MoneySavingExpert.com Cookie Policy

Here's where you can find out why and where we use them

Updated 7 December 2023

This is the Cookie Policy for MoneySavingExpert.com, our related mobile apps or other similar devices, our clubs and tools, and the MSE Forum (the "Site").

Protecting your personal information is really important to us and falls squarely into our strategy of helping you, the consumer. We recommend you read our Privacy Policy which details how we collect, use and protect your personal information.

Cookie Policy Q&A

Cookies we use

This section details where and why we use the cookies listed below.

Strictly necessary

Site location	Cookies	Description	How long do we keep it for?	Supplier / more information
Site wide	ckmse	We use this cookie to store your 'cookie consent' preferences.	90 days
	cookieNotification-test2 dropCookieTest	We use these cookies when you're new to our Site. You'll see a message that lets you know how and why we use cookies. We drop a cookie to make sure you only see this message once. We also drop a cookie to notify you if we're experiencing issues dropping cookies that may affect your onsite experience.	1 year 1 day
	source	We use this cookie to store where you've come from and to help deliver better and more relevant information to you about our Site that we think you'd be interested in.	Session
	web-session-id	We use this cookie as a unique ID to remember your interactions on our Site. It helps us to make your onsite experience better.	Session
	visitorId	We use this cookie as a unique ID to remember your interactions on our Site. It helps us to make your web browsing experience better.	Until 6 October 2037
	__cfduid __cfruid __cf_bm	We use these cookies to maintain Site stability and functionality.	1 year 1 year 1 year	Cloudflare cookie reference
	em_cdn_uid em_p_uid	Embedly provides technology to put 'rich media' and other content into a website.	1 year 30 days	Embedly privacy policy
	__st_user_uuid	We use this cookie to help measure user interaction on our Site, which in turn helps us to improve the quality and reliability of our Site.	10 years	Swiftype privacy policy
	dtCookie dtLatC dtPC dtSa rxVisitor rxvt	We use these cookies to: dtCookie – track our Site users across multiple visits. It also measures the amount of time it takes for the host server to receive and process a request for an object on a page. dtLatC – track user behaviour, but this doesn't collect information that identifies you. All information in this cookie is aggregated and therefore anonymous. It's only used to improve how our Site works. dtPC – store information about Site interaction. dtSa – improve how our Site works. rxVisitor and rxvt – store an anonymous ID to associate our Site sessions from returning users and to remember choices you've made. This allows us to provide personal features to you on our Site.	Session Session Session Session Session Session	Dynatrace privacy policy
	ABTastySession ABTasty	We use these cookies to help us maintain the performance of our Site and for A/B testing – a method of comparing two versions of a webpage against each other to determine which one performs better.	Session 13 months	AB Tasty cookies and more
Multi-Compare: Car Insurance	userid	We use this cookie as a unique ID to remember your interactions on our Site. It helps us to make your web browsing experience better.	20 years
Multi-Compare: Car Insurance	session-id	Maintains session-state for the Multi-Compare: Car Insurance tool.	20 years
Mortgages TABLE_CELL_STYLE	Podium.MSE.SessionId mse_webapp_view	We use these cookies to manage the Mortgage Best Buys experience, keeping your data secure and your onsite experience consistent. They're necessary to run, as our Mortgage Best Buys tool will not function correctly without them.	Session Session
	pod-browser-id	We use this cookie to test whether the browser supports cookies.	90 days
	Starting _hj(…)	These cookies track how you use different pages on our website. They also allow us to run (optional) short questionnaires on the website to get your direct feedback on what you think about our service. We use this information to test new features and make the website easier to use.	1 year	Hotjar privacy policy and Hotjar cookie info
Forums TABLE_CELL_STYLE	vf_mse_(…)-tk vf_mse_(…)-Vv vf_mse_(…)-vA __vnf vf_mse_(…)-sid	We use these cookies to operate our Forum.	Session 20 minutes 2 years 256 days 10 minutes	Vanilla Forums cookies
Credit Club TABLE_CELL_STYLE	CC-TOKEN ccSessionID JSESSIONID ccWWW	We use these cookies for functionality for our Credit Club. If these cookies are disabled, you'll have difficulty using Credit Club.	1 year 1 year Session Session
