Summary
- No reader accounts. We don’t know who you are unless you tell us.
- Reactions use an anonymous browser token so you can only like once.
- Comments store what you type plus a hashed IP for spam control (deleted after 30 days).
- Our own analytics are cookieless and store no IP address or ID.
- Google Analytics sets cookies only if you accept them. Saying no changes nothing else on the site, and you can change your mind any time in Cookie settings.
- Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track switches off both our analytics and Google Analytics.
What we collect
| Data | Why | Kept for |
|---|---|---|
| Comment text, display name | Show your comment | Until deleted |
| Hashed IP | Spam & abuse control | 30 days |
| Optional comment email | Reply notifications, if you ask | Until you ask us to delete it |
| Newsletter email | Send the newsletter | Until you unsubscribe |
| Anonymous visitor token | One like per browser | 1 year (cookie) |
| Page views: page, approximate location (country, region, city), device type, browser, how you arrived, reading time | Know what people read and how the site grows | 180 days in detail, then daily totals |
| Date of your last visit (in your browser, not sent) | Count new vs returning readers | In your browser until you clear it |
| Your cookie choice | Remember whether you accepted analytics cookies | 1 year (cookie) |
| Google Analytics, only if you accept: pages viewed, how you arrived, approximate location, device and browser, time on page, scrolling, clicks and actions such as subscribing, linked to a random ID in Google’s cookies | Understand how readers use the site, which stories they finish and where they come from | Cookies up to 2 years; data in Google Analytics 14 months |
Comments & reactions
Comments are anonymous unless you add a name. We store a one-way hash of your IP address (with a salt that rotates monthly) to stop spam; we never store the raw address. Reactions are tied to a random token in a functional cookie, never to you.
Newsletter
We use double opt-in: nothing is sent until you confirm. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe. We count aggregate opens only — no per-reader tracking pixels.
Analytics
Our own analytics. For each page view we record the page, how you arrived (the referring site or campaign tag), approximate location (country, region and city, looked up from your IP address by our hosting and network providers, Vercel and Cloudflare), device type, operating system, browser, screen width and language, how long you actively read, how far you scrolled, and links you click to other sites. Your IP address is never stored. To count unique visitors we keep a one-way hash of your IP address and browser with a random value that is replaced every day and then deleted, so visits on different days can’t be linked. To tell new from returning readers, your browser keeps the date of your last visit and sends only the number of days since then. Detailed records are kept for 180 days, then only daily totals remain. We also count, without any identifier, how many readers accept or reject analytics cookies.
Google Analytics. We use Google Analytics 4 to understand how readers use the site. It sets cookies only after you choose Accept in the cookie banner. It then records the pages you view, how you arrived, approximate location, device and browser, how long you stay, how far you scroll, and actions such as sharing, subscribing or finishing an article, linked to a random ID stored in its cookies. Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses. We keep its data for 14 months. Google signals, advertising features and ad personalisation are switched off, and we never use the data for advertising. Until you choose, or if you choose Reject, no Google Analytics cookie is set; Google receives only a cookieless signal that a page was viewed, with no identifier, which it uses to estimate totals. Google processes this data as our processor (Google Ireland Limited in Europe, Google LLC elsewhere); see Google’s privacy policy at policies.google.com/privacy.
Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track turns off both our analytics and Google Analytics, and the cookie banner isn’t shown. Bot protection (Cloudflare Turnstile) loads only when you use a form.
Cookies
We set a functional cookie when you like, comment, rate a guide, subscribe or write to us (an anonymous token, 1 year) and one that remembers your cookie choice (1 year). Google Analytics cookies are set only if you accept them. Editors also get session cookies for the admin. Nothing on this site is used for advertising or to follow you to other sites. The full list, and how to change your choice, is in our cookie policy.
Who processes data for us
Vercel hosts the site and Cloudflare delivers it (both handle your IP address to serve pages and keep the site secure; Cloudflare also runs the Turnstile bot check). Supabase stores our database, Resend sends newsletter and confirmation emails, and Google runs Google Analytics if you accept it. Some of them process data in the United States. Each acts on our instructions under its own data-protection terms.
Your rights
You can ask us to delete your comments, your newsletter subscription or any optional email you gave us. Write to the address below; we reply within 30 days.
Contact
Questions or deletion requests: privacy@9to5ai.tech.