Privacy and site statistics
We count page views so we know which stories people read. We do it on our own site, without advertising trackers and without cookies that follow you.
The “preferred source” prompt under stories does nothing until you tap it. Only then does the page load Google's button script, and Google's own privacy policy covers that.
What we count
For each page view: the page, the site that sent you (for example a search engine), whether you're on a phone, tablet or computer, the broad type of browser and system (for example “Safari” and “iOS”), the hour of day, and your approximate city, state and country. We count daily visitors with a code that changes every day, so we can't tell that two visits on different days came from the same person. Nothing is stored that identifies you: no IP addresses, no browser fingerprints and no cookies that follow you.
We also count a few actions on a page, by page only: how long a page stays open in a visible tab, how far down an article you scroll, and clicks on stories, sources, links to other sites, downloads, filters and searches. We never record what you type into a search box.
For the owner-only recent-visits list, we retain up to the latest 50 counted public page paths and their server receipt times, for no more than seven days. New rows also attach approximate city and state/region (with country code) supplied by Vercel, when available, and a coarse source label such as Google, Other referring site, or Direct / unknown. This is event-level context, not just aggregate totals. Location can reflect a VPN, mobile network or proxy, and a missing referrer does not prove a direct visit. Older rows may lack these fields. Query strings and fragments are removed from page paths; full referrer URLs, arbitrary referring hostnames and campaign text are not retained in these rows. These records contain no visitor or session identifier, IP address or precise coordinates, and do not link visits into a person's browsing history. Existing opt-outs apply to this list too.
The homepage’s “Near you” row uses your approximate location from Vercel to link the three closest city pages. That lookup is answered and forgotten: it is not stored or logged by this feature. “Use my location” and “Choose your city” work in your browser; the position is never sent to us, and a chosen city is kept only on your own device (browser storage) until you change or clear it.
Messages
If you write to us through the contact form, we keep your message, and your name and email if you give them, so we can read and answer it. We don't publish them or share them.
What we don't count
Search engine crawlers and other automated visits, and anyone whose browser sends Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control.