Cheap Energy Club / Broadband Unbundled / MSE Eligibility TABLE_CELL_STYLE	optimizelyBuckets optimizelyDomainTestCookie optimizelyEndUserId optimizelyPendingLogEvent optimizelyRedirect optimizelyReferrer optimizelySegment AWSELB optimizelyRumELb	We use these cookies to help us maintain the performance of our Site and for A/B testing – a method of comparing two versions of a webpage against each other to determine which one performs better.	6 months 6 months 6 months 15 seconds 15 seconds 15 seconds 6 months Session Session	Optimizely cookies and more
Cheap Energy Club TABLE_CELL_STYLE	landingPage cec-source legacySource	We use these cookies for analytics and tracking for Cheap Energy Club.	Session 1 year Session
	sessionID JSESSIONID ECSession	We use these cookies to improve user experience on our Site and test the guest checkout functionality. They also allow us to keep you logged in and to serve you more relevant content. These cookies make it easier for our user support team to answer your questions too.	Session Session 30 mins
	isGuest	Used for an A/B test where we test the guest checkout functionality.	Session
	Collective-switch-tariff isAuthenticated	We use these cookies for storing your tariff choice and which tariff you're interested in. They will also identify whether you are logged in to complete your tariff switch.	Session Session
	cecOkOrBetterModalCookie	We use this cookie to check whether you've already seen our message on the results page explaining that you can filter results by customer service rating.	30 days
	cecIgnoreResultPreferencesLoadingModal	Used to check if the user no longer wants to see the saved filters pop-up on the results page.	90 days
	_help_center_session	We use this cookie to help us power our FAQ systems.	Session	Zendesk privacy policy
	__zlcmid	We use this cookie to store the Zendesk Chat ID used to identify a device across visits.	1 year	Zendesk Chat privacy policy
	Starting .AspNetCore.Antiforgery(…)	We use this cookie to generate a unique cookie name to reduce forgery on our site.	Session
	pwd-reset-token	We use this cookie to keep your unique password recovery token protected from third-party scripts while you change your password.	Session
	energyPriceCapNotificationSeen	We use this cookie to check whether you've already seen our message on the results and top tariffs pages explaining regulator Ofgem's price cap changes.	Session
	energyTariffsOutdatedNotificationSeen	We use this cookie to check whether you've already seen our notification to update your tariff details.	Session
Cards and Loans Eligibility TABLE_CELL_STYLE	session-id sticky	Maintains session-state for eligibility tools.	2 hours Session
Broadband Unbundled / Cheap Energy Club TABLE_CELL_STYLE	_dd_s	This cookie tells us how many people are using our website. We use this information to make sure the website works quickly which gives you a better experience when you use it.	Session	Datadog cookies
Broadband Unbundled TABLE_CELL_STYLE	cookie_policy usercontext _dtl_analytics_filter _dtl_cookie_consent _dtl_cookie_preferences	These cookies allow us to remember your preferences and some features of your journey, for example, saving you the trouble of typing in your postcode every time you search for a better deal. They also tell us if you have closed pop-ups on the site (so we don't bother you with them again). These cookies also store some of the deals you have viewed so we can email them to you if you ask us to. These cookies also tell us if you have seen our Cookie Policy and whether you have opted out of receiving non-essential cookies.	1 day Session Session 1 year 1 day
	_dtl_ref1 _dtl_ref2 _dtl_ref3 _dtl_tsid	These cookies show us how you found our website and which website you came from, or something else about your journey to our website. This helps us to understand which of our online marketing channels is most effective. These cookies also allow us to reward some external websites for directing you to us.	1 day 1 day 1 day Session
	_dtl_uid algoStoreSessionId	These cookies allow us to see if you have made separate visits to our website at different times. This allows us to offer you a more customised experience by remembering your previous preferences.	2 years Session
	sid trk c(number)	These cookies track when you click on a supplier's offer on our website and we direct you through to that chosen supplier's website, so you can complete your order. The cookies subsequently allow us to see when your order has resulted in a sale with a supplier.	Session 5 years 1 month	DT Tracker / GetCake (affsecure.com): GetCake privacy policy
	_adiCookieCheck > adiLP asiS adiV adiVi initial_entry	These cookies enable us to track the progress of a telephone order you have placed.	Session 30 minutes 30 minutes 1 year 30 minutes 7 days	ResponseTap

