Privacy at SoftDL

I write and maintain this site the same way I handle a helpdesk ticket: keep it simple, and don’t collect things you don’t need. Here is what that means for you.

What gets collected

Like any web server, ours keeps ordinary logs: IP address, browser type, the page you asked for, and the time of the request. These exist so I can see when something is broken and block abuse. They sit there and nobody reads them unless a page stops loading.

If you use the comment fields, whatever you type (name, comment text, and an email if the form asks for one) is stored so the comment shows up. Don’t put anything in a comment you wouldn’t want copied. If the site has analytics, it is the basic kind that counts visits and shows which guides people actually read. No profiles, no cross-site tracking, nothing that follows you around the web.

What is not collected: no account, no payment details, no address book, no location beyond what your IP implies.

Cookies

Cookies here are functional. They may remember a comment form preference or keep a session working. Nothing is set to build an advertising profile of you. Clear your cookies any time and the site will still work.

Who never gets your data

Your data is never sold. Not to advertisers, not to data brokers, not to “partners”. It is not handed to anyone for marketing. The only people who touch server logs are the ones keeping the site running.

Asking for removal

Want a comment deleted, or your log entries removed? Ask. Tell me roughly when you visited or which page you commented on, and it will be dealt with. If you’re not sure what’s stored, ask that too and I’ll explain what I can find.

Where to write

Use the contact page on this site. That’s the channel I actually monitor, and it keeps your request out of the comment threads. I answer in plain language, no forms in triplicate.