Cookies Policy

Version: 2026-10-18

1. About this policy

This policy describes how GreenTide Web Design uses cookies and similar technologies on our website, during signup, at checkout, on login and in customer accounts. It also explains our privacy-focused aggregate website statistics, optional individual visitor-journey analytics and advertising measurement. “Cookies” includes browser localStorage, sessionStorage, IndexedDB and other technologies that store or access information on a device.

We treat anonymous site statistics, optional individual visitor-journey analytics, optional advertising tracking and strictly necessary technologies differently. Aggregate statistics are enabled by default unless you object. Individual journey and advertising tracking require your affirmative consent. Rejecting optional tracking or objecting to aggregate statistics does not prevent you from browsing, signing up or using our services.

2. Your cookie choices

On your first visit, and if we materially change the purposes of consent-based tracking, we ask you to choose. Reject all declines the optional individual visitor-journey and advertising categories. Accept all enables those two categories.Manage choices lets you control them separately; neither is selected in advance. Strictly necessary technologies remain active to provide the service you request.

Anonymous site statistics are separate: these are enabled by default to help improve the website, without creating a first-party individual visitor journey. You can object by opening Cookie settings, selecting Manage choices, switching off Anonymous site statistics and selecting Save choices. This is free, and you can change your preference at any time. Selecting Reject alldoes not also turn off anonymous site statistics; use Manage choicesif you wish to object to those too.

You can reopen Cookie settings on our website at any time to change or withdraw consent or object to aggregate statistics. Withdrawing individual analytics consent stops new first-party journey tracking and requests deletion of the current browser session's events. Turning off advertising stops future advertising tracking and reloads the page to unload optional advertising scripts. Information providers have already received may still be retained under their own policies; see our Privacy Policy for further information.

Your Analytics and Advertising consent choices are recorded in your browser's localStorage in a cookie preferences record, together with the consent-preference version and the time of your last choice. If you object to anonymous statistics, we separately store an aggregate-statistics opt-out flag in localStorage. That flag does not identify you or link your page visits; switching anonymous statistics back on removes it. These browser choices remain until you change them, clear browser data or the applicable settings change. They are not cross-site advertising identifiers.

When you explicitly choose a consent option, we also store a minimal server-side decision record (the chosen categories and timestamp) for up to 30 days. If you consent to individual Analytics, this record can include the same random session ID used for your website activity, so the choice can appear alongside page visits and clicks in your GreenTide Hub visitor journey. If you do not consent to individual Analytics, we do not create or associate a first-party visitor-journey ID with your choice. Cookie decision records do not contain an IP address, approximate location, campaign or browsing history. Withdrawing individual Analytics consent requests deletion of that session's events and removal of the session ID association from retained consent records.

Separately, our own anonymous page-arrival counter can count a page opening before you choose optional cookies. It records only a randomly generated key for that one page arrival, its current consent-choice category and a timestamp for up to 30 days. The key is kept only in page memory, not in a cookie or browser storage, and cannot link visits across different pages. We do not add an IP address, location, page URL, campaign, device details or an individual journey to this counter. Your choice on the current page updates its category. If you object to anonymous statistics, that page is excluded from the reported count.

3. Optional first-party visitor analytics

If you enable individual Analytics, GreenTide Web Design uses a random identifier in sessionStorage (using a session analytics identifier) to connect actions within the same browser tab session. We may record pages opened, named button and link clicks, submitted-form events (but not the contents of form fields), stages reached in signup and timestamps. We also record available campaign labels, such as UTM source and campaign, to understand signup journeys. We do not create this first-party journey for visitors who have not consented.

Our hosting provider, Vercel, can supply an approximate city, region/state and country based on a visitor's network address. These estimates may be absent or inaccurate, particularly when using a VPN. We do not store full IP addresses, GPS coordinates, passwords, payment card numbers or typed form contents in our visitor-event table. A random session identifier and detailed behaviour can nevertheless constitute personal data. Access to visitor journeys in GreenTide Hub is restricted to authorised staff for website improvement and conversion-funnel analysis.

The same browser session can store campaign attribution information to remember campaign details during signup. These individual analytics are optional and disabled until you consent. We display visitor-journey events for no longer than a 30-day reporting window. The app also removes database events older than 30 days when handling events and Hub analytics requests. During an idle period, physical deletion may occur at the next maintenance run instead of immediately on day 30. We do not use these events to identify you by name or email.

4. Optional advertising, Meta Pixel and Google Ads

If you enable Advertising, we load the Meta Pixel and Google Ads tracking technologies for advertising measurement and, depending on our advertising configuration, audiences or retargeting. These providers may receive information about page visits, browser or device activity, advertising identifiers and your network address. We load optional advertising scripts only after affirmative Advertising consent. Enabling individual Analytics or leaving anonymous statistics on does not grant Advertising consent.

Meta Pixel may use cookies such as _fbp and _fbc, alongside its own technologies. Their use and retention depend on Meta's implementation and your browser settings; these identifiers may remain for around three months unless removed earlier. See the Meta Privacy Policy and Google Privacy Policyfor information about these providers. You can decline Advertising and still use GreenTide Web Design.

