We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on RatedStylists. This policy explains what cookies are, how we use them, and how you can manage your preferences.
Last updated: February 2026
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site.
Cookies allow a website to recognise your device and remember certain information about your sessions, such as whether you are logged in, your preferred language, and other settings. They are essential for a smooth browsing experience.
At RatedStylists, we use cookies to keep you signed in, remember your preferences, understand how you use our platform, and occasionally show you relevant advertisements. We are committed to being transparent about which cookies we use and why.
These cookies are strictly necessary for the website to function. They enable core features such as authentication, security, and session management. You cannot disable these cookies as the site will not work properly without them.
Functional cookies allow us to remember your preferences and personalise your experience. This includes remembering your theme choice, recent searches, and preferred language. Disabling these cookies may reduce the quality of your experience.
We use analytics cookies to understand how visitors interact with our website. This helps us measure performance, identify popular pages, and improve the overall user experience. All data is aggregated and anonymised.
Marketing cookies are used to track visitors across websites to display relevant advertisements. These cookies help us measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns and limit the number of times you see an advert.
| Cookie Name | Provider | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| __session | Clerk | Maintains your authenticated session so you stay logged in across pages. | Session | Essential |
| __client_uat | Clerk | Used to determine the freshness of the authentication state. | 1 year | Essential |
| __clerk_db_jwt | Clerk | Stores a short-lived JWT for authenticating requests to the backend. | Session | Essential |
| cookieConsent | RatedStylists | Stores your cookie consent preferences so we don’t ask you repeatedly. | 1 year | Essential |
| theme | RatedStylists | Remembers your preferred colour theme (light or dark mode). | 1 year | Functional |
| recentSearches | RatedStylists | Stores your recent salon searches for quicker access. | 30 days | Functional |
| _ga | Google Analytics | Distinguishes unique visitors and tracks site usage patterns. | 2 years | Analytics |
| _ga_* | Google Analytics | Maintains session state across page requests. | 2 years | Analytics |
| __stripe_mid | Stripe | Used for fraud prevention during payment processing. | 1 year | Essential |
| __stripe_sid | Stripe | Used for fraud prevention during an active payment session. | 30 minutes | Essential |
| _fbp | Meta (Facebook) | Tracks visits across websites to deliver relevant advertisements. | 3 months | Marketing |
| _gcl_au | Google Ads | Stores conversion data for Google Ads click attribution. | 3 months | Marketing |
Clerk · Session
Maintains your authenticated session so you stay logged in across pages.
Clerk · 1 year
Used to determine the freshness of the authentication state.
Clerk · Session
Stores a short-lived JWT for authenticating requests to the backend.
RatedStylists · 1 year
Stores your cookie consent preferences so we don’t ask you repeatedly.
RatedStylists · 1 year
Remembers your preferred colour theme (light or dark mode).
RatedStylists · 30 days
Stores your recent salon searches for quicker access.
Google Analytics · 2 years
Distinguishes unique visitors and tracks site usage patterns.
Google Analytics · 2 years
Maintains session state across page requests.
Stripe · 1 year
Used for fraud prevention during payment processing.
Stripe · 30 minutes
Used for fraud prevention during an active payment session.
Meta (Facebook) · 3 months
Tracks visits across websites to deliver relevant advertisements.
Google Ads · 3 months
Stores conversion data for Google Ads click attribution.
In addition to our own cookies, we use cookies set by trusted third-party services that are integral to the operation of our platform:
We use Clerk for secure user authentication. Clerk sets cookies to manage your login session, verify your identity, and protect against unauthorised access. These are essential cookies and cannot be disabled.
Stripe processes payments on our platform and sets cookies for fraud prevention and to ensure the security of transactions. These cookies are only active during the payment process and are classified as essential.
We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our site. This helps us improve the user experience by identifying popular pages, tracking navigation patterns, and measuring overall site performance. All data is anonymised.
You have control over which cookies are set on your device. There are several ways to manage your cookie preferences:
Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can typically find these options in the "Privacy" or "Security" section of your browser preferences. You can choose to block all cookies, accept all cookies, or receive a notification when a cookie is set.
You may also opt out of certain third-party cookies directly:
Please note: Disabling essential cookies will prevent you from logging in and using core features of RatedStylists. We recommend keeping essential cookies enabled for the best experience.
When you first visit RatedStylists, you will be presented with a cookie consent banner. This allows you to accept or customise which categories of cookies you permit, beyond the essential cookies that are always active.
Your consent preferences are stored in a cookie called cookieConsent and will be remembered for 12 months. You can change your preferences at any time by clearing your browser cookies and revisiting the site, or by contacting us.
In accordance with UK data protection law (the UK GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003), we only set non-essential cookies after receiving your explicit consent. Essential cookies are set without consent as they are strictly necessary for the service you have requested.
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the cookies we use, or for operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We encourage you to revisit this page periodically to stay informed about our use of cookies.
When we make significant changes, we will notify you by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this policy. If the changes materially affect how we handle your data, we may also display a prominent notice on our website or send you a notification.