Cookie & local storage policy
Legal Information & Notices
This policy explains what FreelancerPeople ("the Platform") stores in your browser when you use freelancerpeople.com, why each item exists, and how you can control or remove it. FreelancerPeople works a little differently from many websites: almost everything we keep on your device lives in browser web storage rather than in traditional cookies. Our own server sets exactly one short-lived cookie, and the only third-party cookies come from Google Analytics, which are set only if you accept them.
This page works alongside our Privacy Policy, which explains how personal data is collected, used, kept and protected across the Platform, and our Terms of Service. Where this page describes what sits on your device, the Privacy Policy describes what happens to data once it reaches our servers.
1. What cookies and web storage are
A cookie is a small text file a website asks your browser to save. Your browser sends it back with later requests so the site can recognise you as you move between pages. Cookies cannot run programs or carry viruses.
Modern browsers also provide web storage, which FreelancerPeople relies on far more than cookies:
- Local storage keeps small pieces of data on your device until they are removed: by you, by the site, or when you clear your browser data. Unlike cookies, it is not sent automatically with every request.
- Session storage works the same way but belongs to a single browser tab and is erased when that tab or the browser closes.
In the rest of this policy, "storage" means cookies, local storage and session storage together.
2. The categories we use
Strictly necessary
These keep you signed in and keep your account secure. When you sign in, the Platform saves a signed session token and a small snapshot of your account in your browser. The "Remember me" option at sign-in controls where they go: with Remember me on, they are kept in local storage so you stay signed in on that device until you sign out; with Remember me off, they are kept in session storage, end when your browser closes, and the server also expires the session after a short period. Every request is still checked against our servers, so signing out, changing your password or revoking a session ends access immediately regardless of what is stored on the device.
Also in this category: the record of your analytics Accept or Decline choice, the guest cart that holds digital products you add before signing in, and one short-lived cookie our server sets during Google or Microsoft sign-in to tie that sign-in attempt to your browser as a security check. Staff accounts use an equivalent token for the admin console.
Preferences
These remember choices you make so the interface stays the way you left it: your theme and navigation layout, list or grid views in the digital products area, recent searches kept on your device, sound settings, recently used emoji, banners you have dismissed, and unsent drafts of notes or requests so half-written text is not lost. If they are cleared, nothing breaks; the interface simply returns to its defaults.
Analytics
We use Google Analytics for aggregate usage measurement: which pages are visited, roughly how people move through the site, and where problems occur. Google Analytics cookies are set only after you choose Accept on the consent notice shown on your first visit. If you decline, no Google Analytics cookies are set and measurement stays cookieless.
Separately, the Platform records basic first-party usage events on our own servers, such as page views and listing impressions, using a random anonymous identifier stored in your browser. Like any web request, these events also carry your IP address and browser type. This measurement is first-party only: it involves no third-party cookies, is used in aggregate to understand how pages and listings perform, and is never sold or shared for advertising. The Privacy Policy covers it in more detail.
3. Exactly what we store, item by item
The table below lists the storage the Platform actually uses, in plain terms. Essential items last until you sign out or clear your browser's site data, or as chosen through Remember me; session storage items end when the tab or browser closes; Google Analytics cookies follow Google's published schedule.
