We use cookies to keep our website running, provide customer support, learn how people are using our website and improve our services. Here’s more about what that actually means.
What is a cookie? 🍪
Cookies are small text files that websites place and store on your browser and computer (or whatever device you’re using to visit).
It’s like the website writes a reminder on a tiny, virtual post-it note and sticks it to you. The note might say something like, “This person wants to receive our newsletters” or “This person wants to stay logged in.”
Cookies are how websites seem to magically remember who you are. When you go back to a website, it checks your computer for the cookies it left there – reminding itself who you are, what pages you’ve visited, the account settings you chose, and things like that.
Almost everything you do on the internet involves cookies in some way. Here's more about cookies and how they work.
What is Local Storage?
We use local storage to store certain information on your device. Unlike cookies, local storage doesn't expire automatically and remains on your device until you manually delete it. This allows us to remember things like your preferences or settings, even across sessions, to provide a better experience when you return to our website.
What we use: a detailed breakdown
Essential cookies
| Name |
Purpose |
Expiry |
| habito/token |
This is used to keep you logged in. |
Indefinite (local storage) |
| intercom.intercom-state-gglb3xso |
This cookie is used to store data for the online messenger service, helping it load faster when you move between pages on the website. |
Indefinite (local storage) |
| cc_cookie |
This cookie is used to record your cookie preferences. |
Indefinite (local storage) |
| __stripe_mid |
This cookie is used for fraud prevention purposes and to help assess the risk associated with an attempted transaction. |
1 year |
| __stripe_sid |
This cookie is used for fraud prevention purposes and to help assess the risk associated with an attempted transaction. |
30 minutes |
| habito_token |
This cookie keeps Habito employees logged into our customer relationship management system (CRM). |
6 days |
| intercom-device-id-gglb3xso |
This cookie is used to identify different devices interacting with the online messenger service. It helps prevent abuse, such as spamming, by tracking devices and flagging or blocking repeated, suspicious actions from the same device. |
9 months |
| intercom-id-gglb3xso |
This cookie is used to identify site visitors and helps the website remember your actions, preferences, or behavior while you’re using it, even if you haven’t logged in or shared personal details. |
9 months |
| intercom-session-gglb3xso |
This cookie is used to identify a user session. |
1 week |
| did |
This cookie is used to identify your device and protect against attacks. It's essential for keeping your account secure during the login process. |
1 year |
| did_compat |
This cookie is used to protect against attacks and detect unusual activity. It helps secure our website’s login system, even on browsers that don’t support the latest cookie features. |
1 year |
| com.auth0.auth.{id} |
This cookie is used to keep you logged in and maintain your session while you log in to the website. |
1 hour |
| AEC |
This cookie is used to make sure requests during your session are legitimate and not from malicious sites. It’s important for security and helps prevent attacks. |
6 months |
SID
&
HSID |
These cookies are used to keep your login secure and ensure that your user session works correctly. |
1 year |
| SIDCC |
This cookie is used to protect your data and keep your session secure, preventing unauthorised access and malicious activities. |
2 years |
| SSID |
This cookie is used to remember your language preferences and other settings, helping provide a more personalized experience. |
13 months |
| __Secure-1PSIDCC |
This cookie is used to protect your data and ensure the security of your session by preventing unauthorised access. |
12 months |
| __Secure-ENID |
This cookie is used to verify that visitors are authentic, protect your data, and prevent fraudulent use of login credentials. |
12 months |
| __Secure-3PSIDCC |
This cookie is used to help protect your data and keep sessions secure by preventing unauthorised access. |
12 months |
onfido-js-sdk-woopra
&
wooTracker |
We use Onfido to verify your identity. These cookies are necessary for the Onfido website to function. |
2 years |
Functional cookies (optional)
| Name |
Purpose |
Expiry |
| videoIsPaused |
This cookie is used to remember if you have paused the animation on the website homepage. |
Indefinite (local storage) |
| habito/mortgage-deals-to-compare |
This cookie is used to remember which two products are being compared when using the mortgage comparison tool. |
Indefinite (local storage) |
| habito/resi-calc-state-v3 |
This cookie is used to remember the data you input when using our Mortgage Calculator. |
Indefinite (local storage) |
Analytics cookies (optional)
| Name |
Purpose |
Expiry |
| _ga_C46D1TCNP3 |
This cookie is used to track how you interact with the website during your visit, without losing data between pages. It ensures that the website "remembers" things like your preferences or actions (e.g., language settings) until the session ends. |
2 years |
| _ga |
This cookie is used to distinguish users. |
2 years |
| _gid |
This cookie is used to track your movement around our website, helping us understand how you navigate and use the site. |
24 hours |
| IDE |
This cookie is used to track your activity across different sites for advertising purposes. |
13 months |
| _gat_UA-74458616-4 |
This cookie is used to help us monitor and analyse website traffic, and reduce the amount of data recorded. This also helps to improve performance. |
1 minute |
Advertising (optional)
| Name |
Purpose |
Expiry |
| _gcl_au |
This cookie is used to link Google advertisements to conversations. |
90 days |
| IDE |
This cookie is used to track your activity across different sites for advertising purposes. |
13 months |
| APISID |
This cookie is used to create a profile of your interests, helping deliver personalised ads. |
2 years |
| NID (google.co.uk, google.com) |
This cookie is used for advertising and personalising ads for users who are signed out of Google services. |
6 months |
| SAPISID |
This cookie is used for personalised content and targeted advertising. It helps with profiling to deliver ads based on your interests. |
2 years |
| SOCS |
This cookie is used for personalised advertising and to store your preferences related to ads. |
13 months |
__Secure-1PAPISID
&
__Secure-3PAPISID |
These cookies are used for personalised advertising and retargeting ads based on your interests. |
13 months |
__Secure-1PSID
&
__Secure-3PSID |
These cookies are used for personalised advertising and creating user profiles. |
13 months |
Third-party cookies (generated by other organisations, not Habito)
We integrate a few other services into our website – for example, we use a service called Intercom to communicate through live chat and automated messages.
These services might use cookies of their own. You can read their privacy policies here:
Social Media Links and Third-Party Privacy Policies
Our website includes links to social media platforms such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, and others. These platforms may set their own cookies and collect data about your interactions with their content or features.
Please note that we do not control the data collected by these platforms. We encourage you to review their privacy policies and cookie policies to understand how they use your data and how you can manage your preferences:
By interacting with these platforms through our site, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to their privacy practices.
How do I change my cookie settings?
You can change your cookie preferences at any time by clicking on the ‘cookie settings’ link in the footer of the webpage. You can then adjust the available sliders to ‘On’ or ‘Off’, then click ‘Save preferences’. You may need to refresh your page for your settings to take effect.
Alternatively, most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. To learn more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set, visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.
Find out how to manage cookies on popular browsers:
To find information relating to other browsers, visit the browser developer's website.
To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites, visit http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Page last updated: X January 2025
