Privacy
What I collect when you read, subscribe or comment, why, where it is kept, and how to see or delete it.
Last updated 1 November 2026
Last updated: 1 November 2026.
I write about online privacy, so I believe in leading by example. I collect the bare minimum needed to run this website, and I will never sell or rent your details, or share them with anyone for marketing.
The site is run by me, Paul O'Brien, and I am the data controller for the information below. If you have any question about it, email me at hello@paulobrien.com.
A plain-English privacy promise
Here is what that means for you in plain terms:
- If you're just reading: I don't know who you are. My website stats do not use tracking cookies and do not build a profile of you.
- No advertising trackers: you will find no Google Analytics, Meta pixels or other marketing trackers on this site.
- If you subscribe: I store your email address (and your first name, if you choose to give it) purely to send you the emails you asked for and let you sign in. You can unsubscribe or delete your entire account yourself, at any time, from your account.
- When you use the tools: some tools run entirely inside your own browser. When a tool needs to check a domain or link on a server, the checking service deletes it within a few days.
The rest of this page gives the full detail: what is collected, why, where it is kept and how you can see, change or delete it.
When you read the site
Visitor stats. I count visits with a private stats service that uses no cookies and doesn't build a profile of you. It records the page, where the visit came from (for example Google), the country, the type of device and clicks on outgoing links, so I can see which posts are useful. It sets no cookies, so it can't recognise you from one day to the next or follow you to other sites.
Hosting and security. The site runs on Cloudflare. Like any web host, Cloudflare handles your IP address and browser details to deliver pages and protect the site. I use your IP address briefly to limit how often forms can be sent, which stops spam. I don't keep it.
Bot checks. On the sign-up, sign-in and contact forms, Cloudflare Turnstile can check that a person, not a bot, is sending the form. Most people see nothing; a few are asked to tick a box. To do this Cloudflare looks at your browser and IP address when you use one of those forms. It doesn't use them for advertising or to follow you to other sites.
When you subscribe or sign in
When you sign up I store:
- your email address and name (the name is optional);
- which emails you've chosen and whether you've confirmed;
- the page you signed up on and the date.
This is kept in a database on Cloudflare (Cloudflare D1). I use it only to send you the emails you asked for: a confirmation email, sign-in links, a welcome email and, if you choose, an email when I publish a new post. Confirmation, sign-in and welcome emails are sent through Cloudflare's email service. Newsletters and new-post emails are sent through Amazon's email service (Amazon SES) in Ireland, which tells me if an email bounces or is reported as spam, so I can stop emailing that address.
My lawful basis is your consent, which you can withdraw at any time with the unsubscribe link in every email or from your account. If you subscribed to my old site, your details were moved here when the site moved in October 2026.
When you comment
Comments can only be posted by signed-in subscribers. Your comment and the name you give are shown publicly under the post. I store the comment with your account so you can delete it, and it is removed if you delete your account.
When you use the members' area
If you're a member, I also keep what you choose to do there: posts you mark Read later, your vote in the monthly poll, questions you ask me, articles you send in and the providers you follow. Following a provider means I email you when its price changes and send you a weekly round-up of its news. All of this is deleted with your account.
Reviews and suggested edits
Members can review an email provider or suggest a correction to a listing. I read each one first. A review I approve is shown publicly on the provider's page with the name you give. Only I see suggested edits. Both are deleted with your account.
When you use the tools
Some tools, such as the email header reader, run entirely in your browser, so nothing you paste leaves your computer. The members' tools (the DNS checker, mail tester, speed test and the others) send the domain, web address, IP address or DMARC report you give them to the checking service I use. It runs the check, sends the report back and deletes it after a few days.
I keep a count of the checks you run for the daily limits (for 40 days) and a note of which checks you started, so only you can open them (for 30 days). If you watch a domain, I keep the domain and its latest weekly check until you remove it or delete your account. Mail tester addresses are deleted after a week.
Cookies
| Cookie | Set by | What it does | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
pob_member | This site | Keeps you signed in. Only set when you sign in. | 30 days, or until you sign out |
pob_hi | This site | Holds your first name so the menu can say "Hello". Only set when you sign in. | 30 days, or until you sign out |
Both are strictly necessary for signing in. The site doesn't use Google Analytics or any other tracking cookies, and the visitor stats use no cookies at all.
The site also remembers a few choices in your browser's own storage: whether the side panel is open, which posts you've read and whether you closed the banner. They never leave your device and you can clear them in your browser at any time.
When you use the contact form
Messages from the contact form are stored on this site and emailed to my inbox through Amazon's email service (Amazon SES) in Ireland. I use what you send only to reply to you. You can also email me directly instead.
Messages my spam checks catch can appear in my Spam folder, with the sender's name, email address and every link taken out. I can hide any of them.
Affiliate links
Some links are referral links (see the disclaimer). If you click one, the provider or its affiliate network may set its own cookies to record that you came from this site. That is covered by their privacy policy, not mine, and it never costs you anything extra. I only see totals, never who you are.
How long I keep things
- Subscriber details: until you delete your account. If you unsubscribe but don't delete, I keep your address marked as unsubscribed so you aren't emailed again.
- Bounce and spam-complaint notices about emails I send you: until you delete your account. They make sure I stop emailing an address that bounces or reports me as spam.
- Confirmation and sign-in links: they expire and are then deleted.
- Comments: until you or I delete them.
- Tool check counts: 40 days. Which checks you started: 30 days.
- A watched domain, providers you follow, reviews, questions and articles you send: until you remove them or delete your account.
- Contact messages: on this site and in my email for as long as the conversation is useful.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law (UK GDPR) you can ask to see the information I hold about you, have it corrected or deleted, object to how it is used, or ask for a copy to take elsewhere. Most of this you can do yourself from your account, including deleting everything in one step. For anything else, email hello@paulobrien.com and I'll reply within a month.
If you're unhappy with how I've handled your data, please tell me first. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
Changes to this page
If I change what the site collects, I'll update this page and the date at the top.