2. Types of Cookies We Use
We use four categories of cookies, each with a different purpose and requiring a different legal basis under UK GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR):
Required for the platform to function. Cannot be disabled.
Remember your preferences and settings. Cannot be disabled.
Measure how the platform is used. Only set with your consent.
Used for targeted advertising. Only set with your explicit consent.
3. Essential Cookies
Essential cookies are strictly necessary for the HSC platform to operate. Without them, features like logging in, maintaining your session, and completing purchases would not work. These cookies cannot be disabled through our preference centre — disabling them would break core platform functionality. Under PECR, these cookies do not require your consent as they are strictly necessary.
| Cookie Name | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| hsc_session | Maintains your login session. Authenticates requests to our API. | Session (cleared on browser close) |
| hsc_auth_token | Secure authentication token — keeps you logged in across tabs. | 30 days |
| hsc_csrf | Cross-Site Request Forgery protection token. Prevents malicious requests. | Session |
| hsc_cart | Stores your shopping basket contents so they persist across pages. | 7 days |
| stripe_mid | Stripe fraud-prevention cookie. Required for payment processing. | 1 year |
| stripe_sid | Stripe session cookie. Required for secure payment processing. | 30 minutes |
4. Functional Cookies
Functional cookies allow the platform to remember choices you make and provide enhanced, personalised features. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. These cookies are set based on the legitimate interest basis as they are necessary to deliver features you have explicitly requested (such as dark mode). They cannot be disabled without degrading your experience.
| Cookie / Storage Key | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| hsc_theme | Stores your dark/light mode preference so it is remembered between visits. | 1 year (localStorage) |
| hsc_locale | Stores your language/locale preference. | 1 year (localStorage) |
| hsc_currency | Stores your preferred display currency for pricing. | 1 year (localStorage) |
| hsc_search_history | Stores recent searches locally to provide autocomplete suggestions. | 30 days (localStorage) |
| hsc_recently_viewed | Tracks listings you have recently viewed on your device for the "Recently viewed" feature. | 30 days (localStorage) |
| hsc_cookie_prefs | Stores your cookie consent preferences so you are not asked again on every visit. | 1 year |
5. Analytics Cookies
Analytics cookies help us understand how visitors interact with HSC — which pages are most popular, how long people spend on the platform, and where errors occur. This data helps us improve the service. Analytics cookies are only set with your explicit consent. All analytics data is pseudonymised (your IP address is anonymised) and is never used to personally identify you.
If you decline analytics cookies, we may still collect limited technical data (such as error logs) that does not require consent, as this is necessary for security and stability.
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Google Analytics | Distinguishes unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. | 2 years |
| _ga_* | Google Analytics | Persists session state (Google Analytics 4). | 2 years |
| _gid | Google Analytics | Distinguishes users. Expires after 24 hours. | 24 hours |
Google Analytics is configured with IP anonymisation enabled. For more information, see Google’s Privacy Policy.
6. Marketing Cookies
Marketing cookies are used to deliver advertisements that are relevant to you and your interests. They may also be used to limit how many times you see an advert and to help us measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns. Marketing cookies are entirely separate from essential cookies and are only set with your explicit, freely given consent. You may accept analytics cookies without accepting marketing cookies.
If you do not consent to marketing cookies, you will still see adverts on HSC (where applicable) but they will not be tailored to your browsing behaviour.
You can withdraw your marketing cookie consent at any time without any negative consequence. Withdrawal takes effect immediately — any existing marketing cookies will be deleted and no new ones will be placed.
Currently Used Marketing Cookies
At present, HSC does not deploy third-party advertising networks. If we introduce retargeting or paid advertising in the future, we will update this section with full details before activating any marketing cookies, and we will request fresh consent.
7. Third-Party Cookies
Some cookies on HSC are set by third parties whose services are embedded in or support our platform. We do not control how these third parties use cookies beyond our own configuration choices. Where we have control, we configure these services in privacy-respecting ways (e.g. IP anonymisation for analytics).
Stripe places cookies (stripe_mid, stripe_sid) that are required for secure payment processing and fraud prevention. These cannot be disabled if you wish to make payments on HSC.
View Stripe’s Privacy Policy →If you consent to analytics cookies, Google Analytics sets cookies to help us understand platform usage. IP addresses are anonymised.
View Google Analytics’s Privacy Policy →8. How to Manage Cookies
HSC Preference Centre
The easiest way to manage your cookie preferences is through our cookie preference centre, which is accessible at any time via the “Cookie Settings” link in the footer of any page. From there you can:
- Accept or reject analytics cookies independently of marketing cookies.
- Accept or reject marketing cookies independently of analytics cookies.
- Review what each cookie category does before deciding.
- Change your preferences at any time — changes take effect immediately.
Browser Settings
You can also control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block all cookies, block third-party cookies only, or delete existing cookies. Note that blocking essential cookies will prevent you from logging into HSC or completing purchases.
| Browser | Instructions |
|---|---|
| Google Chrome | Settings → Privacy and security → Cookies and other site data |
| Mozilla Firefox | Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data |
| Apple Safari | Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data |
| Microsoft Edge | Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Cookies and site data |
Opt-Out Tools
You can also opt out of Google Analytics tracking across all websites by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
9. Cookie Consent
How We Obtain Consent
On your first visit to HSC (or after clearing your cookies), we display a cookie consent banner. This banner:
- Clearly distinguishes between essential cookies (which do not require consent) and optional cookies (analytics and marketing).
- Allows you to accept all optional cookies, reject all optional cookies, or manage your preferences granularly.
- Does not use pre-ticked boxes for optional cookies.
- Does not make accepting optional cookies a condition of using the platform.
- Records the timestamp of your consent decision as required by UK GDPR.
Withdrawing Consent
You can withdraw consent for optional cookies at any time through the cookie preference centre (link in the footer). Withdrawal of consent will cause existing optional cookies to be deleted and no new optional cookies to be placed. This will not affect the lawfulness of any processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
Consent Records
We keep a record of when and what you consented to, stored in the hsc_cookie_prefs cookie. This record expires after 12 months, at which point we will ask for your preferences again.
10. Contact
If you have any questions about our use of cookies or this Cookie Policy, please contact us:
For more information about your privacy rights, please also refer to our Privacy Policy.