Cookies and browser storage

Cookies are small pieces of information stored in your browser. Similar technologies include local storage, embedded players and scripts that read information from a device or send a request to another provider.

Essential storage is available so the website can remain secure and remember your choices. Job-area maps load automatically on a first visit. Measurement, external media, directory maps and adverts on calculator and tool pages stay off until you choose. Accept all, Reject all and Customise are presented together on the first notice. Reject all also pauses job maps.

Authentication and security

When member sign-in is enabled, Clerk can use necessary session and security storage to keep you signed in, verify requests and protect your account. If you choose an external identity provider during sign-in, that provider applies its own storage and privacy terms to the sign-in you requested.

Staff preview and administration

Authorised website staff use authentication and preview storage to reach private administration and unpublished content. These controls are not used for advertising.

Site preferences

The website uses the following first-party local and session storage. Local storage has no automatic expiry unless stated, so it remains until you remove the item through the website or clear the site's browser data.

Clerk's necessary authentication cookies include a short-lived session token and a longer-lived client cookie. They last until the relevant Clerk session expires, you sign out or the browser removes them. A selected identity provider can also use its own necessary sign-in storage for the session you request.

Vercel Web Analytics and Speed Insights help us understand aggregate visits, page performance and technical reliability. They can send page path, referrer, approximate location, device, browser and performance information to Vercel.

Google Analytics also measures visits to public pages when you enable Measurement. Google receives page paths, referring websites, device and browser information and approximate location. We omit URL query strings and fragments, private account and application pages, form contents and account identifiers. Advertising features are off.

Google Analytics uses first-party _ga and _ga_* cookies to distinguish browsers and visits, with a lifetime of up to one year that renews on use. Withdrawing Measurement stops collection and removes these cookies. You can read more in Google's privacy policy.

Vercel states that Web Analytics does not use third-party cookies and uses aggregate, anonymised data by default. The measurement scripts still make optional requests, so we do not load them unless you enable Measurement.

Microsoft Clarity helps us improve public pages using heatmaps, clicks, scrolling and masked session recordings. It loads only with your current Measurement choice and while you are signed out. Page text is masked; forms and ArchGPT are excluded. Recording stops when you enter a private page, a URL with query parameters or a fragment, or withdraw consent. It stays off until a fresh page load. We do not send account identifiers or enable advertising storage.

Clarity uses first-party _clck (up to one year) and _clsk (up to one day) cookies to connect visits. We remove these when recording stops. Recordings are normally retained for 30 days; favourites, sampled recordings and heatmaps can be kept for up to nine months under Microsoft's retention settings. See Microsoft's privacy statement.

Players hosted elsewhere can disclose ordinary request information such as IP address, referrer, device and browser details to the provider. Playback services can also process viewing, listening or engagement information and use cookies or similar technologies under their own policies.

• YouTube / Google for privacy-enhanced video players;
• Bunny Stream for the Architecture Social trailer player;
• Vimeo, Loom (an Atlassian service) and Wistia for approved community video players; and
• Transistor for podcast players and audio delivery. Episode cover artwork is served from architecturesocial.com itself and needs no third-party request.

No player iframe or audio player is added to the page until you enable External media. A paused placeholder lets you enable that purpose directly.

Interactive maps use CARTO or OpenFreeMap styles and map tiles. Loading a map sends a request to the selected provider or its delivery network, which can receive IP address, referrer, browser and network information. OpenFreeMap states that it does not use cookies or tracking, although its delivery and security providers still receive the request.

Job pages show an approximate area map automatically when no privacy choice has been saved. These CARTO image requests use anonymous CORS, so they do not exchange CARTO cookies or authentication credentials. They disclose the website origin, not the job page path or query string. We do not request your device's location or send a precise employer address. Loading a job map does not save or grant optional consent.

A saved Maps refusal blocks job maps as well as directory maps. Directory map libraries and tile URLs remain blocked until you enable Maps. OpenStreetMap contributors are credited as an upstream data source; the current maps do not request OpenStreetMap's public tile service directly.

CARTO processes technical request data on our behalf to deliver and secure basemaps. Its basemap terms state that IP addresses are truncated on ingestion and request logs are retained for 30 days. See CARTO's basemap terms for its processing and international-transfer terms.

Postcode lookups

If you deliberately use a postcode radius or commute lookup, the postcode you enter is sent to Postcodes.io to return coordinates and area information. This is a separate, user-requested lookup. It is not triggered merely by opening a page or by the Maps choice.

Open Cookie settings in the footer at any time to review or change each optional purpose. Saving Maps off or choosing Reject all also stops an automatically loaded job map. Turning off an active consented purpose saves the new choice and reloads the page so already-mounted optional services stop promptly.

You can also remove site storage through your browser. Clearing the consent record makes the first notice appear again and restores automatic job maps. Blocking essential authentication storage can stop sign-in, account and staff preview features from working, while public pages should remain available.

A new purpose, provider or material policy change requires a new choice. A preference from the previous binary notice can preserve Measurement only; it never enables External media, Maps or Advertising. A choice saved before Advertising existed keeps the purposes you already accepted and leaves Advertising off until you accept it.

Google AdSense may show an advert on our calculator and tool pages, including the notice period calculator, after you accept Advertising. The script loads only on those pages and only after that choice.

Jobs, salary guides, practices, people, projects and application pages do not load this advert. Reject all, or turning Advertising off, removes it on the next page load.

Google AdSense can show an advert on calculator and tool pages after you accept Advertising. It does not load on jobs, salary, practices, people, projects or application pages, and it does not load before that choice. The date at the top identifies this policy version. We update the notice and consent choices before enabling any materially different optional technology.

Provider retention periods and their own storage can differ. Their current privacy notices apply when their service loads, including an automatically loaded job map.