Privacy Policy

The short version

• The counter and globe use no cookies and store nothing in your visitors' browsers.
• IP addresses are never saved by OrbitCount. An IP is used for a moment to count a visit once per day and to look up a rough location, then it's thrown away.
• Locations are rounded to about 25 km, roughly city level, and are only ever shown as totals.
• Nothing is sold, rented or shared for advertising. There's no tracking across websites.
• If you make an account, OrbitCount keeps your email address, a scrambled (hashed) version of your password, and the websites you add.

Visitors to websites that use OrbitCount

When you visit a website that shows an OrbitCount counter or globe, your browser asks orbitcount.com to count the visit. Like any web request, that request includes your IP address and your browser's user-agent text (which browser and system you use). Here's what happens with them:

• Counting each visitor once a day. Your IP address, user-agent and the website are combined with a random secret and turned into a one-way code. The secret is replaced every day at midnight UTC, and the codes from earlier days are deleted, so a code can't be turned back into an IP address or matched to you on another day or another website.
• Rough location for the globe. Your IP address is looked up in a location database stored on our own server (provided by DB-IP). No outside service is contacted. The result is rounded to about 25 km and only the city name, country and that rounded point are kept.
• Spotting bots. The user-agent is checked to avoid counting search engine robots. It isn't stored.

What's kept for each website is only totals: the number of visitors and page views, visitors per day, and how many visits came from each rounded location. None of this identifies a person. Each website's totals and globe are public on its globe page.

People with an OrbitCount account

If you create an account, OrbitCount keeps:

• your email address, used to log you in, confirm your account, reset your password, and reply if you write in;
• your password, stored only as a secure hash, so it can't be read even by me;
• the websites you add: their names and addresses, and their counter settings.

To slow down password guessing and spam, OrbitCount briefly keeps a one-way code made from your IP address when you log in, sign up or request a password reset. These codes are deleted within a day.

OrbitCount only emails you about your account (confirmation and password resets) or in reply to you. There's no newsletter and your email is never shared.

Brand removal donations

Brand removal works through a donation on Ko-fi. Ko-fi and its payment processors (such as Stripe or PayPal) handle your payment under their own privacy policies. OrbitCount never sees your card or bank details.

When you donate, Ko-fi sends OrbitCount your name as entered, your email address, the amount, your message and a transaction number. These are kept so the donation can be matched to your account and so there's a record of it.

Cookies

The counter and globe on other people's websites set no cookies and use no browser storage.

On orbitcount.com itself, one cookie is used: oc_session. It's only created on pages with a form (sign-up, log-in, password reset) and while you're logged in. Just browsing orbitcount.com sets no cookie. It keeps you logged in and protects forms from misuse. It's deleted when you close your browser or log out. There are no analytics or advertising cookies.

Who else is involved

• hosting.com hosts the website, database and email. Like all web hosts, its servers keep standard access logs (which include IP addresses) for a short time for security and troubleshooting. OrbitCount doesn't use those logs to track anyone.
• Ko-fi and its payment processors, only if you make a brand removal donation.

Fonts, maps and code are all served from orbitcount.com itself, so viewing a counter or globe doesn't contact Google or any other outside service.

If OrbitCount ever shows ads in the future, this policy will be updated before that happens.

How long things are kept

• Daily visitor codes: deleted after the day ends.
• Visitor totals and rounded locations: for as long as the website stays on OrbitCount. Removing a website deletes them.
• Account details: until you delete your account (or ask me to).
• Donation records: kept as a record of the payment, as required for bookkeeping.

Your choices and rights

If you have an account, you can do these yourself at any time on your Account page:

• Download your data: a file with everything OrbitCount stores about your account and websites.
• Delete your account: this immediately and permanently deletes your account, your websites and all their visitor numbers and locations.
• Remove any single website from your dashboard.

You can also email hello@orbitcount.com from the address on your account to ask for a copy of your information, a correction, or deletion. Requests are handled within 30 days, usually much sooner.

If you're a visitor to a website that uses OrbitCount, there's nothing stored that could identify you, so there's nothing to look up or delete. You can also block requests to orbitcount.com in your browser if you'd rather not be counted.

If you have a concern that isn't resolved, you can contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia.

OrbitCount accounts are not meant for children under 13.

For website owners

If you add OrbitCount to your website, you're responsible for telling your own visitors about it where your local rules require. Here's a sentence you're welcome to copy into your own privacy policy:

Changes and contact

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new date. Big changes will also be emailed to account holders.

Questions? Email hello@orbitcount.com and you'll hear back from me directly.

See also the Terms of Use.