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Sticky contacts is a feature in the HoopAI platform that uses browser cookies to identify returning visitors and auto-fill form and calendar booking fields with their previously submitted information. While this improves the experience for returning contacts, it can cause unexpected behavior in some scenarios.

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How sticky contacts work

When a visitor submits a form or books a calendar appointment in Hoop, a cookie is stored in their browser. On subsequent visits, Hoop uses this cookie to:
  • Pre-fill form fields (name, email, phone) with the contact’s existing data
  • Associate new form submissions with the existing contact record instead of creating a new one
  • Link calendar bookings to the same contact profile
Sticky contact identification is tied to the browser and device. If a visitor uses a different browser or clears their cookies, they are treated as a new visitor.

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Common issues

When sticky contacts is active and a second person uses the same device (for example, at a kiosk or shared computer), the new submission updates the existing contact record instead of creating a new contact. This happens because Hoop associates the submission with the cookie from the first visitor.
If multiple people share a device, the form auto-fills with the previous person’s data. The new visitor may not notice and submit the form with incorrect pre-filled values, leading to data integrity issues.
If every submission updates an existing contact instead of creating new ones, sticky contacts is matching submissions to a previously identified visitor via cookies. This is expected behavior when the same device is reused.
The same cookie-based identification applies to calendar booking widgets. A second visitor using the same device may have their booking linked to the first visitor’s contact record.

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When sticky contacts causes problems

Sticky contacts works well for most use cases but causes issues in environments where multiple people use the same device:
ScenarioImpact
Trade show or event kiosksEach new visitor’s data overwrites the previous visitor’s contact
Shared family or office computersForm fields auto-fill with another household or office member’s data
Demo or testing environmentsRepeated testing creates data conflicts on the same contact record
Public library or school computersSubmissions are associated with a previous user’s cookie

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How to disable sticky contacts

You can disable sticky contact behavior by adding a custom parameter to your form or calendar URL.
1

Identify the form or calendar URL

Open the funnel page, website page, or standalone form/calendar link where sticky contacts is causing issues.
2

Append the notrack parameter

Add ?notrack=true to the end of the URL. For example:
https://yourdomain.com/form?notrack=true
If the URL already has query parameters, use &notrack=true instead.
3

Test the updated URL

Open the URL in a browser where a cookie already exists. The form fields should now be empty and submissions should create new contact records.
For kiosk or event scenarios, combine the notrack parameter with opening the form in an incognito or private browsing window for maximum isolation between visitors.

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Clearing sticky contact cookies manually

If you need to clear the sticky contact cookie for a specific browser session:
  1. Open your browser’s developer tools (F12)
  2. Navigate to the Application tab (Chrome/Edge) or Storage tab (Firefox)
  3. Expand Cookies and locate the domain of your Hoop-hosted form
  4. Delete cookies that begin with __hlc or __hoop — these are the tracking cookies used for sticky contact identification
  5. Refresh the page to confirm the form fields are no longer auto-filled
Deleting cookies only affects the current browser. If the same contact has cookies on other devices, those sessions will continue to use sticky contact behavior.

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Best practices

  • Shared devices: Always use the notrack parameter on forms intended for shared or public devices
  • Testing: Use incognito mode or clear cookies between test submissions to avoid creating data conflicts in your Hoop account
  • Workflows: If your workflows rely on new contact triggers, be aware that sticky contacts may cause submissions to fire a “contact updated” event instead of a “contact created” event
Last modified on March 5, 2026