Nothing optional is set unless you say yes. On a first visit the Site sets no cookies at all. If you make a choice in the consent banner, one first-party cookie records that choice — and that is the only cookie that exists without an opt-in. Analytics runs only if you switch it on. No marketing cookie is set at all today, even if you opt in. A session-only flag recording that you’ve acknowledged the prescription-information notice identifies nothing about you and is deleted automatically when you close your browser.
This policy sits alongside our Privacy Policy and reflects the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), which govern how websites may store information on your device. The Site is operated by [My Health Choice Ltd — company number pending registration].
1. What cookies are
Cookies are small text files that a website places on your device (computer, phone, or tablet) to remember things about your visit. Websites also use similar technologies — such as local storage, a small store in your browser that works like a cookie but does not get sent to any server. This policy covers both, and we use “cookies” as shorthand for all of them.
2. What we store, exactly
The Site is a set of static pages with a consent tool. This is the complete list of what it can place on your device, and when:
| Name | Type | Category | When it is set | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|---|
mhc_consent |
First-party cookie | Strictly necessary | Only when you make a choice in the consent banner (accept, reject, or a per-category selection). It records which categories you allowed, an anonymous consent reference and the date of your choice — nothing that identifies you. | 6 months (182 days) |
mhcRxAck |
Session storage | Strictly necessary | Only if you press “Continue” on the prescription-information notice, so we don't show you the same notice on every page. Contains no personal data. | Deleted when you close your browser |
mhcEligWM |
Session storage | Strictly necessary | Remembers that you completed the weight-loss eligibility self-check during this visit, so you aren't asked again. Holds no health details. | Deleted when you close your browser |
mhcEligSave |
Local storage (your device) | Strictly necessary | Only set if you tick “Save my answers on this device” on the weight-loss checker's result screen. Holds the measurement inputs you typed — height, weight, unit choice, whether the ethnicity-adjusted thresholds apply, and which self-declared checkboxes you ticked — on your own device only, so the checker can prefill them next time. Never sent to us or anywhere else, and never includes your BMI result. Leave the box unticked and nothing is stored. You can clear it any time from the checker itself, or from your browser's site-data settings. | Persists until you clear it |
_ga, _ga_* |
First-party cookies | Analytics | Set only after you opt in to the analytics category. They belong to Google Analytics 4 and count visits and page views. If you never opt in — or later withdraw — they are not set, and any existing ones are cleared. | Up to 2 years |
| — | — | Marketing / affiliate attribution | No marketing cookies are currently set, even if you opt in. The category exists so that future affiliate-attribution (recording that a visit to a provider came from us, so commission can be attributed) can only ever launch behind your consent. This page will list any such cookie by name before it is introduced. | — |
Remembering your yes-or-no consent choice (the mhc_consent cookie) is classed as strictly necessary storage under PECR — it is the one thing a consent system has to store, and it is exempt from consent itself. Everything non-essential defaults to off: no category is pre-ticked, and rejecting is one click, exactly as prominent as accepting. If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control or Do-Not-Track signal, we treat it as a rejection of everything optional automatically.
Beyond the table above, the only third-party requests the Site makes are to load its typeface and imagery; those requests do not set cookies for us and we receive no data from them about you.
3. The optional categories — what saying yes means
- Analytics — helps us understand how the Site is used (which pages are visited, on what type of device) so we can improve it, via Google Analytics 4. Loaded only after you opt in; until then the analytics script is not even downloaded. Google's consent-mode signals are set to “denied” by default and updated only per your choice.
- Marketing / affiliate attribution — would record that a visit to a provider's website came from our Site, so the provider (or an affiliate network) can attribute any commission to us. It never affects the prices you pay or how providers are ordered. Nothing in this category is in use yet; opting in today sets nothing.
If the consent tool fails to load for any reason, the Site behaves as if you had rejected everything: no analytics, no marketing, no tracking. It fails safe, never open.
4. Changing your mind
Use the “Manage cookies” link in the footer of any page to reopen the preferences panel, switch any category on or off, and save. Withdrawing analytics consent stops analytics immediately and clears its cookies from your browser. You can also delete everything — including your stored consent choice — via your browser's site-data settings, after which the banner will simply ask you again.
5. Third-party websites
When you click a “Go to Provider Website” button (or “Start a consultation” on prescription treatment pages), you leave our Site. The provider's website may set its own cookies on your device — those are governed by the provider's own cookie and privacy policies, not ours. We suggest reading them. More detail on how these links work is in our Privacy Policy and on our How We Work page.
6. Don't take our word for it
You can check this yourself. Most browsers let you inspect what a site has stored: look for “Cookies and site data” (or similar) in your browser's settings, or in its developer tools, and search for myhealthchoice.co.uk. Before you interact with the consent banner you should find nothing stored by us at all; after a choice, you should find exactly what section 2 lists for the categories you allowed — and nothing more. You can also clear site data for any website at any time from the same place.
7. Changes to this policy
If we change what we store on your device — for example, when affiliate attribution is introduced — we will update this page and its “last updated” date before the change takes effect, and nothing optional will be set until you have been asked.
For how we handle personal data more generally — including your rights under UK GDPR — see our Privacy Policy. Independent guidance on cookies is available from the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.
Questions about this policy? Contact us at privacy@myhealthchoice.co.uk.