[//] Legal
Cookies
Short version: browsing this website sets no cookies. Signing in to the account centre sets exactly one, and it exists only to keep you signed in. There is no tracking or advertising cookie anywhere on this site, and nothing you need to consent to.
What this site does not do
- No analytics. I do not use Google Analytics or any equivalent.
- No advertising or tracking pixels of any kind.
- No embedded video, maps or social widgets that could track you.
- No fonts loaded from third parties — they are part of the site itself.
- No cookie is set by simply visiting, reading a guide, or sending an enquiry.
The cookies that do exist
Two, both strictly necessary, and neither is set unless you sign in to something. Under UK law a strictly necessary cookie does not require consent — but it does require telling you about it, which is what this section is for.
- smiths_portal — customer account centre
- Set when you sign in at /account, and only then. It holds your client reference and an expiry date, signed so it cannot be altered or forged. It contains no password and nothing about your browsing. It lasts 30 days, is marked HttpOnly so no script can read it, and SameSite so other websites cannot make your browser send it. Signing out deletes it immediately.
- smiths_admin — my private console
- The same idea for the admin area only I can reach. Contains a signed token rather than a password, expires after 12 hours, and is never set for anyone else.
Neither cookie is shared with anyone, used to build a profile, or read on any other website. They do one job: telling this site that a request came from someone already signed in. Without one, the account centre could not work at all — you would be signed out on every click.
Local storage
Separately from cookies, this site remembers one thing in your browser: whether you have dismissed the notice about terms and privacy, so it does not reappear on every page. That never leaves your device, is not readable by me, and clearing your browser data removes it.
If that changes
If I ever add analytics or anything else non-essential, a consent banner will appear first and nothing will load until you make a choice — which is what the rules actually require, and what most cookie banners get wrong. This page will be updated to say exactly what was added and when.
Business details
- Trading name
- Smiths SEO
- Legal name
- Harry Smith (sole trader)
- Address
- 9 Netherwood Avenue, Castleford, WF10 2QW
- VAT
- Not VAT registered