Cookie Policy

1. About this policy

This policy explains what cookies and similar technologies Searching Henry uses, why we use them, and how you can control them.

Searching Henry is operated by Searching Henry Oy, registered at Pitkänkalliontie 17 A, 02170 Espoo, Finland, business ID 3650663-6 ("we", "us").

This policy complements our Privacy Policy, which describes how we process personal data more generally, and our Terms & Conditions.

2. What cookies and similar technologies are

Cookies are small text files stored on your device by your browser when you visit a website. We also use similar technologies such as local storage and session storage, which work in a comparable way. In this policy we refer to all of them as "cookies".

Cookies can be first-party (set by Searching Henry) or third-party (set by a service we use, such as our authentication, map or payment providers). They can be session cookies, which disappear when you close your browser, or persistent cookies, which stay for a defined period.

3. Strictly necessary cookies

These keep the service working and secure. They are the only kind we use.

We use strictly necessary cookies and local storage to:

• keep you signed in and maintain your session between page loads;
• protect the service against fraud, abuse and automated attacks;
• resume live location sharing you have switched on if you reload the page, and remember who you are sharing with;
• remember contacts you have removed from your list and notifications you have dismissed.

The legal basis for these is our legitimate interest in providing a functioning and secure service, and where applicable the performance of our agreement with you. They do not require consent, which is why the service shows no cookie banner. Retention: session data ends when you close your browser or sign out, and the sign-in cookie lasts up to 30 days.

4. Optional cookies

We do not currently use any optional, functional, analytics or marketing cookies. If we ever add them, we will update this policy first and ask for your consent before setting them.

5. Analytics and visitor statistics

We count visits without cookies, and never identify you.

Searching Henry does not use analytics or measurement cookies, and we do not use any third-party analytics provider such as Google Analytics. Nothing is stored on your device for statistics.

We do keep simple, aggregate visitor statistics on our own server. For each page you open we record the time, the page address, your approximate country, whether you are on a mobile or desktop device, and the website you arrived from, if any.

To avoid counting the same visit many times, your IP address and browser details are turned into a one-way code together with the current date and a secret key. The IP address itself is never stored, the code cannot be turned back into your details, and it changes every day, so you cannot be followed from one day to the next. The statistics are never linked to your account and are not used for profiling.

Because no cookies or device identifiers are used and no one can be identified, this measurement relies on our legitimate interest in understanding how the service is used, and no consent is required. Visit records are deleted after 14 months.

6. Marketing cookies

Searching Henry does not currently use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. If this changes, we will update this policy and ask for your consent before any marketing cookies are set.

7. Third-party services

Some cookies are set by service providers we rely on to run Searching Henry. These providers process data under their own privacy notices:

• Authentication and database provider: Lovable — session and security cookies.
• Map tiles: OpenStreetMap Foundation — sets no cookies, but receives your browser's IP address when map images load.
• Payments and identity verification: Stripe, LLC — cookies set only when you start an age verification or payment.

We do not control the cookies set by these providers. Please review their own cookie and privacy notices for details.

Visitor statistics are produced on our own servers, as described in section 5. They are not shared with any advertising or analytics company.

8. Location data and the map

When you allow it, your browser shares your approximate location so the map can centre where you are. This is a browser permission rather than a cookie, and you can revoke it at any time in your browser settings. Markers you place are stored in our database, not in cookies, and are described in the Privacy Policy.

9. How to manage cookies

You can control cookies in several ways:

• sign out, which ends your session;
• change your browser settings to block or delete cookies — most browsers explain this under Settings, Privacy or History;
• use private or incognito browsing so cookies are cleared when you close the window.

If you block strictly necessary cookies, you will not be able to sign in or use the map, as the service cannot keep your session active.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this cookie policy when the service, our providers or the law change. The date below always shows the version in force. If the changes are significant, we will tell you in the service before they take effect.

11. Contact

Controller: Searching Henry Oy. Address: Pitkänkalliontie 17 A, 02170 Espoo, Finland. Business ID: 3650663-6.

Questions about cookies or privacy, and general enquiries: info@searchinghenry.com.