1. The short version
Roam does not use advertising cookies and does not sell data to anyone. What we do use falls into two groups:
- Strictly necessary storage that makes the site work at all: your theme choice, your saved conversation, and the sign-in cookies for the admin workspace. These are always on, because without them the feature they support cannot function.
- Optional analytics that tell us which pages and questions matter, so we know what to verify next. These are off until you accept them, and you can change your mind at any time.
Technically most of what we use is browser storage rather than cookies, but the rules are the same and so is this notice.
2. Strictly necessary storage
These are set on your own device by the site itself, and are never sent to a third party.
| Name | Type | Purpose | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|
roam-theme | localStorage | Remembers whether you chose the light or dark theme. | Until you clear it |
roam-conversation | localStorage | Keeps your Ask Roam conversation so it is still there if you open a listing and come back. Holds the last 20 messages. | 6 hours |
roam_anonymous_user | localStorage | A random identifier with no name or contact details attached. It groups your own questions into one conversation and enforces the fair-use limits that stop the assistant being abused. | Until you clear it |
roam-listings-view, roam-admin-sidebar | localStorage | Remember layout preferences such as grid or list view and whether the admin sidebar is collapsed. | Until you clear it |
| better-auth session cookies | Cookie | Keep an admin signed in. Set only after a successful sign-in, so they never exist for ordinary visitors. Secure and HTTP-only in production. | 7 days |
Because these are necessary for a feature you asked for, we rely on our legitimate interest in operating the site rather than on consent. Clearing your browser storage removes them, at the cost of losing the preference or conversation they held.
3. Optional analytics
These only run once you accept analytics in the banner.
| Tool | What it does | Where data is processed |
|---|---|---|
| PostHog | Product analytics. Records page views, clicks, web vitals and JavaScript errors, and can replay a session so we can see where a page confused people. Session replay masks text input by default. | European Union (eu.i.posthog.com) |
| Vercel Analytics and Speed Insights | Aggregate page-view counts and real-user page-speed measurements. No cross-site identifier and no profile of you. | Vercel, our hosting provider |
If you decline, neither tool loads, no data reaches PostHog or Vercel Analytics, and the site works exactly the same.
4. Our own record of what was asked
Separately from the tools above, we keep a first-party log of questions asked, chats opened, listings viewed and taps on call, WhatsApp and directions buttons. This is how we find out which information is missing and what to go and verify next, and it is the point of the guide rather than a marketing add-on.
It runs whatever you choose in the banner, because it sets no additional storage on your device beyond the identifier already listed as necessary above, and nothing is sent to a third party. Question text is stripped of email addresses and long digit sequences before it is stored, and the log lives in our database in the European Union. We rely on legitimate interests for it, which means you can object: write to privacy@roam.ug and we will stop.
5. Changing your choice
You are asked once, on your first visit. Your answer is stored on your device and honoured on every later visit until you change it or clear your browser data. To change it, use the cookie settings link in the footer.
You can also block or delete cookies and site data through your browser settings, or turn on Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control. We treat a Global Privacy Control signal as a refusal of optional analytics.
6. What we do not use
To be explicit, Roam does not use:
- advertising or retargeting cookies, or any ad network;
- social media tracking pixels;
- cross-site tracking, data brokers, or fingerprinting;
- any sale or sharing of your data for someone else’s marketing.
7. Maps and embedded content
Map tiles on listing and campaign pages are loaded from CARTO and OpenStreetMap without an account or API key, which means your browser requests images from them and they see your IP address as part of serving those images. Following a directions, phone or WhatsApp link takes you to a third party whose own terms and cookies then apply.
8. More detail
For the full picture of what we collect, why, how long we keep it and what rights you have, see the Privacy Policy. Questions about this notice go to privacy@roam.ug.