Cookies

Cookies, and similar browser storage, are small pieces of information a website keeps on your device. This page lists every one we use. Some are needed to run the service, so they are set without asking. Anything that is not needed waits until you agree.

Needed to run the service (no choice to make)

• Sign-in (cookies, from Clerk). Clerk runs our sign-in at clerk.render.my. It sets cookies whose names start __session, __client and __refresh to keep you signed in and keep your account secure. They are removed when you sign out or they expire.
• Your cookie choice (cookie). One cookie of ours remembers what you chose in the box below, for up to 180 days. It is set only when you press a button.
• Your answers (local storage). Once you have entered answers on the form, a copy is kept in this browser so a refresh or a lost connection does not lose your work. If you are signed in and your return is not yet saved to your account, or an answer you have just changed is not yet saved to it, that copy is kept for up to 7 days. Signing out removes every copy; otherwise one stays in this browser until you clear your site data, so on a shared computer sign out when you finish.
• A dismissed notice (local storage). We remember that you closed the "unfinished return" reminder, so it does not keep reappearing.
• Feedback (local storage). A random number made only if you send us feedback, so that messages from the same visit can be read together.
• Card payments (cookies, from Stripe). When a card payment box appears, Stripe sets cookies whose names start __stripe to prevent fraud and make the payment work.

Only if you agree

• Analytics (cookies and local storage, from PostHog). PostHog Inc., data held in PostHog's EU region. Which pages and parts of the form are used and where people stop. It also notes clicks, including repeated clicks and clicks that do nothing, where on a page people click, how fast pages load, and errors in our pages without their message, but never what you type. If you agree, PostHog sets its own cookies and browser storage (names beginning ph_ and __ph_) to recognise your visit, and keeps what it records for 12 months.
• Session recording (from PostHog, uses the same cookies and storage). PostHog Inc., data held in PostHog's EU region. A masked replay of your visit, only if you tick session recording. Kept for 30 days.
• Our visit number (local storage). A random number our own interaction journal uses to group one visit. Until you agree to analytics it is held in the page's memory only and is gone when you leave or reload; after you agree it is also kept on your device. If you withdraw, we remove it.

Cookies we use only if you agree. Analytics are not needed to provide the filing service, so nothing is set until you choose — accepting our terms is not agreeing — and you can change your choice here at any time. Turning analytics off stops PostHog and removes its cookies and browser storage from this site.

Session recording (only if you agree). A replay of your clicks and scrolling, so we can see where our form is hard to use. Our own words, such as headings and questions, can be seen. What you type, and the company and tax details we show you, are hidden, and any other text is hidden unless we have marked it as our own. Your Companies House authentication code, Government Gateway login, sign-in and card details are blocked out completely. It uses the same PostHog cookies and storage as analytics (names beginning ph_ and __ph_), so it needs analytics to be on. PostHog keeps recordings for 30 days. Untick it below to stop recording at once.

While you are signed in, our own server keeps a journal of form events — answers to checkboxes and gates, validation, failed saves and anything that blocked you. It is not a cookie. We keep it for 24 months; it is linked to your account and goes sooner if you delete your account, and our privacy policy says how to have it deleted sooner still. Exact sensitive filing values stay in Render's own filing systems.We do not use advertising or marketing cookies in this filing app.

Claude, an AI assistant from Anthropic, looks automatically at a signed-in filing's record when it reaches a key step or hits trouble, and a person on our team reviews anything it flags, so we can check filings, fix faults, help you if you are stuck and improve Render. This uses no cookies and stores nothing on your device. It is not used for advertising. Our privacy policy says what Claude may read and how to object.