Front

Overview

Front is a collaborative inbox platform that centralises customer communications from multiple channels — email, SMS, live chat, social media direct messages, and WhatsApp — into a shared team workspace. Rather than individual inboxes, Front routes incoming messages into shared queues where agents can assign, comment on, collaborate over, and respond to customer conversations. It is used by customer support, success, and sales teams as a primary customer communication hub. When deployed with a live chat widget on a website, Front's script loads a messaging component that allows website visitors to initiate conversations routed directly into the team's Front workspace.

Front is headquartered in San Francisco and holds EU-US Data Privacy Framework certification and SOC 2 Type II compliance.

What This Script Does

Front's website presence manifests as a live chat or messaging widget embedded on company websites to enable visitor-to-team communication.

Scripts loaded: Front's chat widget loads from cdn2.frontapp.com or chat.frontapp.com, injecting the chat launcher button and conversation interface into the host page.

Cookies set:

• front_chat_session — First-party session cookie on the host domain (or third-party on frontapp.com depending on embed configuration). Maintains the active conversation session so the chat does not reset if the visitor navigates between pages during the same session. Expiry: session.
• front_visitor_id — First-party persistent cookie. Stores a pseudonymous visitor identifier used to reconnect returning visitors to their previous conversation thread, providing conversation continuity across visits. Expiry: 1 year.
• localStorage tokens: Front's widget may also use browser localStorage to persist conversation state client-side, reducing reliance on cookies for session continuity.

Data collected:

• Visitor messages and agent responses (stored in Front's platform as the conversation record)
• Current page URL at the time the chat is initiated (provided as context to the responding agent)
• Browser type and operating system (displayed as metadata in the Front conversation view)
• IP address (for geolocation context shown to agents)
• If the visitor provides their name or email during the chat, this is stored in the conversation record within Front

No advertising or analytics tracking: Front does not deploy retargeting pixels, analytics beacons, or audience profiling scripts on the host website. Data collection is limited to what is necessary for the chat conversation service.

Consent & Compliance

Consent category: Functional

Front's live chat widget delivers a direct communication service — enabling visitors to contact the company's support or sales team. The cookies it sets serve conversation session management and continuity purposes.

Under GDPR and ePrivacy, a live chat widget initiated by the visitor is a functional service. Session cookies required for the chat to work across page navigations are likely to qualify as strictly necessary under the ePrivacy Directive. However, the persistent front_visitor_id cookie (1-year expiry) that tracks returning visitors across sessions goes beyond strict session necessity. Depending on jurisdiction and DPA guidance, this persistent identification cookie may require consent or disclosure as a functional cookie.

Under CCPA/CPRA, Front processes conversation data (messages, contact details voluntarily provided) as a service provider on behalf of the site operator. Front's DPA covers this processing relationship.

Front holds EU-US Data Privacy Framework certification and SOC 2 Type II compliance. A Data Processing Agreement is available for GDPR compliance.

Should You Block This Without Consent?

No. Front provides functional customer communication capabilities through a live chat widget. Session cookies are strictly necessary for the messaging service. The persistent visitor identifier cookie enables conversation continuity across return visits — a functional feature that may warrant disclosure in a cookie notice but does not require blocking. Blocking Front removes visitors' ability to contact your team through the chat interface.