Browser privacy settings

About cookies

Cookies are small packets of digital information that identify you to your browser. They are used in a range of ways to improve your browsing experience, such as persisting your login for the duration of the session (you don’t want to have to login again every time you perform an action).

While cookies are used by a large proportion of the legitimate websites you use every day, they can also be used maliciously to spy on a user or steal personal information. Due to this, browsers are becoming ever stricter about how cookies can be used. It is becoming more and more common for browsers to block third party cookies by default, that is cookies which originate from somewhere other than the page you are currently viewing. These stricter policies can cause issues when viewing a page from one source within another page, as is the case with Panels for SuperOffice.

Why am I seeing this page now?

If Panels for SuperOffice was previously working normally and you are now seeing this page, it probably means that you changed your browser settings (either intentionally or the default changed when updating the browser).

If you are used to seeing a different page complaining about having no cookies, perhaps one which didn’t actually fix the panel when you clicked the button, then this is the solution.

We are now using a new browser feature called the Storage Access API to allow you to continue to use Panels for SuperOffice without changing the stricter settings that your browser may now be using. This feature is being adopted by various browsers and allows our panel to use SuperOffice’s cookies, and allows you to use Panels for SuperOffice. Since this functionality is new, we recommend using the latest version of your browser.

Why do I need to click so many buttons?

The Storage Access API is designed to make sure that it can only be used with the user’s full consent. This means that the user must perform an action to request access, in this case click a button; we cannot automatically request access when loading the page.

Access will only be granted to pages you have interacted with before, outside of SuperOffice. This is to show the browser that it is a page you know and trust. If access is refused initially, a page from Panels for SuperOffice will be loaded. Clicking the button on the page is sufficient interaction for the browser to grant storage access in the future.

What can I do about it?

·         Change browser: different browsers have implemented the Storage Access API in different ways so you may find your experience is less disrupted by switching. Updates to this area are frequent so it is impossible to say with certainty which browser will offer the smoothest experience. However, at time of writing, Chrome and IE11 do not support the Storage Access API. It is due to be supported in a future release of Chrome.

·         Change browser settings: below are the settings which will cause you to see this page. It is possible to change/disable these settings and no longer face this issue. However, these settings are global and apply to all websites, not just SuperOffice. You should consider this carefully before making any changes which could put your security at risk.

Chrome	Open   Panels will work normally when “Allow all cookies” is selected. Currently there is no way to allow Panels to work with stricter settings.
Edge	Open   Panels will work normally with “Basic” or “Balanced” selected. The user will be asked to request storage access when “Strict” is selected.
Firefox	Panels currently works normally with all settings in Firefox. This may change with future Firefox releases.
Safari	Panels will work normally if the setting “Prevent cross-site tracking” is disabled.

We will continue to review the latest developments in each browser to ensure that your user experience with Panels for SuperOffice is as smooth as possible, no matter what settings you have selected.