Short version: we do not ask you to create an account, we do not sell anything to you directly, and we do not want your personal details. What we do collect is basic, aggregated traffic information so we know which guides are worth writing more of.
Information we collect
You can read every page on this site without giving us anything. There is no login, no newsletter wall, and no form that requires your name or address.
Two kinds of information reach us anyway:
- Automatic technical data. Like any web server, ours records requests: the page requested, the approximate time, the referring page, and technical details your browser sends such as its type and language. This is ordinary web-server behaviour and is used for security and for diagnosing problems.
- Analytics data. If analytics is enabled on this site, a third-party analytics service records which pages are viewed, roughly where in the world visitors are, and how people move between pages. It is reported to us in aggregate. We do not use it to identify individuals, and we do not try to.
If you email us, we obviously receive whatever you write and your email address. We use that to reply, and we keep it no longer than we need to.
Cookies
A cookie is a small file a site asks your browser to keep. This site uses very few:
- A consent cookie. When you dismiss the cookie notice, we store that choice locally so the notice stops reappearing. It contains nothing about you.
- Analytics cookies. If analytics is enabled, the analytics provider may set cookies to tell a returning visit apart from a new one. These are the provider's cookies and are governed by their own policy.
- Affiliate tracking. When you click a link to a tool we write about, the destination site may record that you arrived from here so any resulting commission is attributed correctly. That tracking happens on their side, under their rules, once you have left this site.
Every browser lets you block or delete cookies, and most offer a "do not track" setting or a private browsing mode. Blocking cookies from this site will not stop you reading anything.
Third parties
We do not sell, rent, or trade information about our readers. Data reaches third parties only in the ordinary course of running a website: the company that hosts the site, the analytics provider if analytics is enabled, and the destination site when you deliberately click an outbound link. Those companies have their own privacy policies, which apply to what they do with it.
Links to other sites
This site links out constantly — to tools, documentation, and other people's writing. Once you follow a link you are on someone else's site, under their privacy policy and their terms. We cannot control what they collect, and this policy no longer applies.
Your choices
You may block cookies, use tracking protection or an ad blocker, or browse privately; none of that will break the site. If you would like to know what information we hold that relates to you, or would like it deleted, write to us and we will do what we reasonably can — bearing in mind that for most visitors we hold nothing that could identify you in the first place.
Children
This site is written for adults and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect information from children.
Changes
If this policy changes, the updated version is posted on this page. Continuing to use the site after a change means the revised policy applies.
Contact
Questions about privacy, or a request about your data, go to [email protected].