Privacy Policy

Pastwordlewords.com collects the smallest amount of information it can while still working. This page explains exactly what that means today. If anything changes, this page changes with it, and the date at the bottom will move.

What the site collects

The only personal information the site actively asks for is the details you choose to send through the contact form or by email: your name, your email address, and whatever you write in the message. That information is used to reply to you and for nothing else. It is not shared, sold, or used to send you anything you did not ask for.

If you never contact the site, the site never has your name or your email.

What the site records automatically

Web hosting works by handling requests, and every request leaves a small trace whether the host wants it or not. The hosting provider keeps standard server logs — the pages requested, the time, and a technical footprint that includes your IP address and browser type — for a short period before deleting them. These logs exist for security and diagnostics. They are not read for marketing purposes, and they are not linked to any name or email.

The site uses no analytics platform at this time. There is no Google Analytics, no Plausible, no Fathom, no tracking pixel, and no third-party JavaScript that reports what you did on the page. If that ever changes, this page will be updated first, before the tracker goes live, and it will be named.

Cookies

The site does not set any cookies of its own for tracking. If you toggle dark mode on the archive tool, that preference is remembered in a single first-party cookie that stores nothing more than the word “dark” or “light”. It is not shared with anyone, and clearing your browser cookies removes it immediately.

Some visitors arrive from Cloudflare’s network, which may set its own security cookie to protect against automated abuse. That cookie is set by Cloudflare, not by this site, and Cloudflare publishes its own policy on how it is used.

Advertising

The site does not currently show advertising. There is no AdSense, no ad network of any kind on any page. Nothing on the site is tracking you for advertising purposes right now.

That may change in the future. If display advertising is added later — most likely through Google AdSense — this page will be updated before any ad code goes live, and the change will be described plainly. Advertising networks typically use cookies to serve ads, and any such use will be disclosed here at that time along with a link to the relevant network’s own policy. There will be no surprise about the moment it happens.

Affiliate links

The site does not currently use affiliate links. If a link on the site ever leads to a product or service in exchange for a commission on a purchase, that link will be clearly marked as an affiliate link at the point it appears, and the disclaimer page will be updated to explain the arrangement.

Data from third parties

The daily archive is updated by fetching the answer for each new puzzle from the New York Times. That process runs on the server; it does not involve you, it does not send any information about you to anyone, and it happens whether anyone visits the site that day or not.

The plugin that runs the archive also pings a service called IndexNow, which tells search engines a page has changed. This ping contains the page’s URL and nothing about visitors.

Children

The site is a word game reference. There is no age restriction on reading it, but the site is not directed at children, and no information is knowingly collected from anyone under 13. If you are a parent and believe a child has sent a message through the contact form, please write in and it will be deleted.

Your rights

If you have sent a message and want it deleted from the inbox, ask and it will be. If you want a copy of anything the site has that relates to you — which will consist only of messages you sent and their replies — ask and it will be sent to you.

There is no account system, no login, no password, and no profile. There is nothing else the site holds that could be exported or forgotten.

Contact about privacy

Questions about anything on this page can be sent to hello@pastwordlewords.com. A reply usually arrives within a working day.