Privacy policy

TerseURL collects the bare minimum needed to run the service and fight abuse.

Data controller

Younes Sadmi, reachable through the report form.

Data processed

• Created links: the destination URL, the creation date and the click count. This information is public: anyone who knows the short link can see it.
• Connection fingerprint: when a link or a report is created, the IP address is turned into an irreversible fingerprint (HMAC-SHA-256 with a secret key). The IP address itself is never stored by the application.
• Reports: the reason, the details entered and the reporter’s connection fingerprint.
• Human verification: when you use the link form, Cloudflare Turnstile checks that you are not a robot. To do so, Cloudflare receives your IP address and browser signals (Cloudflare, Inc., see its privacy policy). Nothing is loaded from Cloudflare until you interact with the form.
• Clicks: only a counter is incremented; nothing about the person clicking is kept.
• Audience measurement, only if you accept: Google Analytics, loaded through Google Tag Manager (Google Ireland Limited, and Google LLC in the United States). Google sets cookies such as _ga in your browser and receives your IP address, the pages you view and technical information about your device. Nothing from Google is requested before you accept, and advertising features are not used.

Purposes and legal basis

This data is used to provide the service (redirects, statistics) and to prevent abuse: limiting how many links can be created, handling reports. Legal basis: the publisher’s legitimate interest in providing a reliable and safe service (GDPR article 6.1.f). Audience measurement relies on your consent (GDPR article 6.1.a), which you can withdraw at any time.

Retention

• Links and creator fingerprint: as long as the link exists.
• Rate-limiting counters: 24 hours at most.
• Reports: as long as the related link exists.
• Audience data: kept by Google for the period set in Google Analytics, and the consent choice for six months.

Cookies

The site itself sets no cookies. Only if you accept audience measurement does Google Analytics set cookies (such as _ga) in your browser. Your choice is remembered in your browser’s local storage, not in a cookie, and is asked again after six months. You can change it at any time with the “Cookie settings” link at the bottom of every page; refusing afterwards deletes the Google cookies. The Cloudflare verification runs on Cloudflare’s own domain, under its privacy policy. If advertising is added, this page will be updated and your consent will be asked first.

Hosting

The site is hosted by Hostinger International Limited. Like any host, it may keep technical connection logs as required by law.

Your rights

You have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict and object. Since links are anonymous, include the short link concerned in your request. Use the report form (reason “Other”), giving the short link and your request. You can also lodge a complaint with the CNIL, the French data protection authority.