Cookie Consent Mechanism

Sherpa users analytics tools like Google Analytics and Amplitude to provide usage reports and improve the product. Without these tools, sherpa is not able to understand how the tools are being used and how to improve them. These tools identify unique users applying different techniques, including storing cookies and other information on user’s device.

The consent feature allows you to control how these tools perform on sherpa’s applications.

Default Behaviour

When you use the embedded elements, sherpa’s analytics tools automatically use cookies and other technologies to track users.

Changing Default Behaviour

You can change the default state by getting sherpa’s elements to conform to your users’s current consent preferences when you mount the embedded elements.

For example, if your user’s preference is to only allow essential cookies, you can pass those preference to sherpa and our applications will do the same.

const elementConfig = {
  ...,
  cookieConsentPreferences: ['functionality_storage', 'security_storage']
}

$sherpa.V2.createElement('map', elementConfig).mount('#sherpa-map')

Updating Consent

If your user updates the consent preferences during their session, you can reload the sherpa element with appropriate settings or use an update method to pass the latest preferences. When using an update method, the events that happened prior to the update will not be re-sent.

When your users turn off the “analytics_storage” preference, then our Google Analytics and Amplitude opt-in for a cookie-less reporting mode.

$sherpa.V2.setCookiePreferences({ consentsGiven: ['ad_storage', 'analytics_storage', 'functionality_storage', 'personalization_storage', 'security_storage']  })

In specifying a cookie policy, Sherpa uses cookie consent categories as defined by Google Tag Manager:

The following example would set a policy that allows any cookies on Embedded Elements or the Application Widget:

const elementConfig = {
  ...,
  cookieConsentPreferences:  ['ad_storage', 'analytics_storage', 'functionality_storage', 'personalization_storage', 'security_storage']
}

$sherpa.V2.createElement('map', elementConfig).mount('#sherpa-map')

The following example would set a minimal policy that allows only those cookies needed for the sherpa° Embedded Elements or Application Widget to function:

const elementConfig = {
  ...,
  cookieConsentPreferences: ['functionality_storage', 'security_storage']
}

$sherpa.V2.createElement('map', elementConfig).mount('#sherpa-map')

The 'functionality_storage' and 'security_storage' cookie consent types must always be included in any policy. If they are left out, the resultant policy will still allow those cookie types.

FAQ

Do I have to do anything?

If your policy states that third-party services may set cookies or identify users in other ways, then you can make use of the default implementation. If your policy says that third-party services must conform to your user’s consent, you should use this feature and inform sherpa° of your user’s preferences.

When will this be released?

This feature is available in SDK v2 now.

Can we get sherpa° to turn off analytics completely?

Turning analytics off completely is not available through this feature or SDK configuration. Please reach out to your account rep to discuss if you wish to turn off analytics.