In this section: About the data
Privacy and cookies
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
This site uses Google Analytics only if you accept analytics cookies. Until you choose, nothing is sent to Google and no analytics cookie is set; if you reject, that stays true. Advertising cookies are never used. The site is published by Tekstak Ltd, which is responsible for the data described here.
Key figures
- 0Advertising cookies Never used, whatever you choose
- 12 monthsHow long your cookie choice is kept Then you are asked again
- 13 monthsGoogle Analytics cookies, if you accept Not set at all until you accept
- 2 monthsGoogle Analytics event data kept Then only aggregated reports remain
What is the short version?
- Never the words or the postcode: site search is recorded as a count of characters and results, and the council tax lookup as the council found. The postcode is stripped from the address before anything is sent.
- Three cookies at most: one holding your choice, and two Google Analytics cookies that are only set if you accept.
- Postcode lookups go to postcodes.io straight from your browser; this site does not see or store them.
- You can change your mind at any time with the "Cookie settings" link in every footer; rejecting after accepting deletes the Google Analytics cookies.
What does Google Analytics collect if you accept?
We use Google Analytics 4 to count visits and see which pages and tools are useful. If you accept, it
records the pages you view, how you arrived (the referring site, and campaign tags such as
utm_source in a link), your approximate location at country and city level, your device,
browser and screen size, and these actions on the page:
- sharing a page, and on which platform;
- downloading a chart image, a CSV or JSON file, or a PDF;
- copying the code for an embeddable widget;
- using the site search, recorded as the number of characters typed and the number of results, never the words;
- using the council tax lookup, recorded as the council found, never the postcode;
- choosing a council or a measure on the council map, and drilling into the tax treemap;
- following a link to the UK tax calculators on howlongisit.co.uk.
The council tax lookup can put a postcode in the page address. The analytics code removes
postcode from the address and the
referrer before anything is sent, and the page removes it from the address bar as soon as the lookup
starts.
Google Analytics sets two first-party cookies, _ga and
_ga_RFVMTC7DP6, which let it tell a returning visitor from a new
one. We set them to expire after 13 months. Google receives your IP address to work out the approximate
location; Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses. Google signals, advertising features
and ad personalisation are switched off, and the consent signals for ad storage, ad user data and ad
personalisation are always "denied".
| Name | Purpose | Set when | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
wymg_consent | Remembers your answer to the banner: "granted" or "denied" | When you answer the banner or change your cookie settings | 12 months |
_ga | Google Analytics: tells a returning visitor from a new one | Only after you accept analytics | 13 months |
_ga_RFVMTC7DP6 | Google Analytics: tells a returning visitor from a new one | Only after you accept analytics | 13 months |
| Theme (local storage, not a cookie) | Remembers the light or dark theme; never sent anywhere | When you pick a theme | Until you clear your browser’s site data |
How does consent work?
- On your first visit a banner at the foot of the page asks whether you accept analytics cookies. "Accept analytics" and "Reject" are equal choices, and nothing is selected for you.
- Before you choose, and if you reject, the Google Analytics script is not loaded at all, so no request goes to Google.
-
Your answer is stored in a first-party cookie,
wymg_consent, for 12 months. It holds only "granted" or "denied". - If you change your mind and reject after accepting, analytics stops for the rest of your visit and the Google Analytics cookies are deleted.
- With JavaScript turned off, the banner never appears and analytics never runs.
How long are things kept?
Each thing this site or Google keeps has a fixed lifetime:
| What | Where | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Your consent choice | Your browser | 12 months, then you are asked again |
| Google Analytics cookies | Your browser | 13 months |
| Google Analytics event data | 2 months, after which Google deletes the event-level data and only aggregated reports remain | |
| Web server logs (address, time, page requested, browser and IP address) | Our server only | Capped in size and overwritten as new requests arrive |
Every web server keeps logs to run the site and deal with abuse. Ours are kept on our server only, and they are never sent to Google or combined with analytics.
What else is stored or sent?
- No advertising. No advertising, affiliate or social media tracking of any kind. The share buttons are plain links: nothing loads from the platforms until you click one.
- Postcode lookups. The council tax and MP lookups send the postcode you type from your browser to postcodes.io, a free public service, to find the council or constituency. We do not see or store it.
- Theme. If you pick the light or dark theme, that choice is kept in your browser's local storage. It is never sent anywhere.
- Fonts and search. Fonts and the search index are served from this site, not a third party.
- Embedded widgets. The widgets other sites can embed set no cookies and load no analytics.
Who are we, and what are your rights?
This site is published by Tekstak Ltd, which is the data controller for the analytics described here, with Google as its processor. Under UK data protection law you can ask what we hold about you, ask us to delete it, or object to its use: write to hello@whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk. Because analytics data is not linked to your name, rejecting or clearing cookies is the quickest way to stop it. If you are unhappy with how we handle your data you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.