Cookie Policy
1. What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device (computer, tablet, or mobile phone) when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently and to provide information to the website owner.
Cookies can be:
- Session cookies — temporary cookies that are deleted when you close your browser
- Persistent cookies — cookies that remain on your device for a set period of time or until you delete them
- First-party cookies — set directly by vehiclehistoryhub.co.uk
- Third-party cookies — set by external services we use, such as Stripe and Google Analytics
Cookies do not contain your name, address, or payment details. They cannot run programmes or deliver viruses to your device.
2. How we use cookies
Vehicle History Hub uses cookies for three purposes only:
- To make the website and checkout function correctly (essential cookies)
- To understand how visitors use the site so we can improve it (analytics cookies — with your consent)
- To process your payment securely (Stripe payment cookies)
We do not use cookies for advertising, behavioural tracking, or selling data to third parties.
This policy is written in compliance with the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, and UK GDPR.
3. Essential cookies
Essential cookies are strictly necessary for the website to function. They cannot be disabled without breaking core features such as the checkout, shopping cart, and session management. Under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, these cookies are exempt from the consent requirement.
| Cookie name | Set by | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| wordpress_logged_in_* | WordPress | Keeps you logged in to the site if you have an account | Session | Essential |
| wordpress_sec_* | WordPress | Security token to prevent cross-site request forgery (CSRF attacks) | Session | Essential |
| wp-settings-* | WordPress | Stores user interface preferences for logged-in users | 1 year | Essential |
| woocommerce_cart_hash | WooCommerce | Stores a hash of your cart contents to enable cart functionality | Session | Essential |
| woocommerce_items_in_cart | WooCommerce | Tracks whether your cart contains items to display the cart icon correctly | Session | Essential |
| wc_session_cookie_* | WooCommerce | Maintains your checkout session so your order details are not lost | 2 days | Essential |
| PHPSESSID | PHP / Server | Standard session identifier — links your browser requests on the server | Session | Essential |
These cookies cannot be disabled. Blocking them will prevent the checkout from working and may stop the site from loading correctly. They contain no personal information beyond a session identifier.
4. Analytics cookies
We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use vehiclehistoryhub.co.uk — for example, which pages are most visited, how long people stay, and what device they use. This helps us improve the site.
Analytics cookies are only set after you give your consent via our cookie banner. If you decline analytics cookies, none of the following cookies will be set.
| Cookie name | Set by | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Google Analytics | Distinguishes unique users by assigning a randomly generated number. No personal data is stored. | 2 years | Consent |
| _ga_* | Google Analytics | Stores and updates a unique value for each page visit — used to measure sessions | 2 years | Consent |
| _gid | Google Analytics | Distinguishes users — refreshed every 24 hours | 24 hours | Consent |
| _gat | Google Analytics | Throttles request rate to limit data collection on high-traffic sites | 1 minute | Consent |
Important: We have configured Google Analytics with IP anonymisation enabled. Your full IP address is never stored. Google Analytics data is aggregated and anonymised — it cannot be used to identify you personally.
You can opt out of Google Analytics at any time by visiting tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout or by adjusting your preferences in our cookie banner.
5. Payment cookies (Stripe)
When you proceed to checkout, Stripe — our payment processor — sets a number of cookies. These are necessary for the payment to work securely and to protect against fraud. They are set by Stripe directly and are outside our control.
| Cookie name | Set by | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| __stripe_mid | Stripe | Fraud prevention — identifies the device making the payment | 1 year | Third party |
| __stripe_sid | Stripe | Fraud prevention — maintains the payment session | 30 minutes | Third party |
| __Host-stripe.csrf | Stripe | Security token to prevent cross-site request forgery during checkout | Session | Third party |
Stripe cookies do not contain your card number or any payment details. They are device identifiers used purely for fraud detection and payment security. Disabling these cookies will prevent checkout from working. Full details are in Stripe's Privacy Policy.
6. Cookies we do not use
We want to be transparent about what we do not do:
- We do not use advertising or marketing cookies
- We do not use cookies to track your behaviour across other websites
- We do not use social media tracking pixels (Facebook Pixel, TikTok Pixel, etc.)
- We do not sell cookie data or browsing data to any third party
- We do not use cookies to build advertising profiles
- We do not use fingerprinting or other tracking technologies beyond those listed above
7. Your consent
When you first visit vehiclehistoryhub.co.uk, a cookie consent banner will appear. This banner lets you:
- Accept all cookies — essential cookies plus Google Analytics
- Decline non-essential cookies — essential cookies only, no analytics
- Manage preferences — choose which cookie categories to allow
Your consent choice is saved in a cookie on your device so you are not asked again on subsequent visits. You can change your preference at any time by clearing your browser cookies or clicking "Cookie Settings" in the footer of our website.
Under UK PECR and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025: Consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous. We do not use dark patterns — "Accept" and "Decline" options are given equal prominence. Pre-ticked boxes are not used.
8. How to manage or delete cookies
You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. Note that blocking essential cookies will affect the functionality of the site.
For more information about managing cookies, visit aboutcookies.org or allaboutcookies.org.
Mobile devices: If you use our site on a mobile device, cookie settings are typically found in your browser app under Settings or Privacy. Each browser app has a slightly different location.
9. Third-party cookie policies
For full details of how our third-party providers use cookies, please refer to their own privacy and cookie policies:
- Google Analytics — policies.google.com/privacy
- Stripe — stripe.com/gb/privacy
- Hostinger — hostinger.co.uk/privacy-policy
Vehicle History Hub is not responsible for the content of third-party cookie policies or for how those providers use cookie data. Their use of cookies is governed by their own policies.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the cookies we use, changes in legislation, or updates to our service. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.
If we make significant changes — for example, introducing a new category of cookies — we will display a new consent banner so you can review and re-confirm your preferences.
We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we use cookies.
11. Contact us
If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy or how we use cookies, please contact us:
Vehicle History Hub
Email: info@vehiclehistoryhub.co.uk
Website: vehiclehistoryhub.co.uk/contact
If you wish to raise a concern about our use of cookies with the regulator, you can contact the ICO at ico.org.uk or call 0303 123 1113.