5. Anonymous website statistics: our counter and Vercel Web Analytics

We count anonymous page arrivals ourselves and use Vercel Web Analytics to measure aggregate website traffic, including page views, approximate visitor totals, popular pages, general referral sources, coarse geographic breakdowns and broad browser or device information, for the sole purpose of understanding and improving our website. This service runs without waiting for individual Analytics or Advertising consent, unless you have objected to anonymous statistics through Cookie settings.

Vercel states that its Web Analytics does not use analytics cookies and does not give us an identifiable cross-site visitor history. It derives a short-lived visitor hash from requests, which resets daily, and presents aggregate statistics. Our configuration removes query strings and URL fragments from the reported page URL, preventing advertising click IDs and other URL parameters from being included in that field. We also suppress known intermediate signup-redirect views to avoid counting the same arrival twice. These aggregate reports are separate from the consent-based individual visitor journeys shown in GreenTide Hub.

We rely on the statistical-purposes exception under the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) for qualifying aggregate analytics used only to improve our website. You can object simply and free of charge: open Cookie settings, choose Manage choices, disable Anonymous site statistics and save. This stops future Vercel analytics events and first-party anonymous page-arrival counts from being recorded by our website from that browser while the objection is in effect. A counted arrival on the current page is excluded from our first-party totals if you object. It does not retrospectively remove Vercel statistics that have already been aggregated.

For more information about Vercel's processing, see Vercel's privacy and compliance information. Aggregate website statistics are not used by us to identify, profile or monitor individual visitors or to send visitor-level conversion information to advertising providers.

6. Email verification cookie

We use a strictly necessary, first-party, HTTP-only verification cookie to confirm that the signup email address has been verified and to prevent unverified actions. In production it is transmitted securely over HTTPS and uses a strict same-site setting. Its intended duration is 30 minutes, unless cleared sooner.

7. Account login and authentication

We use Neon Auth to keep accounts secure and maintain login sessions using server-managed cookies. These cookies are necessary to recognise a logged-in customer and protect the account; they are not placed for advertising. The Next.js authentication integration uses a short-lived signed session-data cache, currently around 5 minutes, while the authenticated session has a separate provider-managed lifetime and may be renewed while signed in. Signing out or session expiry prevents continued authenticated access.

8. Signup session and file storage

During signup, we may use sessionStorage to keep checkout state across navigation or payment authentication. This normally lasts for the browser tab/session and is removed once the checkout handoff finishes. For user-selected logos, images or branding files, we temporarily use IndexedDB to retain file drafts across payment redirects.

A saved file draft is treated as valid for up to 24 hours. We clear it after successful asset handoff or when the signup flow next detects an expired draft. An abandoned local draft can remain until the browser deletes its storage. Selecting a local file does not by itself upload that file to our server. These features support a service you request and are separate from optional analytics.

9. Stripe payment and fraud prevention

We use Stripe to handle cards, supported wallets, payment authentication and fraud prevention. Its necessary payment technologies may include:

The precise technologies vary by payment method and Stripe configuration. Review Stripe Cookie Settings and the Stripe Privacy Centerfor current details. Other payment providers may use necessary technologies if you choose to use their payment interface.

10. Legal rules and lawful purposes

Under the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), non-exempt storage and access technologies generally require prior consent. Necessary authentication, secure checkout and anti-fraud technologies may qualify for specific exceptions when used only for those purposes. For aggregate website statistics used solely to make improvements, we rely on the PECR statistical-purposes exception and provide clear information and a simple, free way to object. The exception does notauthorise advertising tracking, profiling or recording an identifiable visitor journey.

We rely on your affirmative consent for optional individual visitor-journey analytics and advertising technologies; merely visiting or scrolling is not consent. If any processing involves personal data, the UK GDPR also applies, including its requirements concerning lawful basis, transparency, minimisation and security. Please see our Privacy Policy for the controller identity, lawful bases, retention, international transfers, recipients and your rights. This Cookies Policy supplements rather than replaces that information.

11. Data sharing, retention and your rights

Anonymous page-arrival counts and consented first-party visitor-journey events are recorded separately in our Neon database and viewed by authorised staff through GreenTide Hub. Vercel hosts the website, can supply approximate location information for consented analytics, and separately provides aggregate Web Analytics statistics. Meta and Google may receive advertising data when Advertising is enabled. Stripe and Neon Auth support essential payments and authentication. Providers may process data outside the UK; details of safeguards and your rights appear in our Privacy Policy and the providers' notices.

You can object to anonymous website statistics and withdraw optional individual Analytics or Advertising consent at any time via Cookie settings. You may also clear your browser cookies and site data. Withdrawing individual Analytics consent requests deletion of events for the current browser-tab session, but does not automatically remove earlier sessions, provider logs or statutory records. An objection to aggregate statistics stops new aggregate reporting from your browser, but cannot undo already aggregated historical statistics. Advertising providers may retain information already received. Contact us to exercise applicable data rights, and we will assess and respond to your request.

12. Changes to this policy

We review this policy when our website, tracking, providers or legal obligations change. Where a change materially affects optional tracking purposes, we will ask visitors to choose again. The version and date at the top of this page identify this policy; the separate version in your browser consent preference controls when we ask you to renew optional tracking consent.

13. Questions and contact

For more detail on how we handle personal information, see our Privacy Policy. For questions about cookies or your data rights, contact support@greentideweb.co.uk.