This privacy notice is for visitors to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) website. If you are a survey respondent and would like to find out how we collect and use your personal data, please visit our data protection pages.
What data we collect
We collect information about how you use the ONS website (ons.gov.uk) to help us improve the site and make sure it is meeting the needs of its users.
Google Analytics 4
We use cookies and page tagging techniques to enable Google Analytics 4 to collect information such as:
the pages you visit
how long you engage with the pages
how you arrived at the site
how you interact with the content
the files you download
what you search for on the site
We do not store your personal information through Google Analytics 4, for example, your name, address or internet protocol (IP) address. We do not allow Google Analytics 4 to use or share data about how you use the site. We will not identify you through analytics information, and we will not combine analytics information with other datasets in a way that would identify who you are.
Google Analytics 4 replaced Universal Analytics in July 2023. Universal Analytics was running on the site between February 2016 and July 2023. This version collected truncated IP addresses to ensure the data were not personally identifiable. These data will be deleted in July 2024 and there are currently no plans to retain or archive these data.
Hotjar
Hotjar is a third-party tool that we use to gather behaviour analytics and user feedback.
We use cookies and page tagging techniques to enable Hotjar to collect information such as:
your responses and feedback to pop-up surveys
how you have interacted with our pages in the form of heatmaps and recordings
We do not store your personal information through Hotjar, for example, your name, address or IP address. We do not allow Hotjar to use or share data about how you use the site. We will not identify you through analytics information, and we will not combine analytics information with other datasets in a way that would identify who you are.
On-site feedback forms
We use feedback forms on the site to allow you to send direct feedback or queries to our customer contact centre, for example, on our feedback page. As part of these services, we collect information such as:
questions, queries or feedback you leave
your name and email address if you choose to provide it
We only use the personal data you provide to respond to your query, please see our Stakeholder privacy policy for more details.
Cloudflare access log data
Access log data are collected by Cloudflare. These are used to provide analytical reports relating to the technical performance of the website. The raw data in access logs contains:
hit-level data such as the page URL
http status codes
the IP address used to access the site
IP addresses are used within Cloudflare to identify bot traffic and potential security threats. Access log data are pushed from Cloudflare into Splunk, at which point the IP addresses are anonymised. We will not identify you through access log data, and we will not combine access log data with other datasets in a way that would identify who you are.
Why we need your data
We collect information through these tools to help:
make sure the site is meeting the needs of its users
make improvements to the website
gather feedback to improve our services
respond to any feedback you send us, if you have asked us to
monitor use of the site to identify security threats
More details about the information we collect is available in our Cookies policy. You can also change which cookies you are happy for us to use.
Our legal basis for processing your data
The legal basis for processing anonymised data for Google Analytics 4 and Hotjar is your consent.
The legal basis for processing all other personal data is that it is necessary:
to perform a task in the public interest
in the exercise of our functions as a government department
What we do with your data
The data we collect may be shared with our technology suppliers, for example, our hosting provider.
We will not:
sell or rent your data to third parties
share data with third parties for marketing purposes
Where your data are processed and stored
We design, build and run our systems to make sure that your data are as safe as possible at all stages, both while they are processed and when they are stored.
All personal data are stored in the European Economic Area (EEA). Data collected by Google Analytics 4 or Hotjar may be transferred outside the UK and EEA for processing.
Where data processing happens in the United States (US), suppliers need to meet the certification standards set out in the UK-US data bridge agreement. This facilitates flows of personal data to certified US companies that have opted in to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.
How long we keep your data
Google Analytics 4
Data collected by Google Analytics 4 are retained by Google for 14 months. After this point, the data are deleted from the Google Analytics 4 server.
Data are extracted from Google Analytics 4 and stored in secure ONS databases where the retention period is indefinite.
Hotjar
Heatmaps and recordings data gathered by Hotjar are held in the Hotjar tool for 365 days. Survey and poll data gathered by Hotjar are retained indefinitely within the tool. Any personal information provided in survey responses will be removed.
Feedback forms
Your personal data will only be held for so long as it is required by us to carry out our role as a statistical authority. For more details, read our Stakeholder privacy policy.
Access log data
We will only retain your access log data for 12 months, after which it will be deleted.
How we protect your data and keep it secure
We are committed to doing all that we can to keep your data secure. We have set up systems and processes to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure of your data -- for example, we protect your data using varying levels of encryption.
We also make sure that any third parties that we deal with keep all personal data they process on our behalf secure.
Your rights
You have the right to request:
information about how your personal data are processed
a copy of that personal data
that anything inaccurate in your personal data is corrected
You can also:
raise an objection about how your personal data are processed
request that your personal data are erased if there is no longer a justification for it
ask that the processing of your personal data is restricted in certain circumstances
If you have any of these requests, contact DPO@Statistics.gov.uk.
People who contact us through social media
We use a third-party provider, Hootsuite, to manage our social media interactions.
If you send us a private or direct message through social media, the message will be stored by Hootsuite for three months. It will not be shared with any other organisations.
Links to other websites
This site contains links to other sites. The ONS is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.
Following a link to another website
If you go to another website from this one, read the privacy policy on that website to find out what it does with your information.
Following a link to ons.gov.uk from another website
If you come to ons.gov.uk from another website, we may receive personal information from the other website. You should read the privacy policy of the website you came from to find out more about this.