Cookies
We want our internet-based services to be easy, useful and reliable. This sometimes involves placing small amounts of information on your device, for example your computer or your mobile phone. These include small text files known as cookies. This helps us:
- make our website secure.
- carry out our statutory functions efficiently.
- make sure our website works well for you and make improvements.
- remember your preferences where necessary.
- gather anonymised information about the functioning of our website and campaigns. You can find out more about our use of analytics below.
- personalise the website to display relevant content to you.
- improve the guidance and materials available to you.
We are subject to the EC Privacy and Electronic Communications directive and UK GDPR which says we need to provide you with information on the cookies used on our website. Find out more about how cookies work.
We’ve explained the cookies used by the MPTS below.
Our website analytics and data
Google analytics
Google Analytics cookies are classified as performance cookies. They are not strictly necessary for the functioning of the GMC’s website. If you consent to Google Analytics cookies via our cookie banner, we'll use Google Analytics to monitor site usage.
As part of Google Analytics, we have enabled Google Advertising Features. These features allow us to view general aggregated demographic information about our users, such as age group, gender, interest categories, etc.
We also use cookies for remarketing, which means we may display content about our regulatory functions that we think might be of interest to you when you visit other websites. Third party vendors, including Google, may use cookies to serve advertisements based on your prior visits to our websites.
Hotjar
Hotjar cookies are classified as performance cookies, so we need your consent via the Cookie banner to be able to use these on your device when visiting our website. We use Hotjar to better understand our users’ needs and to optimise their service and experience. Hotjar is a technology service that helps us better understand our users experience (e.g., how much time they spend on which pages, which links they choose to click, what users do and don’t like, etc). This helps us build and maintain our service with user feedback.
Hotjar uses cookies and other technologies to collect data on our users’ behaviour and their devices, in particular, a device's IP address (captured and stored only in anonymised form), device screen size, device type (unique device identifiers), browser information, geographic location (country only), and preferred language used to display our website. Hotjar stores this information in a pseudonymised user profile. Neither Hotjar nor the GMC will ever use this information to identify individual users or to match it with further data on an individual user. For further details, see Hotjar’s privacy policy.
Session variables
Some of our microsites use session variables to record your responses. Session variables are different to cookies because they are stored on the server relative to the session, rather than your device. Session variables are semi-permanent data files that exist only while your session with an application is active. Session variables are specific to each visitor and are deleted when you close the browser.
We monitor the introduction of new cookies on our websites and update privacy cookie information where appropriate.
Social media cookies
We use several social media sites and applications to raise awareness of our work and promote good medical practice.
Please note that your use of these sites will be subject to each one’s terms and conditions. Please read their privacy and cookie notices carefully and check your personal settings where appropriate to make sure you're happy with how your information will be used by the social media site.
We don’t actively collect data you submit to any third-party websites but may collect aggregated information (that doesn’t identify you) to help us monitor access to our content.