Functionality

Site location	Cookies	Description	How long do we keep it for?	Supplier / more information
Site wide	Tip	We use this cookie if you're new to our Site. You should've seen a pop-up inviting you to sign up to our free weekly Money Tips email. This makes sure you only see it once if you're a regular visitor.	90 days
Site wide	_gaexp _gaexp_rc	We use these cookies to help us maintain the performance of our Site and for A/B testing – a method of comparing two versions of a webpage against each other to determine which one performs better.	90 days Session	Google Optimize cookie policy
Cheap Energy Club TABLE_CELL_STYLE	Uzchkcookie _mkto_trk UZ_TI_*	We use these cookies to understand how our Site is being used, to improve your experience.	Session 1 day 2 years	UserZoom privacy policy

Analytics & tracking

Site location	Cookies	Description	How long do we keep it for?	Supplier / more information
Site wide	Starting _ga(…) Starting _gat(...) _gali _gid	These cookies allow us to use a unique anonymous ID that Google has created. We use this cookie to generate statistical data on how you use our website so we can see when you purchase a product from one of our suppliers. If you ask us to email you, we use this to recognise if you return to our website to help us offer you a better service.	2 years 1 minute Session Session	Google Analytics cookies and Google's privacy policies and how to manage the use of cookie settings
	_cb_ls _chartbeat2 _chartbeat4 _cb _cb_ls _chartbeat2 _chartbeat4 _cb_svref	We use these cookies to help us see where you are on our Site so we can tailor articles and your onsite experience. User data is kept anonymous throughout.	395 days 395 days Session 395 days 395 days 395 days Session Session	Chartbeat cookies
	Starting _hj(…)	These cookies track how you use different pages on our website. They also allow us to run (optional) short questionnaires on the website to get your direct feedback on what you think about our service. We use this information to test new features and make the website easier to use.	1 year	Hotjar privacy policy and Hotjar cookie info
	PHPSESSID appsact	We use these cookies to identify whether you are logged in, for security purposes, and to allow the use of software features. This allows us to see how visitors use our Site and to identify a unique survey response for users taking part in surveys on our Site.	Session 2 hours	Alchemer privacy policy
Local eBay Deals Mapper TABLE_CELL_STYLE	localPostCode_mse	We use this cookie to store your postcode. It's not essential for the tool to work, but it makes your experience easier when using this tool.	Session
Broadband Unbundled TABLE_CELL_STYLE	Starting _hj(…)	These cookies track how you use different pages on our website. They also allow us to run (optional) short questionnaires on the website to get your direct feedback on what you think about our service. We use this information to test new features and make the website easier to use.	1 year	Hotjar privacy policy and Hotjar cookie info

Marketing or advertising

Site location	Cookies	Description	How long do we keep it for?	Supplier / more information
Site wide	Starting _gac(…) Starting _gcl(...) IDE	We use these cookies to show us how you found our website and which website you came from, or something else about your journey to our website. This helps us to understand how well our limited, paid-for, defensive, search-engine-promoted "ads" are working.	90 days 90 days 13 months	Google Ads privacy policy and find out more about Google's use of these cookies and how to control its settings
	Starting mui(…) Starting _uet(…)	We use these cookies to show us how you found our website and which website you came from, or something else about your journey to our website. This helps us to understand how well our limited, paid-for, defensive, search-engine-promoted "ads" are working.	390 days Session	Microsoft Advertising Universal Event Tracking FAQ
	_fbp	We use this cookie when you share content from our Site on Facebook. We also use Facebook Analytics to understand how our Facebook page and Site are being used and to optimise Facebook user activities based on users interacting with our Facebook content. User data is all anonymous. Any information generated by these cookies will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy, this Cookie Policy, and Facebook's privacy policy and cookie policy.	3 months	Facebook: Cookie policy Privacy contact Opt out Find out more about Facebook's use of this cookie and how to control its setting

