Last updated: 2026-09-29. This policy explains what data PipAtlas collects and why.
Who We Are
PipAtlas (“we”, “us”) is operated by PipAtlas Media. Contact: admin@pipatlas.com.
What Data We Collect
We run no analytics and do not profile visitors. What we store on our own server is limited to what you explicitly hand us: if you create an account — your username, email and a scrypt-hashed password (never the password itself); if you subscribe to the newsletter — your email address. Everything else (forum drafts, reply copies, form drafts) stays in your own browser's local storage.
- Data you choose to send: the contact form and the newsletter signup are saved on this site's server: a contact message keeps the name, email address, topic and text you enter and appears in the editors' admin panel, and a newsletter signup keeps your email address so the digest can be sent. Forum replies still open your own email app with a draft addressed to us, so nothing leaves your device until you press send. Where a form offers it, you can also send yourself a copy through your own mail app.
- Data kept in your browser (not ours): your optional display-name profile and a copy of your form drafts are stored in your browser's local storage so you don't lose them. Details in the next section.
- Server logs: our hosting provider may keep standard technical access logs (IP address, requested page, timestamp) for security and abuse prevention. We do not use them to profile visitors.
Local Storage on Your Device
To make the forum usable without accounts, the site can store two small entries in your browser's local storage:
- Your profile (
pa_profile): the display name and optional email you type when joining the discussion — so forms can pre-fill on that device. - Your outbox (
pa_outbox): copies of the replies and messages you compose, including drafts the pre-post filter rejected (with the reasons), plus attachments' file names — never the file contents.
This local data never leaves your device by itself — it is sent only if you choose to send a draft. You can erase it at any time: use "sign out" and the "Clear drafts" button under the reply box, or your browser's "clear site data" control (signing out of your account does not erase the server-side account — see below).
Cookies & Advertising Disclosures
PipAtlas uses Google Analytics 4 to count visits and see which pages are used, so we can improve the site. For this, GA4 sets small analytics cookies (such as _ga) on your device; the data is processed by Google and kept for 14 months. We do not use Analytics for advertising or ad profiling, and we do not sell analytics data. You can block analytics cookies with any cookie blocker — the site works fully without them. Third-party content we embed for functionality — TradingView charts and the Investing.com economic-calendar widget — may set their own cookies when they load, governed by those providers’ policies. Advertising is not enabled; the disclosure below applies if/when ads are switched on.
Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visit to our site and/or other sites on the Internet.
You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings, or opt out of third-party vendor cookies at aboutads.info.
Your Rights
You can request a copy, correction, or deletion of your personal data at any time via admin@pipatlas.com. We respond within 30 days.
Data Retention & Security
Server-side data, in full: member accounts (username, email, hashed password, timestamps) and newsletter subscriptions (email address). Nothing else is stored — contact and forum forms still produce a draft in your own browser. To delete your account or unsubscribe, email the editors from your account address and it is removed (email us at admin@pipatlas.com). Session sign-in cookies last 30 days on your device. Local-storage data (profile cache and outbox) lives in your browser until you erase it.