Legal
Cookie policy
The cookie and browser storage UK Motoring uses, why, and how to control it.
Last updated 19 September 2026.
In short
- We set one cookie, and only if you sign in to My Garage.
- We keep two small items in your browser to make search and the vehicle check work. They are not sent to us.
- We set analytics cookies only if you accept them. Reject and none are set. You can change your mind at any time from .
- We use no advertising, tracking or social media cookies at all.
What cookies and browser storage are
A cookie is a small text file a website saves in your browser, which the browser sends back to that website on later visits. Websites can also keep information in your browser in other ways, called local storage and session storage; unlike cookies, these are not sent to the website automatically. The law on cookies, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, covers all of these, so this page lists both.
Everything we store in your browser
| Name | Type | What it does | Set | How long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
__Host-ukm_session | Cookie | Keeps you signed in to My Garage. It holds a random identifier, not your email address or any other details. | Only when you sign in | 30 days from your last visit, or until you sign out |
ukm:recent-searches | Local storage | Remembers your recent searches so they appear in the search box. | When you use the site search | Until you clear it in your browser |
ukm:vehicle-check-reg | Session storage | Passes the registration you entered to the vehicle check report page. | When you start a vehicle check | Until you close the browser tab |
ukm.consent | Local storage | Remembers whether you accepted or rejected analytics cookies, so we stop asking. It records your answer and the date, nothing else, and is kept in your browser rather than in a cookie. | When you answer the cookie banner | Until you clear it in your browser |
_ga | Cookie | Google Analytics. Tells one browser apart from another with a random identifier, so a returning visitor is not counted twice. It holds no name, email address or anything else that identifies you. | Only if you accept analytics | 2 years |
_ga_* | Cookie | Google Analytics. Keeps track of the current visit, so pages viewed one after another are counted as one session rather than several. | Only if you accept analytics | 2 years |
_clck | Cookie | Microsoft Clarity. A random identifier that links the pages you view into one visit, so we can see how people move through the site. | Only if you accept analytics | 1 year |
_clsk | Cookie | Microsoft Clarity. Joins up the pages you view in a single session so they can be replayed together. | Only if you accept analytics | 1 day |
All of these are stored under ukmotoring.co.uk and can be read only by us. The ones set after you accept are placed by Google’s and Microsoft’s scripts running on our pages, on our instructions. No advertising network or other company sets cookies through our pages.
What we ask consent for
The law allows a website to store things in your browser without asking, when they are strictly necessary to provide something you have asked for. The first three items above fall into that category, so we set them without asking:
- the sign-in cookie is how My Garage knows it’s you. It is set only after you sign in, can’t be read by scripts on the page, is sent only over secure connections and only to ukmotoring.co.uk, and is used for nothing else;
- your recent searches and the vehicle check registration stay on your device and are used only for the feature you are using.
Analytics cookies are not strictly necessary, so we ask first. When you arrive, analytics are switched off and no cookies are set. Google Analytics loads with its storage denied. Microsoft Clarity is not loaded onto the page at all. Only if you press Accept do these start. If you press Reject, nothing is stored and we do not ask again.
Clarity does more than count: it records how you move, scroll and click through a page, so we can replay a visit and see where the site is confusing. It does not record what you type into forms. We do not load it at all on the pages that show your own details: My Garage, signing in, and the contact form.
Ignoring the banner counts as a refusal, not as consent. Rejecting costs one click, the same as accepting, and no part of the site is withheld either way.
What we don’t use
- Analytics without consent: we also count visits with Ahrefs Web Analytics, which sets no cookies and stores nothing in your browser, so it runs whatever you choose above. Every tool we use is described in our privacy notice.
- Advertising and tracking: no advertising networks, tracking pixels or social media buttons that follow you around the web.
- Emails: our emails contain no tracking pixels, and we don’t track whether you open them or click their links.
Other websites and services
- Charger map: the map in the charger finder loads its images from OpenStreetMap’s servers, which receive your IP address, as with any web request. They don’t set cookies.
- Insurance quotes: when you follow a link to compare insurance, you leave UK Motoring for SimplyQuote.co.uk and its comparison partner Quotezone. Those sites use their own cookies and will tell you about them. The same applies to any other website we link to.
How to control cookies and browser storage
- Change your analytics choice at any time in , or from the Cookie settings link at the foot of every page. Switching to Reject stops any further analytics cookies being set; clear site data below to remove ones already there.
- Sign out of My Garage to remove the sign-in cookie straight away.
- Clear site data for ukmotoring.co.uk in your browser settings to remove everything on this page, including your recent searches.
- Block cookies in your browser settings if you prefer. The rest of the site still works, but you won’t be able to sign in to My Garage.
The Information Commissioner’s Office explains more about cookies and how to manage them.
Changes to this policy
If we add anything, we will list it here and change the date at the top. If it isn’t strictly necessary, we will ask for your consent before setting it, and you will be able to change your mind at any time. If what we ask for materially changes, we will ask everyone again rather than carry over an old answer.
More information
How we use personal information is explained in our privacy notice. For questions about cookies, email hello@ukmotoring.co.uk or use our contact form. UK Motoring is run by Simply Quote Comparison Ltd, company number 15008284.