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Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 26, 2026.

sysnote (sysnote.net) is run by a private individual. This page explains what data the site collects, why, and what you can do about it. Questions and requests: hello@sysnote.net.

In short

  • No accounts, no advertising, no tracking without your consent.
  • Google Analytics runs only if you click Accept in the cookie banner. You can change your mind at any time under Cookie settings at the bottom of every page.
  • If you comment, we keep the name you enter and your comment — not your email or IP address.
  • We count how many people read each article on our own server, without cookies and without storing IP addresses.
  • The server keeps standard access logs for 14 days.

Analytics (only with your consent)

If you accept, the site loads Google Analytics 4, provided by Google Ireland Limited (Google LLC in the United States). It sets the cookies _ga and _ga_<id>, which keep a random identifier for up to two years, and sends Google information about your visit: the pages you read, the referring page, your device, browser and screen, and your approximate location. Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses. We use the reports to understand which articles are read; we do not combine them with other data about you.

Until you accept, nothing is loaded from Google and no cookie is set. Your choice is stored in your browser (localStorage, key consent:analytics) and is not sent to us. If you decline after accepting, the site stops Google Analytics and deletes its cookies.

The legal basis is your consent (GDPR Art. 6(1)(a)).

Article readership (no cookies)

To show which articles are read most, our server counts readers of each article per day. A reader counts once per article and day: to tell, the server stores a keyed one-way hash (HMAC-SHA256 with a secret key that never leaves the server) of the day, your IP address (for IPv6, its network prefix) and the article. Without that key it cannot be linked back to the address. These hashes are deleted after the day ends (UTC), as the next articles are read. Beyond them, the database keeps only the number of readers per article and day — no IP address, no identifier, nothing about you. Search engine crawlers and link previews are not counted. No cookie is set and nothing is shared with third parties.

The legal basis is our legitimate interest in knowing which articles are read (Art. 6(1)(f)).

Comments

When you comment, we store the name you enter, your comment and the time. Comments are published only after an editor approves them. We do not ask for or store your email address, and we do not store your IP address with the comment. To have a comment removed, write to us with its address and text.

The legal basis is your consent, given by submitting the comment (Art. 6(1)(a)).

Server logs and abuse protection

Like most websites, our server records each request: your IP address, the time, the address requested (search queries included), the referring page and your browser's user agent. These logs are kept for 14 days and used only to run the site and to detect and stop abuse.

To limit spam and overload, the site counts recent comments and searches per visitor for a few minutes. These counters are kept under a keyed one-way hash of your IP address (for IPv6, its network prefix), not the address itself; they stop counting after at most 10 minutes, and the server deletes them within two days.

The legal basis is our legitimate interest in running a secure, working site (Art. 6(1)(f)).

Cookies

Readers get no cookies from the site itself. The only cookies are Google Analytics', and only after you accept. Editors who sign in to the site's administration get a session cookie; it is not used for readers.

Hosting and transfers

The site runs on servers of Hetzner Online GmbH in Finland (EU). If you accept analytics, Google may process the data outside the EU, including in the United States, under the safeguards described in Google's terms (EU–US Data Privacy Framework and standard contractual clauses).

Your rights

You have the right to access the data we hold about you, to have it corrected or deleted, to restrict or object to its processing, and to withdraw your consent at any time — for analytics, under Cookie settings. You can also lodge a complaint with a data protection authority. Write to hello@sysnote.net for any request.

Changes

If this policy changes, we update this page and the date at the top.