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Hoax and Hindsight

Data Protection and Privacy

Last updated

This page sets out what Hoax and Hindsight records about visits to hoaxandhindsight.com, what is stored in a visitor's browser, and how to say no. It was last updated on November 5, 2026.

In brief

  • The site uses Google Analytics 4 to count visits. In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, it is not loaded unless the visitor accepts it.
  • The site also uses Cloudflare Web Analytics, which sets no cookies and runs for all visitors.
  • The site shows no advertising and runs no other tracking.
  • There are no accounts, no comments and no forms. The only personal data the site receives directly is an email someone chooses to send.

Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics 4 is a measurement service from Google. When it runs, it sets first-party cookies in the browser and sends Google information about the visit: the pages viewed, the page that linked to the site, the approximate region, the type of device and browser, and interactions such as scrolling, clicks on links that lead off the site, and file downloads. The site uses this to see which pages are read and how readers arrive. Google signals is switched off for this site, and Analytics data is kept for 14 months. Google's own explanation of how it uses information from sites that use its services is at https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

For visitors in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, Google Analytics is not loaded at all until the visitor accepts it in the consent box. Before that choice, the site sends Google nothing and sets no Analytics cookies. The same applies in Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, the Åland Islands, Saint Martin and the French overseas departments. To decide whether to ask, the site reads the country that Cloudflare, the site's host, assigns to the request. If no country can be determined, the visitor is asked.

  • Accept: Google Analytics loads. It is told that the advertising storage, advertising user data and advertising personalization settings are all denied, and only analytics storage is allowed.
  • Decline: Google Analytics is never loaded, on that visit or on later ones in the same browser.

Everywhere else

For visitors outside those regions, Google Analytics loads when a page opens, with the same advertising settings denied.

Changing the choice

Every page has a link in the footer that reopens the consent box, and any visitor, wherever located, can use it to accept or decline. A decision to decline stops Google Analytics from loading on later pages. If Analytics was already running on the page, the page reloads without it.

Cloudflare Web Analytics

The site is served through Cloudflare. Cloudflare Web Analytics adds a small script to each page that reports page views and how quickly pages load, sending the data back through this site's own address. It sets no cookies, stores nothing in the browser, and according to Cloudflare does not fingerprint visitors. It runs for all visitors and is not affected by the consent box. A content blocker that blocks scripts from static.cloudflareinsights.com will stop it. Cloudflare's privacy policy is at https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/.

As the host, Cloudflare also processes each request, including the visitor's IP address, to deliver pages. Requests from mainland China and Russia are blocked at that stage.

Stored in the browser

The site keeps the consent choice in the browser's local storage, under the key cookie-choice-2727, with the value granted or denied. If the light or dark display switch is used, that choice is also stored in this browser. Clearing the site's data in the browser removes these items; the consent box will then appear again where consent is required.

The search box filters a list of the site's pages inside the browser. What is typed into it is not sent to this site or to anyone else.

Email

If someone writes to contact@hoaxandhindsight.com, the message and the sender's address are used only to handle that message, for example to check a reported error. They are not added to any mailing list or passed to anyone for marketing.

What the site does not do

There is no advertising on the site, so there are no advertising cookies or ad networks. There are no social media widgets, embedded videos or third-party comment systems. The fonts are served from this site's own domain, not from a font service. If advertising is added later, this page will be updated first to name the provider and explain its cookies and how to opt out.

Questions

Questions about this policy can be sent to contact@hoaxandhindsight.com. The Enquiries page explains what else the address is for.