OpenWater Group
Last Updated: April 2026
Cookies are small text files stored on your device (computer, phone, or tablet) when you visit a website. They help the website recognize your device, remember your preferences, and understand how you use the site. Some cookies are essential for the site to work properly. Others help us improve your experience or understand how visitors interact with our content.
This Cookie Policy explains what cookies we use on the OpenWater website at openwater.group (the “Site”) and on Beacon, our AI-powered member intelligence platform at beacon.openwater.group, why we use them, and how you can manage them. This Policy should be read together with our Privacy Policy, which describes how we collect, use, and protect your personal information more broadly.
The table below lists the cookies currently in use on the main OpenWater Site.
| Cookie Name | Provider | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| __hstc | HubSpot | Tracks visitors to the Site. Used to identify unique visitors and track their session activity. | 6 months | Functional |
| __hssc | HubSpot | Tracks the current session. Used to determine whether a new session has started. | 30 minutes | Functional |
| __hssrc | HubSpot | Determines whether the visitor has restarted their browser. Used for session management. | Session | Functional |
| hubspotutk | HubSpot | Identifies a unique visitor for form tracking and personalization. Linked to HubSpot contact records when a form is submitted. | 6 months | Functional |
| _GRECAPTCHA | Used by Google reCAPTCHA to protect the Apply form from spam and automated abuse. | 6 months | Essential |
Planned cookies (not yet active): We plan to implement Google Analytics 4 on the Site. When activated, the following cookies will be used:
| Cookie Name | Provider | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Distinguishes unique visitors to the Site by assigning a randomly generated identifier. | 2 years | Analytics | |
| _ga_* | Used by Google Analytics 4 to maintain session state and track usage patterns. Does not log IP addresses. | 2 years | Analytics |
We will update this Cookie Policy when analytics cookies are activated. Google Analytics 4 collects anonymized, aggregate usage data and does not log IP addresses.
Beacon, our AI-powered member intelligence platform, uses a minimal and privacy-focused set of cookies and tracking technologies. Beacon is only accessible to current OpenWater members.
| Cookie Name | Provider | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| beacon_session | OpenWater (Beacon) | Authentication cookie. After you click your magic link and sign in, this cookie identifies you as a logged-in member so you do not need to re-authenticate on every page or action. Contains your email address and a cryptographic signature only — no passwords, browsing history, or behavioral data. | 30 days | Essential |
Security attributes of the beacon_session cookie:
| Attribute | Value / Purpose |
|---|---|
| First-party | Set by beacon.openwater.group only. Not shared with third parties. |
| HttpOnly | Cannot be accessed by client-side JavaScript. Protects against cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. |
| Secure | Transmitted only over HTTPS connections. |
| SameSite=Lax | Provides protection against cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks. |
| 30-day expiry | Expires automatically 30 days from issuance. |
This cookie is strictly necessary for using Beacon while signed in. You can clear it at any time through your browser settings, which will sign you out of Beacon.
Beacon uses Vercel Web Analytics to understand aggregate usage of the platform. Vercel Web Analytics is cookieless by design — it does not set any tracking cookies on your device. Instead, it uses anonymous, daily-rotating visitor identifiers computed from request metadata (such as IP address and user agent). These identifiers reset each day, so Vercel Web Analytics cannot track an individual visitor across multiple days or sessions.
The data Vercel Web Analytics collects is limited to: page views per route, aggregate visitor counts, referrer information, general geographic region (country level, not stored at the individual level), browser and device type, and web performance metrics. This data is aggregated and does not allow individual visitors to be identified. No personal data is shared with third-party advertisers or sold to anyone.
Because Vercel Web Analytics does not use cookies, fingerprinting, or any technology that requires consent under GDPR or ePrivacy regulations, no consent is required for this analytics method.
Beacon is hosted on Vercel. Vercel may set certain operational cookies on your browser used for security, fraud prevention, traffic routing, and platform stability. These cookies are not used for tracking, advertising, or analytics. Vercel’s privacy practices regarding these cookies are governed by Vercel’s privacy policy at https://vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy.
