Last updated: August 2026
The banner you see on your first visit offers two choices. Accept cookies allows the analytics and session recording cookies below. Accept essential allows none of them: only the record of your choice is kept, because without it we would have to ask you on every page. Our chat is separate from both choices. It sets nothing until you open it, and opening it is always up to you.
One thing we want to be plain about: our session recording tool, Clarity, is a Microsoft product. When it runs, Microsoft sets its own cookies on its own domains (bing.com and clarity.ms), which means data about your visit is shared with Microsoft, including its Bing services. Those cookies are in the table below. They are only set after you choose Accept cookies.
You can change your mind at any time. The Cookie settings button at the bottom of any page clears your choice, expires the cookies these tools have set, and reopens the banner so you can choose again. The full detail of what each provider does with the data is in our privacy notice.
ta_consent_v2
Set by Us (theagency.io)
Remembers the choice you made on the cookie banner so we do not ask you again on every page. Stored in your browser's local storage, not as a cookie, and never sent to anyone.
Lifetime: Until you clear it. It is set the moment you choose.
Change your choice: Tap the Cookie settings button at the bottom of any page. It clears this record and reopens the banner.
_ga
Set by Google Analytics
Tells Google Analytics whether your browser has visited before, so we can see which pages are useful. It is a persistent identifier, so it is not anonymous.
Lifetime: 400 days, the longest lifetime the browser allows (we state what we measured, not what the tool requests). Set only after you choose Accept cookies.
Change your choice: Tap Cookie settings at the bottom of any page. Withdrawing expires this cookie and reopens the banner.
_ga_*
Set by Google Analytics
Keeps count of your visits to this site and holds the state of your current visit for Google Analytics.
Lifetime: 400 days, the longest lifetime the browser allows (we state what we measured, not what the tool requests). Set only after you choose Accept cookies.
Change your choice: Tap Cookie settings at the bottom of any page. Withdrawing expires this cookie and reopens the banner.
_clck
Set by Microsoft Clarity
Holds the identifier Microsoft Clarity uses to recognise your browser across visits, so session recordings from the same browser join up. Text you type is masked.
Lifetime: 1 year. Set only after you choose Accept cookies.
Change your choice: Tap Cookie settings at the bottom of any page. Withdrawing expires this cookie and reopens the banner.
_clsk
Set by Microsoft Clarity
Links the pages you view in one visit into a single session recording.
Lifetime: 1 day. Set only after you choose Accept cookies.
Change your choice: Tap Cookie settings at the bottom of any page. Withdrawing expires this cookie and reopens the banner.
CLID
Set by Microsoft Clarity (on clarity.ms)
Microsoft Clarity's record of when your browser first visited any site using Clarity. Stored on Microsoft's own domain.
Lifetime: 1 year. Set only after you choose Accept cookies.
Change your choice: Withdrawing via Cookie settings stops Clarity loading, so nothing new is set. Cookies on Microsoft's domains can only be removed in your browser settings.
MUID
Set by Microsoft (on bing.com and clarity.ms)
Microsoft's browser identifier. When Clarity runs, it syncs with Microsoft's advertising platform, which sets this identifier on bing.com and clarity.ms. This means data about your visit is shared with Microsoft, including its Bing services.
Lifetime: About 13 months (390 days). Set only after you choose Accept cookies.
Change your choice: Withdrawing via Cookie settings stops Clarity loading, so nothing new is set. Cookies on Microsoft's domains can only be removed in your browser settings.
MR
Set by Microsoft (on c.bing.com and c.clarity.ms)
Tells Microsoft when to refresh the MUID identifier above.
Lifetime: 7 days. Set only after you choose Accept cookies.
Change your choice: Withdrawing via Cookie settings stops Clarity loading, so nothing new is set. Cookies on Microsoft's domains can only be removed in your browser settings.
SRM_B
Set by Microsoft (on c.bing.com)
A further Microsoft identifier set alongside the Clarity sync on Microsoft's Bing domain.
Lifetime: About 13 months (390 days). Set only after you choose Accept cookies.
Change your choice: Withdrawing via Cookie settings stops Clarity loading, so nothing new is set. Cookies on Microsoft's domains can only be removed in your browser settings.
SM
Set by Microsoft (on c.clarity.ms)
Used by Microsoft while it syncs the MUID identifier across its domains.
Lifetime: Until you close your browser. Set only after you choose Accept cookies.
Change your choice: Withdrawing via Cookie settings stops Clarity loading, so nothing new is set. Cookies on Microsoft's domains can only be removed in your browser settings.
ANONCHK
Set by Microsoft (on c.clarity.ms)
Records whether the MUID identifier is being transferred anonymously.
Lifetime: Under a day (the shortest-lived cookie our probe recorded). Set only after you choose Accept cookies.
Change your choice: Withdrawing via Cookie settings stops Clarity loading, so nothing new is set. Cookies on Microsoft's domains can only be removed in your browser settings.
