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Service Cookies Notice

Applies to:
Developers
Clients
Partners
Visitors
Last updated: Oct 09, 2026

This notice explains the cookies and other similar technologies associated with the Text app, LiveChat Services, and related widgets (the “Services”). It is intended for Clients who configure the Services, their agents, and users who interact with a Client through a widget. The Client’s configuration can affect which technologies are used. This notice should be read with the Client’s own privacy notice and Text’s Privacy Policy. 

Which Service cookies are described here

This Service Cookies described in this notice include the following:

  • __lc_cid: unique customer identifier generated by the Services; it may help reconnect an interaction within a Client environment.

  • __lc_cst: cryptographic token used to verify customer identity and support a secure interaction or Client SSO.

  • __oauth_redirect_detector: temporary technical cookie that may detect redirect loops in certain authorization flows.

These cookies help: 

  • load and display the widget on the Client's website or application

  • keep chat sessions active

  • recognize returning customers

  • restore conversation history

  • support secure customer and teammate interactions across sessions

Are these cookies necessary for the widget to appear

The answer depends on when each cookie is set and which feature the Client has enabled. The identifiers above can support session continuity, recognition of a returning visitor, conversation history and authentication, including Client SSO. Consider them necessary for the widget to load or appear on the Client's website or application properly, and to support customer identification, secure sessions, widget functionality, and Client SSO (Single Sign-On).

They aren't used for advertising, cross-site tracking, or third-party behavioral targeting. Clients should classify these cookies based on their own setup and applicable privacy laws.

If these cookies are blocked or disabled, an affected feature may fail or start again as a new session. Depending on the configuration, the visitor may need to sign in again, lose access to earlier conversation history, or be unable to continue an authenticated chat.  

If these cookies are blocked, disabled, or deleted, after they have been placed, some functionality may be unavailable or behave unexpectedly. Depending on the Client’s implementation, this may include:

  • customers being asked to authenticate more frequently

  • Agent’s sessions ending unexpectedly

  • returning visitors not being recognized

  • conversation history not being restored

  • widgets behaving as if the visitor is new

  • certain security protections becoming unavailable

Clients should carefully evaluate the impact of blocking essential Service Cookies when configuring their consent mechanism. 

What happens when an Agent blocks cookies

Agent-facing authentication and session technologies may be required to keep a person signed in and protect access to the Services. Blocking or deleting them may cause: 

  • repeated sign-in requests

  • loss of authenticated sessions

  • interrupted workflows

  • reduced functionality of certain features

The exact impact depends on the browser configuration and the functionality being used.

Do these cookies contain personal data

The cookies themselves don't store direct personal data such as names or email addresses. However __lc_cid contains a unique identifier generated by the Services, which may be linked to visitor and their activity within the Client’s environment. An authentication token such as __lc_cst can also relate to an identifiable person or account, even if the cookie does not contain a name or email address in readable form. Treat these values and related records as potentially personal data and protect them accordingly.  based on your independent assessment and applicable legal requirements.

Who uses data associated with Service cookies

The Client may determine how its widget is deployed and why it communicates with visitors. Text processes information to provide and secure the Services under the applicable agreement. Text may also process certain Services Data for its own operational purposes as described in its Privacy Policy. The precise roles depend on the processing activity and the Client’s configuration. The Client should describe its own implementation to website visitors.

Who receives these cookies

Depending on the Client’s implementation, Service Cookies may be stored in the browser of:

  • visitors interacting with a Client's website or application through the widget

  • authenticated customers using Client SSO

  • Agents accessing the Services, or

  • other users interacting with the Services made available by the Client


The cookies used may differ depending on the functionality enabled by the Client and the way the Services are implemented.

Data related to these cookies may be processed by the Client using the Services and Text as the service provider.

Text processes this data to:

  • provide and secure the Services

  • maintain authenticated sessions

  • enable Client SSO

  • support widget functionality

  • maintain reliability and security of the Services

Text doesn't use these cookies for advertising, third-party data sales, or cross-Client user targeting.

Are these cookies  used for analytics, advertising, marketing profiling, or product improvement

__lc_cid, __lc_cst and __oauth_redirect_detector concern technical, authentication, security, and core service functionality.

They are not used to target individual end users across unrelated Clients for third-party advertising, cross-site advertising, cross-Client targeting or independent marketing profiling of end-users.

The identifier stored in __lc_cid allows the widget to recognize returning customers and continue their  conversation history within a Client's environment. This is part of how the chat functions. It let a customer pick up an existing conversation, and it is not used for analytics, profiling, or measurement purposes. 

The answer depends on the purpose of each storage or access operation and the law applicable to the visitor. In the EEA and UK, an exemption may apply to storage or access strictly necessary to transmit a communication or provide a service expressly requested by the user. The fact that a vendor calls a cookie essential, or that a particular widget implementation needs it to load, does not by itself settle that legal test. Other technologies, including optional analytics or personalization, may require prior consent.

Clients should assess the actual behavior of their configured widget, give clear information and implement any required choices before nonessential technologies operate. They should also assess the legal basis for subsequent processing of personal data.

In many jurisdictions, cookies required for authentication, security, or core service functionality may not require opt-in consent. Because the widget cannot load or appear without __lc_cid and __lc_cst, Clients should consider this when assessing whether these cookies fall within an exemption from consent under applicable law.

Each Client should independently assess its obligations applicable under laws, including, where relevant, GDPR, the ePrivacy Directive, CCPA, or other applicable local laws. 

Clients are responsible for:

  • classifying cookies used on their websites or apps

  • implementing appropriate consent mechanisms

  • maintaining compliant Cookie Policies and Privacy Notices

What should Clients tell their visitors

A Client’s notice should identify the technologies that its deployment actually uses, the party setting or accessing them, their specific purposes, duration, category, and the choices available. It should explain any effect of declining optional technologies and link to the Client’s consent settings when relevant. The Client should verify the widget’s behavior before stating that a particular cookie is indispensable or that blocking it prevents the widget from appearing. Therefore, the Clients using the Services should disclose these cookies in their Cookie Policy or equivalent privacy documentation. Where applicable, this documentation should include:

  • cookie names

  • purposes

  • expiration periods

  • cookie categories

  • information about the service provider

  • whether the cookies are required for the provision of the Services

Clients should also make sure their disclosures accurately reflect the way they use and configure the Services within their own environment. For implementation details, see here.

What other technologies are involved

In addition to Service Cookies, certain functionalities of the Services may use other technologies, such as local storage, session storage, browser APIs, and scripts, to support the performance, reliability, security, and functionality of the Services. These technologies may be subject to rules concerning information stored on or accessed from a device. Separately, the Services can process information that visitors voluntarily submit in a chat through the widget or through designated forms on the Client's website, such as predefined contact details, including a name, email address, or phone number, and limited technical interaction data. The field values are not themselves cookies.

These technologies may interact with designated forms and other elements on the Client's website that support the relevant functionality of the Services. They operate passively and do not modify the behavior, appearance, or functionality of the Client's website or forms. Form data is processed only after a visitor submits the relevant form. The functionality is designed to process only predefined and supported form fieldsClients should avoid collecting payment card details, passwords, one-time codes or other sensitive information through unsupported fields.

How does Client SSO work

Implementation details are available here.

Where can I learn more

For additional information, please refer to:

  • Cookie Policy: Information about the categories of cookies and similar technologies used by Text, their purposes, retention, and cookie preference management.

  • Privacy Policy: Information about how Text processes Personal Data, legal bases for processing, recipients, international data transfers, retention periods, and your privacy rights.

  • Client Authorization documentation: Technical implementation details regarding Client SSO and Service Cookies.