Privacy & cookies

What we collect

If you accept analytics, two tools run. Google Analytics 4 records aggregated, anonymised usage data — which pages you visit, time on page, approximate country, device class; we pass anonymize_ip=true so your IP is truncated before storage. Microsoft Clarity records aggregated interaction analytics — clicks, scrolls, and heatmaps, plus session replays in which text input is masked by default — to show how the file is actually read.

If you decline, no analytics cookies are written. Google Analytics stays loaded under Consent Mode v2 in a denied state, so nothing is reported to Google. Microsoft Clarity stays in its cookieless mode and is never granted consent, so it writes no cookies and does not stitch your visits together.

Independently of your choice, the site uses a cookieless, privacy-first visit counter (Ahrefs Web Analytics) that sets no cookies and collects no personal data, so it needs no consent.

What we do not collect

No advertising, marketing, or personalisation cookies. No ad networks, no cross-site profiling, and no sale of data — beyond the analytics tools described above, nothing else tracks you here.

Reader-submitted accounts

If you create an account to submit a reader story, we store your email, username, optional display name, and your submission. This data is held in our own database, never sold or shared. You can request deletion any time by contacting the editor.

Change your mind

Clear this site's data in your browser to see the consent banner again. Or contact the editor.