Third-party cookies and content sharing

We also work with third parties to provide you with services through our Site. Some of these third-party cookies are essential for our Site.

Cookies from the named third parties listed below are used to record your visit to our Site, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed.

(1) Twitter

Twitter is a social-networking service that allows users to post and interact. We use this cookie as part of Twitter's embedded services on our website, for example, sharing articles/posts from our Site.

Twitter privacy contact

Twitter opt-out

(2) Facebook

Facebook is an online social-media and social-networking service. We use this cookie when you share content from our Site on Facebook. We also use Facebook Analytics to understand how our Facebook page and Site are being used and to optimise Facebook user activities based on users interacting with our Facebook content. User data is all anonymous.

Facebook privacy contact

Facebook opt-out

(3) Awin

Awin operates an affiliate marketing network. Awin saves cookies on the devices of users who visit or use websites or other online products provided by advertisers and publishers working with Awin.

Awin privacy contact

Awin opt-out

(4) YouTube

We use these cookies to register a unique ID on mobile devices to (i) enable tracking based on geographical GPS location; (ii) keep statistics of what videos from YouTube the user has seen and to estimate users' bandwidth on pages with integrated YouTube video.

YouTube privacy contact

YouTube opt-out

(5) Bing

We use these cookies to show us how you found our website and which website you came from, or something else about your journey to our website. This helps us to understand which of the online search channels are most effective.

Bing privacy contact

Bing opt-out

(6) Google Ads

On limited occasions, MoneySavingExpert.com pays to ensure links to our content appear near the top of the page on search engines. These links are labelled as "ads" on Google. We only do this defensively – on searches that see a lot of ads from other companies at the top of the page – so you can find our tools and help guides more easily. Here, cookies are used to measure how effective these paid-for Google Ads promotions are, how often they are shown and how you interact with them. We can only use these cookies if you give us consent.

Google Ads privacy contact

Google Ads opt-out

Similar technologies to cookies

We use 'LocalStorage' which behaves more like persistent cookies. Data is not automatically destroyed unless it is cleared through JavaScript code.

We use 'web beacons' which are clear picture files used to keep track of your navigation through a website or websites. Web beacons can also be referred to as web bugs, page bugs, clear GIFs or tracking pixels. We use the following web beacons:

Google Analytics – used to help improve the functionality and performance of our Site. Data that is collected is always aggregated to provide statistical information about site usage, ie, reporting visitors/clicks by day/source/device/channel (page).
Visitor pixels – this enables us to record page impressions for each user session and across different sessions (ie, visits) to our Site. We also use it for analytics to capture where traffic has come from to reach our Site (eg, Google, our Money Tips email, social media etc).

We also use 'tracking pixels' in our weekly Money Tips email from our email delivery service provider. This helps us to ensure that it reaches your inbox safely and tells us whether you opened it and how you engaged with it. For example, it will tell us the device type the email was opened on and how long it was opened for. We only use this information to help us improve our Money Tips email.

Other information

We aim to keep the cookies information provided to you as accurate as possible and use all reasonable efforts to review and update the details. It's possible that the services we use may make changes to their cookie names and purposes. This won't be reflected in our Cookie Policy straightaway.

If you want any further information on cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage, delete and turn them off, please visit AboutCookies.org or AllAboutCookies.org. Please note these are external websites and we're not responsible for the accuracy of the information provided to you on these sites.