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Privacy Policy

TL;DR

If you’re just looking for the quick summary, here it is:

  • No Google Analytics: I don’t use it.
  • No Analytics Cookies: Your browser isn’t used to track you.
  • No Ad-tech: I don’t sell your data or serve ads.
  • Self-Hosted: Everything stays on my own hardware in my home lab.
  • Logs Exist: I use standard server logs for security and private analytics because that’s how the web works.

Who I Am

The site at the.unknown-universe.co.uk is a self-hosted personal blog covering Linux, FOSS, privacy, and my experiences in the home lab. It is run by a human, not a tech giant.

Analytics (Privately)

I use a self-hosted instance of Matomo Analytics in log analysis mode.
Unlike most sites, I don’t load a “tracking script” into your browser. Instead, Matomo reads the standard access logs that my server generates automatically.

  • Privacy First: No analytics cookies are stored in your browser.
  • Unblockable: Because it happens on the server, it works even if you use an ad-blocker.
  • Anonymised: IP addresses are truncated (anonymised) within the reports to protect your identity.

Security and Logging

Running your own server means dealing with bots and bad actors. I monitor server logs and use Wordfence Security to protect the site.

  • Data used: I can see raw IP addresses in my logs.
  • Purpose: This is used strictly for security (e.g., blocking brute-force attacks) and for the aggregated analytics described above.
  • Storage: These logs stay on my hardware and are never shared with third parties.

Comments

If you leave a comment, I collect the data shown in the form, plus your IP address and browser user agent to help filter spam via Antispam Bee.

  • Gravatar is disabled: I do not send your email hash to external servers.

Cookies

I keep cookies to the absolute minimum:

  • Analytics: 0% / None.
  • Functional: WordPress may set a cookie if you log in or use the “save my details” option when commenting.
    I do not use tracking or advertising cookies. This is why you won’t find a “Cookie Consent” banner here—there’s nothing for you to need to “decline.”

Performance

I use local optimisations like WP Super Cache and Autoptimize to keep things fast. These are technical tools that run on my server and do not track you.

Donations (Liberapay)

Support for this blog is handled via Liberapay, a FOSS donation platform. If you donate, your data is handled by them under their own privacy policy. No financial data is ever processed or stored on my servers.

Your Rights

You can request an exported file of the personal data held about you (like comments) or ask for its deletion. This doesn’t include data I’m required to keep for security, legal, or administrative reasons.

The Bottom Line

Your data is not a product. I built this stack to be a private corner of the internet where you can read about tech without being followed by a dozen trackers.