Privacy
Built to inform you, not to surveil you.
We measure what readers actually use, so we can make the site better. That's the whole reason — and the whole extent — of it.
In short
- We count which stories and features readers use, so we know what to build next.
- No ad networks. We never sell, rent, or share your data. No tracking you across other sites.
- Reading, search, the feed, TL;DR — all free, and all work whether or not you accept analytics.
How we measure
01 · FIRST-PARTY · ALWAYS ON · ANONYMOUS
The numbers we actually trust run on our own servers, with no third-party scripts. We record which pages and stories get read, how features get used, the site a visit came from, and country-level location. You're counted with a random ID stored in your browser — a UUID, not your name, email, or anything that identifies you. This is the only data we use to decide what to build.
02 · GOOGLE ANALYTICS · OPTIONAL · YOUR CHOICE
If you tap Accept, we additionally load Google Analytics with IP anonymization on, for aggregate trend data. If you Decline, it never loads — not deferred, not throttled, never injected. The first-party layer above behaves identically either way.
What we never do
- No advertising networks, ad pixels, or retargeting.
- We never sell, rent, or share your data with anyone.
- No cross-site tracking, browser fingerprinting, or behavioral profiles.
- No paywall on reading — see the free-forever promise.
Cookies we set
visitor_id · A random ID for first-party analytics. Anonymous, first-party, ~12 months.
tc_analytics_consent · Remembers your Accept / Decline choice so we don't ask again.
theme · Remembers light or dark mode.
Google Analytics · Set only if you accept. Removed on next load if you decline.
Admins also get a signed, http-only session cookie. That's the full list — no third-party cookies unless you opt into analytics.
Your choice
Change your mind any time, right here. Turning analytics off keeps Google Analytics from loading; first-party counting stays anonymous either way. To wipe everything, clear cookies for thecircuitry.to in your browser.
This controls the optional Google Analytics layer only. First-party, anonymous counting stays on either way — see below.
Questions
Reach us through the contact page. If we ever change how any of this works, we'll update it here.