Cookies
What are cookies?
- Cookies are small text files. They are placed on your computer or smartphone to collect data. They can help make your interaction with the website faster and easier. Without them, the website may think you are a new visitor every time you move to a new page.
Cookies also tell us what information you are most interested in. In return, we can serve you the information you want. The better we understand your preferences, the better we can meet them.
We also use cookies to collect anonymous data about how you use the website. For example, which pages you have viewed and how long you have remained on our site. This helps us to identify any improvements we need to make to the website.
Disabling cookies
Your preference might be to disable cookies, and we respect that. If you do allow our cookies onto your computer, be aware they have got a lifespan. This ranges from a few minutes to one year before they expire.
Cookies used on our site
Our website (harrow.gov.uk) uses the cookies below.
| Cookie | Cookie function | Expiry |
|---|---|---|
| PHPSESSID |
This cookie identifies you as a unique user while you are browsing the website. No personal information is stored. It enhances your experience by letting us remember that you are logged in. |
Expires when you close the browser |
| visitedPages |
This cookie stores a list of pages you have visited on the site, up to a maximum of 20. If you visit more than 20 pages the oldest page visit is discarded from the cookie. |
Expires within 1 year |
| location |
This cookie stores your device location if you share it. It does so in the form of latitude and longitude coordinates. This helps us provide you with information relevant to your location. |
Expires within 1 year |
| TestCookie |
Used to test whether your browser can accept cookie. |
Expires when you close the browser |
| cfduid |
This cookie is set by Cloudfare. It speeds up page loads and detects bots on the site. |
Expires when you close the browser |
MyHarrow Account
MHA is our online account for residents and businesses. Once signed in, you can view and manage your council accounts. It uses the cookies below.
| Cookie | Cookie function | Expiry |
|---|---|---|
| JSESSIONID |
This cookie identifies you as a unique user while you are browsing the website. No personal information is stored. It enhances your experience by letting us remember that you are logged in. So you can browse the website without having to log in again or submit a form. |
Expires when you close the browser |
| Lwa |
Database GUID (Globally Unique ID). An encrypted value. It lets us identify the accessed environment. |
Expires when you close the browser |
| ASP.NETSessionId |
This cookie identifies you as a unique user while you are browsing the website. No personal information is stored. It enhances your experience by letting us remember that you are logged in. So you can browse the website without having to log in again or submit a form. |
Expires when you close the browser |
Online forms
Our online forms allow users to apply, book, and report things online. They use the cookies below.
| Cookie | Cookie function | Expiry |
|---|---|---|
| APPLANG |
This tells us the language you are using to visit the website, e.g. English. |
Expires in 24 hours |
| PHPSESSID |
This cookie identifies you as a unique user while you are browsing the website. No personal information is stored. It enhances your experience by letting us remember that you are logged in. |
Expires in 6 hours |
| localtime |
This cookie lets us calculate your local time from UTC. |
Expires when you close the browser |
| JSESSIONID |
This cookie identifies you as a unique user while you are browsing the website. No personal information is stored. It improves your experience by letting us remember you are signed in. So you can browse the website without having to log in again or submit a form. |
Expires when you close the browser |
| ASP.NETSessionId |
This cookie identifies you as a unique user while you are browsing the website. No personal information is stored. It improves your experience by letting us remember you are signed in. So you can browse the website without having to log in again or submit a form. |
Expires when you close the browser |
| Lwa |
Database GUID (Globally Unique Identifier). An encrypted value that lets us identify the accessed section. |
Expires when you close the browser |
Website analytics - Google Analytics (GA4)
Google Analytics is the service we use to collect analytics on the use of its websites. These cookies collect data on how visitors use our website. We use the information to help us improve the website. The data is collected anonymously. It uses the cookies below.
| Cookie | Cookie function | Expiry |
|---|---|---|
| _ga |
This is a first-party cookie. It tracks your visits to our website and MyHarrow Account. It helps us to know if you are a new or returning visitor and build user profiles. |
Expires in 2 years |
| _ga_<container-id> |
This cookie tracks the pages you visit on our website and MyHarrow Account. It tracks a user activity during a specific visit. It helps us understand, for example, session duration. |
Expires in 2 years |
Website analytics - Hotjar
We use Hotjar to better understand our users’ needs. For example, how much time they spend on pages, what they like, dislike, and so on. Hotjar uses cookies and other technologies to collect data on our users’ behaviour and devices. This includes a device's:
- IP address. It gets processed during your session. It is stored in a de-identified form.
- Screen size
- Type (unique device identifiers)
- Browser information
- Geographic location (country only)
- And the preferred language used to display our website.
Hotjar stores this data for us in a pseudonymised user profile. Hotjar is contractually forbidden to sell any of the data.
Maps
The map resource provides interactive maps embedded in our web pages. They use the cookies below.
| Cookie | Cookie function | Expiry |
|---|---|---|
| connect.sid |
This cookie identifies you as a unique user while you are browsing the website. No personal information is stored. It enhances your experience by letting us remember that you are logged in. |
Expires when you close the browser |
Planning portal
This database holds all submitted planning applications. It uses the cookies below.
| Cookie | Cookie function | Expiry |
|---|---|---|
| ASP.NETSessionId |
This cookie identifies you as a unique user while you are browsing the website. No personal information is stored. It enhances your experience by letting us remember that you are logged in. |
Expires when you close the browser |
| PHPSESSID |
This cookie is for continuity as you navigate the website. It enables us to keep you logged in to the site or to submit a form. |
Expires when you close the browser |
| visitedPages |
This cookie stores a list of pages you have visited on the site, up to a maximum of 20. If you visit more than 20 pages, the oldest page visit is discarded from the cookie. |
Expires within 1 year |
| WTFPC |
This is a first-party cookie that tracks your visits across our website. It helps us to know if you are a new or returning visitor. |
Expires in 24 hours |
Consultations - Inovem
Inovem is the software for our online consultations and surveys. It uses the cookies below.
| Cookie | Cookie function | Expiry |
|---|---|---|
| JSESSIONID |
This cookie identifies you as a unique user while you are browsing the website. No personal information is stored. It enhances your experience by letting us remember that you are logged in. |
Expires when you close the browser |
Modern.Gov
The modern.gov site holds documents, meeting minutes and agendas. It uses the cookies below.
| Cookie | Cookie function | Expiry |
|---|---|---|
| ASP.NETSessionId |
This cookie identifies you as a unique user while you are browsing the website. No personal information is stored. It enhances your experience by letting us remember that you are logged in. |
Expires when you close the browser |
| mglogon |
This cookie identifies you as a unique user while you are browsing the website. No personal information is stored. It enhances your experience by letting us remember that you are logged in. |
Expires when you close the browser |
Fiso website
The Fiso website is a directory of resources for the care of families and children. It uses the cookies below.
| Cookie | Cookie function | Expiry |
|---|---|---|
| PELanguageCookie |
This cookie is the Public Enquiry language. Defaults to English (1) – could be Welsh, etc. |
Expires when you close the browser |
| SynergyWebSesh |
This cookie identifies you as a unique user while you are browsing the website. No personal information is stored. It enhances your experience by letting us remember that you are logged in. |
Expires when you close the browser |