Cookies & browser storage

Websites can store information through cookies, local storage and session storage. This page covers the browser storage used by the current Gatherdesk application. Local storage can remain after the browser closes; session storage normally belongs to the current tab and its browsing session.

The public marketing pages at gatherdesk.app use Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics to measure how the site is used. These are loaded with consent denied by default: no analytics or advertising storage is written unless you accept, and declining leaves the site fully usable. They are not loaded inside a business workspace, so your working data and the addresses of your records are never sent to them. Authentication uses browser local storage rather than a sign-in cookie.

When you sign in, local storage holds your authentication token and basic user profile so the app can make authorised requests and display your account. Operator accounts use separate entries. Tokens and profiles are removed on sign-out or when the application handles a rejected session; server checks also control whether a token remains valid.

A saved workspace sign-in path may remain to send you back to the right business login. It has no automatic browser-storage expiry. Clearing site data removes it. On a shared device, sign out when finished rather than relying on closing the tab.

After you choose a request type, session storage keeps the unfinished form so you can go back or refresh without losing your entries. The draft can contain the contact and business information you have typed. It is not restored if it is older than 24 hours.

Successful submission removes that draft and stores only the request reference, request type and receipt time for the thank-you page. The receipt is also not restored after 24 hours. Starting a new request clears the earlier draft and receipt. Clearing browser storage does not withdraw a request already saved on the server.

When a business installs the Gatherdesk widget, the widget creates a random visitor session identifier in that website tab’s session storage as it loads. The identifier is scoped to that widget and API address and allows the same conversation to reconnect. The loader does not store your name, email address or transcript in that browser entry.

Visitor access expires 24 hours after the server conversation was created. The browser entry may remain until the tab session ends, it is replaced or site data is cleared. The business hosting the widget is responsible for its own website notices and any consent requirements, including assessing storage that occurs before a visitor opens the chat.

You can inspect, block or clear site data in your browser settings. Doing so may sign you out, erase an unfinished request or prevent a chat from reconnecting. Clear data for the Gatherdesk address and, where relevant, the business website hosting a widget.

You are asked once, on your first visit to the public site, whether to allow analytics. Your answer is remembered in local storage for this site — the refusal itself is not stored in a cookie. To change your mind, clear this site's data in your browser and you will be asked again. Analytics are never loaded inside a business workspace, regardless of your answer.