Essential cookies are necessary for the Site or Beacon to function. Without them, features like spam protection on forms and Beacon authentication would not work. These cookies cannot be disabled without impairing the relevant service.
Functional cookies support core site features like form tracking, visitor identification, and session management. They help us understand how visitors interact with the Site so we can provide a better experience. While not strictly required for the Site to load, they support the tools we use to operate the Site effectively.
Analytics cookies (planned for the Site) will help us understand how visitors use the Site by collecting anonymized, aggregated information such as page views and traffic sources. This data is used solely to improve the Site. Beacon uses cookieless analytics that do not require a cookie consent mechanism.
We do not use advertising, retargeting, or marketing cookies on the Site or on Beacon. We do not serve targeted advertisements.
We want to be clear about what Beacon does not do with your data:
No third-party tracking cookies. Beacon does not embed Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, Twitter pixel, TikTok pixel, or any other third-party tracking technology.
No advertising cookies. Beacon serves no advertising and does not participate in advertising networks.
No cross-site behavioral tracking. We do not track your browsing behavior on websites outside of Beacon.
No data sales. We do not sell your personal information to third parties for any purpose.
No marketing automation cookies. We do not use HubSpot, Marketo, Segment, Mixpanel, Amplitude, or similar marketing automation platforms that set tracking cookies on Beacon.
No social media share-button widgets. We do not embed third-party share buttons that would set cookies on your device.
No A/B testing cookies. We do not use Google Optimize, Optimizely, or similar split-testing tools that set cookies.
Beacon uses several third-party services to deliver core functionality. These services process data server-side and do not set cookies on your browser:
Supabase — provides the database that stores your member data. Hosted in the United States. Operates server-side only.
Anthropic (Claude) — processes content for AI-powered features including matching, classification, and conversational interfaces. Operates server-side only. Member content sent to Anthropic for processing is governed by Anthropic’s data handling policies at https://www.anthropic.com/privacy.
Voyage AI — generates vector embeddings of profile and content data for semantic search. Operates server-side only. Governed by Voyage’s data handling policies.
Resend — delivers transactional email including magic link sign-in emails. Operates server-side only. Does not set cookies on your browser.
Circle — Beacon ingests community content (posts, comments, profile updates) from the OpenWater community on Circle via Circle’s webhook API. This is a server-to-server data flow. Your interactions on Circle are governed by Circle’s separate privacy policy when you visit openwater.circle.so. Beacon does not embed Circle widgets or iframes that would carry Circle cookies onto beacon.openwater.group.
For a full list of third-party service providers we use, refer to our Privacy Policy.
Some cookies on the main Site are set by third-party services rather than by OpenWater directly. These third-party providers have their own privacy policies governing how they handle data collected through their cookies:
Google (reCAPTCHA and Analytics): https://policies.google.com/privacy
You can manage or delete cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block cookies, delete existing cookies, or be notified before a cookie is set. Here are links to cookie management instructions for common browsers:
Chrome: chrome://settings/cookies
Safari: Settings > Privacy > Manage Website Data
Firefox: about:preferences#privacy
Edge: edge://settings/privacy
Please note that blocking or deleting essential cookies may affect the functionality of the Site and Beacon. Blocking Site functional cookies may limit our ability to provide you with a personalized experience. Clearing the beacon_session cookie will sign you out of Beacon; you will need to request a new magic link to sign in again.
Because Beacon does not use tracking cookies for analytics or advertising, there are no analytics or advertising cookies on Beacon to opt out of. Vercel Web Analytics operates without cookies and respects your browser’s Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control signals.
If you want to stop using Beacon entirely and have your data deleted, contact us at help@openwater.group. We will process your request in accordance with the data deletion provisions of our Privacy Policy.
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the cookies we use, the third-party services on our Site or Beacon, or applicable legal requirements. When we make changes, we will update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this Policy. If we add, remove, or substantially change the cookies and tracking technologies we use, we will notify members through email or an in-product notice before the change takes effect. We commit to no surprise changes in our cookie practices. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.
If you have questions about this Cookie Policy or how we use cookies, contact us at:
OpenWater Group Inc.
131 Continental Dr. Suite 305, Newark, DE 19713
Email: help@openwater.group