Cookie Policy
Last updated: 26 July 2026
In short
James Square sets a small number of essential cookies so you can sign in and so we remember your cookie choices. Everything else is optional, switched off until you allow it, and can be withdrawn at any time from the Cookie Settings link in the footer. We run no advertising and no cross-site tracking.
What cookies are
A cookie is a small file a website asks your browser to keep. Similar technologies — local storage and session storage — do much the same job. This policy covers all of them, and uses “cookies” throughout for readability.
Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) we may only place cookies on your device without asking when they are strictly necessary to provide the service you asked for. Everything else requires your consent first, which is why nothing optional runs on this site until you allow it.
What we currently use
James Square runs no analytics, advertising or tracking scripts at all. At the time of writing, the only cookies and storage in use are the strictly necessary ones listed below. The optional categories exist so that if useful measurement is added later, your choice is already recorded and respected from the first page load.
| Name | Type | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
js-consent | Essential | Records your cookie choices so you are not asked again. Stored both in local storage and as a first-party cookie. | 182 days |
firebase:authUser:* | Essential | Keeps you signed in to your resident account. Set by Firebase Authentication, our sign-in provider. | Until you sign out |
owners_secure_access | Essential | Records that you entered the Owners area access code, for the length of your browsing session. | End of session |
js_committee_access | Essential | Records that you entered the Committee area access code, for the length of your browsing session. | End of session |
useful-info-tab | Functional | Remembers which information tab you last had open. | 12 months |
ovh_username, ovh_flat | Functional | Pre-fills your name and flat on the voting form so you do not retype them. | End of session |
Service workers used for offline access to the site are also strictly necessary, and store only page assets — never personal information.
The categories explained
These are the same categories, in the same words, that you see in the Cookie Preferences panel.
Essential (always on)
Needed for the site to work at all. These are always on.
- Keeping you signed in as you move between pages
- Remembering your cookie choices so we stop asking
- Protecting forms and logins against abuse
Personal information: Your account session is linked to you while you are signed in. Nothing here is used to profile you or shared for advertising.
How long it lasts: Session, or up to 6 months for your cookie choices
Functional (optional)
Remembers small preferences so the site behaves the way you left it.
- The facility or information tab you last had open
- Remembering that you dismissed a notice
- Your preferred booking view
Personal information: No. These are stored on your device only and hold preferences, not identity.
How long it lasts: Up to 12 months on your device
Analytics (optional)
Anonymous counts of which pages residents find useful.
- How many people viewed the pool safety page
- Which building updates are actually being read
- Whether a new page is helping or being ignored
Personal information: Measurement is aggregated and IP addresses are truncated where the provider supports it. We do not build profiles or track you across other websites.
How long it lasts: Up to 14 months
Performance (optional)
Helps us find slow pages and errors so they can be fixed.
- Page load timings and Core Web Vitals
- Reports when something on the site breaks
- Spotting a facility page that is slow on mobile
Personal information: Technical only — device type, browser and timings. An error report can include the page you were on, so we keep these for a short time.
How long it lasts: Up to 90 days
Marketing (optional)
Not used. James Square runs no advertising or tracking.
- No advertising cookies are set
- No data is sold or shared with advertisers
- Kept here only so this control exists if it were ever needed
Personal information: Nothing is collected. This category is switched off and empty by design.
How long it lasts: Not applicable
Changing or withdrawing your choices
Use the Cookie Settings link in the footer of any page — or the button below — to reopen the preferences panel. You can turn individual categories on or off, reject everything optional, or withdraw consent entirely so that you are asked afresh.
Withdrawing consent is as easy as giving it, takes effect immediately, and never costs you access to any part of the site. Any storage belonging to a category you switch off is cleared at the same time.
We ask again after 182 days so that a decision you made long ago is not treated as consent forever.
Browser controls
You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Blocking strictly necessary cookies will stop you being able to sign in, and may break bookings and the message board. Guidance for each major browser is published by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Third parties
Some pages embed content from other organisations — Vimeo for video, Google Maps for location, Microsoft Forms for questionnaires. These are loaded only when you allow functional cookies, so no request reaches them until then. Where an embed is switched off you will see a placeholder offering to enable it.
Our hosting provider (Vercel) and sign-in and database provider (Google Firebase) process data on our behalf as part of delivering the site. They are covered in the Privacy Policy.
Questions
If anything here is unclear, or you think a cookie is being set that this policy does not describe, please contact us at privacy@james-square.com.