Cookies

Last updated on 16 October, 2026

When we provide services, we want to make them easy, useful and reliable.

Where services are delivered on the internet, this sometimes involves placing small amounts of information on your device (such as your computer or mobile phone). These include small files known as cookies. We will not use them to identify you personally.

These pieces of information are used to improve services for you through, for example:

enabling a service to recognise your device so you don't have to give the same information several times during one task
recognising that you may already have given a username and password so you don't need to do it for every web page requested
measuring how many people are using services, so they can be made easier to use and there's enough capacity to ensure they are fast

For more details with regards to cookies please visit www.allaboutcookies.org. This website provides full information about what cookies are and how to manage them.

Our use of cookies

Cookies detailed below may be stored on your device when visiting this website:

Necessary cookies

Set by	Name	Expires	Purpose
Amazon Web Services	AWSALB	After seven days.	Set to help directing visitor requests to the right target, handling traffic distribution within an encrypted format.
Amazon Web Services	AWSALBCORS	After one day.	Set in order to remember visitors' preferences in regards to cookies.
CIVIC Cookies compliance module	CookieControl	After three months.	Set in order to remember visitors' preferences in regards to cookies.
GPhC	gphc_css_size	At the end of the session (closing the browser window).	Set in order to store CSS details used on the site to render and display certain elements correctly.
GPhC	gphc_active_menu	At the end of the session (closing the browser window).	Set in order to remember the visitors’ current navigation state, selected tab, or active menu node.
GPhC	has_js	At the end of the session (closing the browser window).	Set in order to communicate to the browser that JavaScript is enabled and can be run; it also enables detection if content requiring JavaScript might not function correctly.
GPhC	SESS*	At the end of the session (closing the browser window).	This cookie is set only for GPhC staff who login onto the website’s back end.
GPhC	SESSsessionapi	At the end of the session (closing the browser window).	Set in order to remember visitors' actions while using API functionality on the website.
ReciteMe accessibility tool ReciteMe is a cloud-based web accessibility solution which enables visitors to customise the website to their needs. You can launch ReciteMe on our website by clicking on the links that appear on the top blue banner within the header.	Recite.Persist	At the end of the session (closing the browser window).	This stores a flag to indicate whether the toolbar should persist between pages or not. It only becomes active if you enable the ReciteMe toolbar that appears within the header of this website.
ReciteMe accessibility tool	Recite.Preferences	Persists until visitors clears cookies.	This stores visitors' current settings so that they can be reapplied on subsequent pages. It only becomes active if you enable the ReciteMe toolbar that appears within the header of this website.

Statistical cookies

We would like to use Google Analytics to help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. These cookies collect information in a way that does not directly identify anyone. Please refer to Google's Privacy and terms for all information with regards to how Google uses information from sites or apps that use Google's services.

Google Analytics*

For further details on the cookies set by Google Analytics, please refer to the Google Analytics cookie usage webpage

* Google Analytics cookies are used across our websites (pharmacyregulation.org and Pharmacy inspections)

Name	Expires	Purpose
_ga	After two years.	Set to help differentiate visitors.
_ga_<container-id>	After two years.	Set to help maintain the visitor's session active while navigating the website.

Third party cookies

Meta - Facebook

Facebook is a social media platform that allows people and organisations to share information and updates, communicate with others and take part in online communities.For further details on the cookies set by Meta (Facebook), please refer to the Meta privacy center - Cookies policy

Name	Expires	Purpose
_fbp	90 days from set/update.	This cookie is set by the Meta Pixel and assigns a unique ID to a web browser across different pages and visits to the website, even if the user is not logged into Facebook. It helps track user behavior and conversion performance.

Cookies specific to our myGPhC website

Set by	Name	Expires	Purpose
Browser	localStorage	One hour after login to myGPhC.	Authentication – It allows access to the site after signing in.
CIVIC Cookies compliance module	CookieControl	Three months after the session ends.	Set in order to remember visitors' preferences in regards to cookies.
GPhC	ai_user	After one year.	This is a unique user identifier cookie that enables counting of the number of visitors accessing mygphc over time.
GPhC	ai_session	After 30 minutes.	This is a unique anonymous session identifier cookie.
GPhC	Cookies set by ADB2C	When visitor closes the browser or signs out of the portal.	This helps in maintaining the visitor’s session and helps with prevention against Cross-Site Request Forgery.