Privacy Policy — The Shadowing Geek

Last Updated: July 8, 2026

1. Overview

This Privacy Policy explains how The Shadowing Geek ("we", "us", "our") — a personal, independently operated website at https://shadowgeek.net — collects, uses, and shares information about you when you visit our site.

We are a one-person, non-commercial educational project focused on JLPT Japanese grammar and shadowing practice tools. We are not a company, and we do not operate a backend server or database. Our site is a pure static HTML/CSS/JS site deployed on Cloudflare Pages. This matters for your privacy — see Sections 3 and 4 for exactly what that means in practice.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information Automatically Collected by Our Host (Cloudflare Pages)

Because our site is hosted on Cloudflare Pages, Cloudflare's edge network automatically processes certain technical data every time you visit:

• IP address (visible to Cloudflare; we do not have access to it in a personally identifiable form)
• Browser type and version
• Operating system
• Referring URL (the page that linked you here)
• Date, time, and duration of your visit
• Pages requested

Cloudflare uses this data for network security, DDoS mitigation, and aggregated traffic analytics. We do not receive or store raw access logs, and these logs are not linked to any personally identifiable information we control.

Note: Cloudflare's privacy practices are governed by their own Privacy Policy and Data Processing Addendum. As a Cloudflare Pages customer, we rely on their infrastructure-level protections.

2.2 Information Collected by Third Parties

We do not collect, store, or process the following on our own servers (we have none):

• Names or email addresses (unless you voluntarily contact us via email — see Section 7)
• Payment information
• Account credentials
• Location data
• Device identifiers

Third-party services integrated into this site may collect limited data as described in Section 4.

3. Cookies and Similar Technologies

3.1 What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files placed on your device by your browser when you visit a website. They are used to remember your preferences, maintain sessions, and — in the case of advertising cookies — serve content relevant to your interests.

3.2 Cookies Used by Our Site

These are set by our hosting provider and are strictly necessary for the site to function and to protect against malicious traffic. They do not track you across other websites.

3.3 Cookies Set by Third Parties (Google AdSense)

We use Google AdSense to display advertisements on this site. Google and its partners use cookies to serve ads based on your visits to this site and/or other sites on the internet. The primary cookies used for this purpose include:

Important: These are third-party cookies set by Google advertising systems. We do not control them, and we do not receive data from them beyond aggregate AdSense reporting (total impressions, clicks, and revenue — never individual user behavior).

4. How We Use Information

We use the very limited data available to us solely to:

• Understand aggregate traffic patterns (via Cloudflare's anonymous analytics dashboard) to improve content
• Ensure site security and performance
• Serve Google AdSense advertisements
• Comply with legal obligations

We never:

• Sell personal data (we have no personal data to sell)
• Share personal data with third parties for marketing purposes
• Build user profiles or dossiers
• Use data for purposes beyond what is described here

5. Your Rights (GDPR & Applicable Privacy Laws)

Although we are a small personal site, we respect privacy rights under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and other applicable laws. You have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of any personal data we hold about you (see Section 7 for how)
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate data
• Deletion: Request deletion of any personal data we hold about you
• Restriction: Request restriction of processing
• Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Data portability: Request your data in a structured, machine-readable format

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the email address in Section 7. We will respond within 30 days. Since we maintain no user database or backend, in almost all cases we will have no personal data to disclose — but we will confirm this to you in writing.

Residents of the European Economic Area (EEA): If you are located in the EEA, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority at any time.

Residents of California: Under the CCPA, you have the right to know what personal information is collected, request deletion, and opt out of any sale of personal information. We do not sell personal information.

6. Data Retention

• Cloudflare logs: Retained by Cloudflare per their data retention policy (typically up to 30 days for security logs; aggregated analytics are anonymized within 12 months).
• AdSense data: Aggregate impression/click/revenue data is retained per Google's data retention settings (AdSense account-level, configurable). We do not retain individual user-level data from AdSense.
• Cookies: As described in Section 3 — range from session-length to 24 months depending on the cookie.

7. Children's Privacy

Our site is directed at language learners of all ages and does not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13 (or the applicable age in your jurisdiction). If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately and we will take steps to remove that information.

We comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). No registration, account creation, or direct interaction requiring personal data collection exists on this site.

8. Contact Us

The Shadowing Geek is an independently operated, single-person project. For privacy-related questions, data rights requests, or concerns:

Email: ten.keegwodahs@xilef
Response time: Within 30 days

For hosting-specific privacy questions (Cloudflare data handling, edge log retention), refer directly to Cloudflare's Privacy Policy.

For Google AdSense-specific questions (ad personalization, cookie choices), refer to Google Safety Center and Cookie Info for Google's Ad Products.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, law, or our operations. When we do, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and, for material changes, provide notice on our homepage for at least 30 days.

Material changes are those that significantly affect how we collect, use, or share information — for example, if we add a newsletter, analytics tool, or additional advertising partner.

You are encouraged to review this page periodically. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

10. Legal Basis (GDPR)

For users in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland, our legal bases for processing are:

• Legitimate interest: Site security, performance, and fraud prevention (Cloudflare infrastructure; strictly necessary cookies)
• Consent: Advertising cookies placed by Google AdSense — which you manage via Google's Ads Settings
• Contract: No contracts are formed through this site

11. International Data Transfers

Cloudflare operates a global edge network. Data processed through their infrastructure may be transferred to and processed in countries outside your jurisdiction, including the United States. Cloudflare relies on Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) and other lawful transfer mechanisms for international data transfers. See Cloudflare's DPA for details.

This Privacy Policy is a living document. If you find something unclear or believe we have missed a requirement applicable to your jurisdiction, please contact us at felix@shadowgeek.net — we'd rather fix it quietly than argue about it later.

© 2026 The Shadowing Geek — Built with static HTML/CSS/JS on Cloudflare Pages. One person, zero backend, full transparency.