As both a web consumer and web developer, I spend a lot of time thinking about privacy on the web and strive to uphold best practices to protect people’s privacy and promote transparency on the web.
What information is being collected?
I do not collect any personal information. I do implement Google Analytics so I can see how many visitors/page views I’m getting. Visitors are anonymous but I will have a very vague idea where in the world they visited from, how long they stayed on astewart.voyage, which pages were viewed, and some data related to the device/browser used to access astewart.voyage.
I also use Disqus so you can comment on my posts. If you elect to use Disqus, you are subject to their terms and privacy policy.
Who is collecting it?
I use Google Analytics to track anonymous visitors (ip addresses are anonymized) as well as page views. No personal information is collected.
Disqus handles collecting information for comments on posts and pages. You must opt-in in order to use Disqus.
How is it collected?
Google Analytics runs a javascript script on each page which registers the visit and page view with Google Analytics. If you disable javascript, this won’t happen.
Same with Disqus; it’s a javascript script that runs on each page. Disable javascript, no Disqus.
Why is it being collected?
I like to know people are interested in what I’m writing about. Knowing I have visitors is a self-esteem boost and keeps me writing.
How will it be used?
I will log into Google Analytics, look to see how few new visitors I’ve received, and gently sob into my laptop. I will also use device/browser data to inform what I should support so visitors can best view my content.
You can also use Disqus to comment on my posts. Comments made through Disqus are publicly viewable world wide.
Who will it be shared with?
I am the only one looking at the Google Analytics data. I’m not selling or distributing any of this information.
If you comment with Disqus, your comment will be publicly viewable worldwide and you will be subject to Disqus’ privacy policy.
What will be the effect of this on the individuals concerned?
For Google Analytics, none of this information is being shared. I personally will know someone out there visited my site and that’s about it.
For Disqus, if you opt to leave a comment, your praise/hurtful words will be viewable for the whole world to see (so please be nice).
Is the intended use likely to cause individuals to object or complain?
Nope. Maybe they’ll complain about bad content in a Disqus comment but data collection and tracking isn’t a concern on this site.