| Name | Where | What it does | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| freelancerpeople.api.token, freelancerpeople.api.user | Local or session storage | Your signed session token and a snapshot of your account, so you stay signed in and pages load without re-fetching your profile. | Remember me on: until you sign out. Off: until the browser closes; the server also expires the session after a short period. |
| fp_consent | Local storage | Records your Accept or Decline choice for analytics cookies. | Until you clear site data. |
| fp.dpCart | Local storage | Guest cart for digital products before you sign in. | Until you sign in, check out or clear site data. |
| fb_admin_auth | Local storage | Sign-in token for the staff admin console. Appears only on staff devices. | Until sign-out or token expiry. |
| OAuth sign-in cookie | Cookie (the only one our server sets) | Ties a Google or Microsoft sign-in attempt to your browser as a security check. | A few minutes, during sign-in only. |
| fp.marketplaceTheme, fp.navLayout, fp.navCollapsed | Local storage | Theme and navigation layout choices. | Until cleared. |
| freelancerpeople.currency | Local storage | A stored display preference. All amounts on the Platform are priced and settled in USD. | Until cleared. |
| fp.dpBrowseView, fp.dpLibraryView, fp.dpMyLibraryView, fp.storeView | Local storage | List or grid view choices in the digital products area. | Until cleared. |
| fp.dp.recentSearches | Local storage | Your recent searches, kept on your device to speed up suggestions. | Until cleared. |
| fp.introSound, fp.serveSound, mx_recent_emoji | Local storage | Sound preferences and recently used emoji. | Until cleared. |
| Draft keys (per order or contract) | Local storage | Unsent notes and request drafts, so work in progress is not lost. | Until sent, discarded or cleared. |
| fp_anon_id | Local storage | A random anonymous identifier for our first-party usage measurement. It contains no name, email or account details. | Until cleared. |
| fp.sid, fp.lastSearch, dismissed-banner and scroll-position keys | Session storage | Per-tab state: a page-view session id, your last search, banners you dismissed and where you had scrolled to. | When the tab or browser closes. |
| Google Analytics cookies (names beginning with "_ga") | Cookies, set by Google | Aggregate usage measurement. Set only after you choose Accept. | Per Google's published schedule. |
Storage names may change as the Platform evolves; we update this table when they do.
4. What we do not use
- No advertising or targeting cookies, and no ad networks on our pages.
- No cross-site tracking: nothing we store follows you to other websites.
- No sale of personal data, and no sharing of storage data with data brokers.
- No tracking pixels in the emails we send.
5. Third parties that load on our pages
Two Google services load resources when a FreelancerPeople page opens:
- Google Fonts delivers the typefaces used across the site. Your browser requests the font files from Google's servers, which means Google receives your IP address and browser details for that request. Google Fonts does not set cookies.
- Google Analytics loads its measurement script from Google's servers. It is configured with consent defaults set to "denied", so measurement cookies are set only after you choose Accept.
How Google handles this information is governed by Google's own privacy policy, not ours. If you pay through an external payment provider, any pages or cookies belonging to that provider are governed by its own policies; we do not control them.
6. Managing storage on your device
- Signing out removes your session token and account snapshot from the browser and revokes the session on our servers.
- Remember me: leave it off at sign-in if you prefer your session to end when the browser closes, for example on a shared computer.
- Browser controls: every major browser lets you view, delete and block cookies and site data, globally or for a single site, through its settings or privacy menu. Private or incognito windows discard storage automatically when closed.
If you block or clear the strictly necessary items, the Platform will still load, but you cannot stay signed in, your guest cart will not persist between visits, and you will be asked for your consent choice again.
7. Your analytics choice and opting out
On your first visit, a notice lets you Accept or Decline analytics cookies. Your choice is saved on your device and respected on every later visit. To change it, clear this site's stored data in your browser; the notice will appear again and you can choose differently. You can also block Google Analytics regardless of your choice here, using your browser's cookie controls or Google's own opt-out tools, such as the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.
Some browsers can send a "Do Not Track" or similar signal. There is still no settled standard for how websites should interpret these signals, so the Platform does not currently change its behaviour in response to them; the controls above remain the way to manage your choices.
8. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when the storage we use changes, when features are added or removed, or when the law requires it. The "Last updated" date at the top of the page shows the current version, and for significant changes we may show a fresh notice or ask for your choice again. Continued use of the Platform after an update means the revised policy applies, except where the law requires us to ask for fresh consent.
9. Questions and contact
If you have questions about this policy or about anything stored on your device, write to support@freelancerpeople.com or open a ticket on our Support page. Data-related grievances can be addressed to our Grievance Officer, a designated role reachable at the same email address: we acknowledge grievances within 24 hours, aim to resolve them within 15 days, and give you a ticket number so you can track progress.
Related reading: the Privacy Policy for how personal data is handled, the Terms of Service for the rules of using the Platform, and Trust & Safety for how we keep the marketplace safe.