HS policy document
Cookie policy
What cookies are
Cookies are small files or similar technologies placed on a user's device. They may help a website work, remember preferences, keep sessions secure, measure performance or support marketing.
Cookie categories
| Category | How HS uses it | Consent position |
|---|---|---|
| Strictly necessary | Secure sign-in, checkout, customer tracking access, security and load balancing. | Consent is not usually required, but HS explains them clearly. |
| Functional / preference | Remembering language choice or interface settings. | May require consent unless strictly necessary for a user-requested service. |
| Analytics | Measuring visits, performance and page usage. | Non-essential and should not be set before consent unless a valid legal exception applies. |
| Marketing | Advertising, retargeting or campaign measurement. | Non-essential and should not be set before consent where consent is required. |
| Third-party service cookies | Hosting, authentication, payment, maps, messaging, analytics, reviews or marketing providers. | Depends on purpose and provider. Payment-related technologies needed for checkout are different from analytics or marketing pixels. |
Cookie table
| Cookie / service | Provider | Purpose | Category | Duration | Consent required? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| hs_cookie_consent | HS website | Records the cookie categories selected by the user and the consent-policy version. | Strictly necessary consent record | Up to 6 months | No. It is needed to remember and respect the user's cookie choice. |
| customer_track_access | HS website | Keeps verified customer tracking session active. | Strictly necessary | Short-lived session | No, if essential to requested tracking access. |
| sb-<project-ref>-auth-token | Supabase | Maintains secure staff/customer session where applicable. | Strictly necessary | Session / token expiry | No, if essential to sign-in. |
| Vercel platform cookies / technologies | Vercel | Hosting, security and performance. | Strictly necessary / platform | Set by provider | Usually no where strictly necessary. |
| Stripe payment technologies | Stripe | Payment checkout/session support on Stripe-hosted or payment pages. | Strictly necessary for payment flow where applicable | Set by Stripe | Payment-flow dependent. |
| Google Maps | Map or location functionality where enabled. | Functional / third-party | Set by Google | May require consent depending on implementation. | |
| Google Reviews / Google Business Profile | Review widget, review link or manual review display support where used. | Functional / marketing depending on implementation | Set by Google where embedded | May require consent depending on implementation. | |
| Google Analytics | Website usage analytics where enabled. | Analytics | Set by Google | Yes, unless a valid legal exception applies. | |
| Google Ads | Advertising, retargeting or campaign measurement where enabled. | Marketing | Set by Google | Yes. |
How to change preferences
The first-visit cookie banner allows users to accept all cookies, reject non-essential cookies or manage individual preferences. Accept and reject choices are presented at the same stage.
The Cookie Settings link in the footer reopens the preference centre so users can change or withdraw consent at any time.
Users may also remove or block cookies through browser settings at any time. Blocking essential cookies may stop sign-in, tracking or checkout from working correctly.
How HS manages consent
- HS displays a banner on the first visit before any non-essential cookies are enabled.
- The banner includes Accept all, Reject non-essential and Manage preferences controls.
- Accept and reject controls are given equal prominence.
- Analytics and marketing categories are off by default and are not pre-selected.
- HS does not load analytics or marketing cookies before consent unless a valid legal exception applies.
- Google Analytics and Google Ads are treated as non-essential unless a later data-protection review confirms otherwise.
- Strictly necessary cookies are always on; functional/preference, analytics and marketing cookies are optional where they are not strictly necessary.
- HS stores a proportionate first-party consent record showing selected categories, timestamp and policy/version identifier for up to six months.
- Users can withdraw consent or change choices at any time through Cookie Settings.
Third-party service inventory
- Vercel for hosting and secure delivery of the website.
- Supabase for authentication, staff sessions and protected customer access.
- Stripe for deposit and checkout processing when a payment link is issued.
- WhatsApp links and WhatsApp Business for messaging.
- Google Maps / Google Business Profile links where used.
- Google Reviews widget or manual review display where used.
- Email provider, SMS/WhatsApp provider and customer support tooling where used.
- Google Analytics and Google Ads where enabled after consent controls.
Withdrawal of consent and updates
Users can withdraw consent through Cookie Settings. HS stops non-essential cookies after withdrawal where technically possible and users may also clear existing cookies through their browser settings.
HS may update this Cookie Policy when tools, cookies, consent choices or legal requirements change.
Cookie and privacy questions can be sent to admin@hsgroupglobal.uk.