are a legitimate visitor and protect our service from attacks using fake users. | 5 minutes |
Optional analytics cookies we use
We use software called Google Analytics to collect performance data about how you use the service so that we can make improvements. You can read more about how Google Analytics processes your personal data in the Google privacy policy.
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _ga | This is set when you first log in. It lets us know your unique session ID each time you use. | 2 years |
| _ga_### | This is set when you first log in. It lets us know your unique session ID each time you use. | 2 years |
Your cookie choices
The majority of devices and browsers will allow you to alter the settings used for cookies and disable and enable them as you require.
You can select “reject analytics cookies” if you do not want these optional cookies placed on your device while you are using the service.
You can also delete the cookies already on your device, and you can set your browser or device to prevent them being placed.
Please be aware that if you set your preferences to not allow all cookies, it could limit the functionality of the “Address update” feature service as it needs the strictly necessary ones to work.
Changes to this cookie policy
Our terms of use, privacy policy and cookies policy may change. We'll inform you and request your continued agreement if we make any significant changes to our privacy policy, cookies policy or terms of use.