Chat cookies (LeadConnector)
Set by LeadConnector, our chat provider
Keep your conversation with our chat connected as you move between pages. Nothing from the chat is set until you open it: tapping the chat button is what loads it.
Lifetime: Set only after you open the chat. Duration is controlled by LeadConnector.
Change your choice: Do not open the chat, or clear cookies in your browser once the conversation is over.
| Cookie | Who sets it | Purpose | Lifetime | How to change your choice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ta_consent_v2 | Us (theagency.io) | Remembers the choice you made on the cookie banner so we do not ask you again on every page. Stored in your browser's local storage, not as a cookie, and never sent to anyone. | Until you clear it. It is set the moment you choose. | Tap the Cookie settings button at the bottom of any page. It clears this record and reopens the banner. |
| _ga | Google Analytics | Tells Google Analytics whether your browser has visited before, so we can see which pages are useful. It is a persistent identifier, so it is not anonymous. | 400 days, the longest lifetime the browser allows (we state what we measured, not what the tool requests). Set only after you choose Accept cookies. | Tap Cookie settings at the bottom of any page. Withdrawing expires this cookie and reopens the banner. |
| _ga_* | Google Analytics | Keeps count of your visits to this site and holds the state of your current visit for Google Analytics. | 400 days, the longest lifetime the browser allows (we state what we measured, not what the tool requests). Set only after you choose Accept cookies. | Tap Cookie settings at the bottom of any page. Withdrawing expires this cookie and reopens the banner. |
| _clck | Microsoft Clarity | Holds the identifier Microsoft Clarity uses to recognise your browser across visits, so session recordings from the same browser join up. Text you type is masked. | 1 year. Set only after you choose Accept cookies. | Tap Cookie settings at the bottom of any page. Withdrawing expires this cookie and reopens the banner. |
| _clsk | Microsoft Clarity | Links the pages you view in one visit into a single session recording. | 1 day. Set only after you choose Accept cookies. | Tap Cookie settings at the bottom of any page. Withdrawing expires this cookie and reopens the banner. |
| CLID | Microsoft Clarity (on clarity.ms) | Microsoft Clarity's record of when your browser first visited any site using Clarity. Stored on Microsoft's own domain. | 1 year. Set only after you choose Accept cookies. | Withdrawing via Cookie settings stops Clarity loading, so nothing new is set. Cookies on Microsoft's domains can only be removed in your browser settings. |
| MUID | Microsoft (on bing.com and clarity.ms) | Microsoft's browser identifier. When Clarity runs, it syncs with Microsoft's advertising platform, which sets this identifier on bing.com and clarity.ms. This means data about your visit is shared with Microsoft, including its Bing services. | About 13 months (390 days). Set only after you choose Accept cookies. | Withdrawing via Cookie settings stops Clarity loading, so nothing new is set. Cookies on Microsoft's domains can only be removed in your browser settings. |
| MR | Microsoft (on c.bing.com and c.clarity.ms) | Tells Microsoft when to refresh the MUID identifier above. | 7 days. Set only after you choose Accept cookies. | Withdrawing via Cookie settings stops Clarity loading, so nothing new is set. Cookies on Microsoft's domains can only be removed in your browser settings. |
| SRM_B | Microsoft (on c.bing.com) | A further Microsoft identifier set alongside the Clarity sync on Microsoft's Bing domain. | About 13 months (390 days). Set only after you choose Accept cookies. | Withdrawing via Cookie settings stops Clarity loading, so nothing new is set. Cookies on Microsoft's domains can only be removed in your browser settings. |
| SM | Microsoft (on c.clarity.ms) | Used by Microsoft while it syncs the MUID identifier across its domains. | Until you close your browser. Set only after you choose Accept cookies. | Withdrawing via Cookie settings stops Clarity loading, so nothing new is set. Cookies on Microsoft's domains can only be removed in your browser settings. |
| ANONCHK | Microsoft (on c.clarity.ms) | Records whether the MUID identifier is being transferred anonymously. | Under a day (the shortest-lived cookie our probe recorded). Set only after you choose Accept cookies. | Withdrawing via Cookie settings stops Clarity loading, so nothing new is set. Cookies on Microsoft's domains can only be removed in your browser settings. |
| Chat cookies (LeadConnector) | LeadConnector, our chat provider | Keep your conversation with our chat connected as you move between pages. Nothing from the chat is set until you open it: tapping the chat button is what loads it. | Set only after you open the chat. Duration is controlled by LeadConnector. | Do not open the chat, or clear cookies in your browser once the conversation is over. |
We do not show you adverts and we do not sell data from any of these cookies. One of them (MUID) belongs to Microsoft's advertising platform and is set by Microsoft when Clarity runs, which is why it is named plainly in the table above rather than hidden. If anything on this page does not match what you see in your browser, tell us at hello@theagency.io and we will put it right.