Cookies are files saved on your phone, tablet or computer when you visit a website.
They're used to help a website work properly, as well as to measure how you use the site.
We use 2 types of cookies to store information about how you use our site.
1. Necessary cookies
Necessary cookies are essential for a website to work properly.
For example, on suffolk.gov.uk they do things like:
- remembering your progress through a form (such as a licence application)
- showing you information in your chosen language when you return to the site
- maintaining basic functions, performance and security of the site
As these cookies are essential, they always need to be on.
You can turn off necessary cookies by changing your browser settings. However, this may affect how our site functions, and your experience of using it.
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
| __cfduid | The cookie is used by cdn services like CloudFlare to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. It does not correspond to any user ID in the web application and does not store any personally identifiable information. | 1 month |
| AWSELB | This cookie is associated with Amazon Web Services and is used for managing sticky sessions across production servers. | No expiry |
| AWSELBCORS | This cookie is used for load balancing, in order to optimise the service. It also stores the information regarding which server cluster is serving the visitor. | When you close your browser |
| lang | This is a third party cookie set by Twitter and used to store the language preferences of a user to serve up content in that stored language the next time user visit the website. | No expiry |
| CookieControl | This cookie is used to remember a user’s choice about cookies on a site. Where users have previously indicated a preference, that user’s preference will be stored in this cookie. | No expiry |
| _C4AP | This is a third party cookie set by Click4Assistance, and is used to identify if the visitor is new or returning, and includes historic activities such as when/if a chat has started. | No expiry |
| _C4AS | This is a third party cookie set by Click4Assistance to hold information about its tools and rules. | When you close your browser |
| Recite.Persist | Allows the toolbar to persist across subsequent web pages on client site once toolbar launched. | 1 year |
| Recite.Preferences | Allows user-selected settings to auto-load on subsequent web pages on a client site once toolbar launched. | 1 year |
2. Analytics cookies
Analytics cookies are used to measure how you use a website.
We use Google Analytics and Siteimprove to understand how you use suffolk.gov.uk.
We do not allow these third parties to use or share the data about how you use this site.
Google Analytics and Siteimprove set cookies that store anonymised information about things like:
- how you got to the site
- the pages you visit on our site
- how long you spend on each page
- what you click on while you're visiting the site
Some pages on suffolk.gov.uk may contain content from third-party sites like YouTube, which set their own cookies.
Analytics cookies are not essential, and can be turned off. However, please be aware that this information helps us improve our site, giving you a better experience.
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
| _ga | This cookie is set by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors. | 2 years |
| _gid | This cookie is set by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visited in an anonymous form. | 24 hours |
| nmstat | This cookie is set by Siteimprove. This cookie is used for web analytics, the cookie contain a ID string about the session. The cookie records the visitor use of the website. This information is used to improve the site experience. The cookie does not contain any personal information. | 2 years, 8 months |
| _use_hitbox | This is a third party cookie set by YouTube, and is a randomly generated number that identifies your browser. | When you close your browser |
| VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | This is a third party cookie set by YouTube, and count the views of embedded videos. | 9 months |
How to change your cookie settings
You can change your cookie preferences at any time by:
- Clicking on the ‘C’ icon (bottom left corner of the screen)
- Adjusting the available sliders to ‘On’ or ‘Off’
- Clicking ‘Save and close’
You may need to refresh your page for your settings to take effect.
Alternatively, most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings.
Find out how to manage cookies on different browsers:
- Chrome cookies information
- Safari cookies information
- Internet Explorer cookies information
- Microsoft Edge cookies information
- Samsung Internet cookies information
- Firefox cookies information
You can search for cookies information related to other internet browsers using a search engine, such as Google.
Further information on cookies
Cookies are regulated by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
We used cookieserve.com to find information about cookies used on suffolk.gov.uk.
Please contact ContentDesign@suffolk.gov.uk if you have any questions about cookies on this website.
You can visit our privacy and data protection page for full details of how Suffolk County Council treats your personal information.