Cookie Policy
Last updated: 30 September 2026
What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files stored on your device by your web browser. They are widely used to make websites work, remember your preferences, and understand how services are used. Local storage and session storage work similarly and are used for the same purposes.
How we use cookies
First Night uses cookies and browser storage for essential functionality and, with your consent, basic analytics. Essential items are always used to keep the site working; analytics cookies are only set if you choose “Accept” in the cookie banner. We do not use advertising cookies or social media tracking pixels.
What we store
| Name | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| fn_token | Keeps you signed in. A cookie set by our server and marked HttpOnly, so scripts running in the page cannot read it | 30 days, or until you sign out |
| fn_member_hint | A cookie that says only that this browser is probably signed in, so the right version of the home page appears first. It holds no account details and does not sign you in | 12 months, or until you sign out |
| firstnight-theme | Remembers your chosen colour theme | Until you clear it |
| fn_cookie_consent | Remembers your analytics choice and which version of the notice you answered | Until you clear it |
| pendingLog | Holds a log you started while signed out, so it isn't lost when you sign in. It can include your rating, note, date and any companions you named, including an email address if you added one | 30 minutes, or until the log is saved |
| pendingWatchlist | Remembers a show you asked to add to your watchlist while signed out, so it is added once you sign in | 30 minutes, or until it is added |
| pendingPlan | Holds a plan you started while signed out, including the date, the time and any note you wrote, so it is saved once you sign in | 30 minutes, or until the plan is saved |
| fn_tonight_dismissed | Remembers which of today's plans you have hidden from the home page | Until you clear it |
fn_token and fn_member_hint are cookies. The other items are kept in your browser's local storage and never leave your device unless you go on to save them. The three pending items stop being used after 30 minutes and are removed the next time the site checks for them. We also use your browser's session storage, which is cleared when you close the tab, for a couple of one-bit notes such as whether you have just created your account. Editors signed in to our admin tools also have a few admin-section: entries that remember which panels they left open.
Analytics
With your consent, we use PostHog (a product-analytics service, using its EU-hosted cloud) to understand how people use First Night, for example which pages are visited and how new users progress through key actions. PostHog is only loaded after you choose “Accept” in the cookie banner; if you decline, it is not loaded and no analytics cookies are set. Once enabled, PostHog sets its own first-party cookie and local storage:
| Name | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| ph_* | A random identifier that lets PostHog recognise repeat visits and measure product usage | Up to 12 months |
PostHog records the pages you view and when you leave them, plus a fixed set of named events such as creating a log or adding to your watchlist. If you're signed in, it also records your account ID, preferred display name, public username and whether the account is a known internal test account as person properties. Your preferred display name initially comes from the name you gave at sign-up, until you change it. We do not send your email, separate account name field, notes, review text or what you type into search. We do not use autocapture or session recording. If you accepted analytics before we added these profile properties, we ask you to choose again before sending them; an earlier decline remains in effect.
Sign-up check
The sign-up form can use Cloudflare Turnstile to check that a real person, not an automated script, is creating the account. When it is switched on, it loads from Cloudflare and may use its own cookies or storage to do that check. It is used to protect the service, not for analytics or advertising.
Error monitoring
We use Sentry to tell us when something breaks. It sets no cookies or browser storage of its own, but it does run whether or not you accept analytics cookies, because we need it to keep the site working. When an error occurs it sends technical detail about the failure, such as your browser, the page you were on and what went wrong, and Sentry may also see your IP address. We do not use Sentry for product analytics, advertising or session recording.
Changing your mind
You can change your analytics choice whenever you like, using the buttons at the top of this page. Withdrawing is one click, the same as giving consent, and takes effect immediately: PostHog stops recording and its identifier is reset. The Cookies link in the footer of every page brings you back here.
You can also clear local storage and cookies at any time through your browser settings. Note that clearing fn_token will sign you out of First Night.
Contact us
If you have questions about our use of cookies, please contact us at hello@firstnight.io.