# Question about a website's privacy policy **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 6, 2020, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-a-websites-privacy-policy/922354 "2020-10-06T17:11:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-a-websites-privacy-policy/922354/1 "2020-10-06T17:11:02Z")
So I’m trying to decide whether to sign up for a newsletter and, as I always do, I checked out their privacy policy and found this: “Like many other Web sites, [thedailymagician.com](http://thedailymagician.com) makes use of log files. The information inside the log files includes internet protocol ( IP ) addresses, type of browser, Internet Service Provider ( ISP ), date/time stamp, referring/exit pages, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement around the site, and gather demographic information. IP addresses, and other such information are not linked to any information that is personally identifiable.” What am I looking at here-normal operating procedure, a license to steal, or something in between? ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-a-websites-privacy-policy/922354/2 "2020-10-06T17:47:08Z")
That reads to me like extremely normal procedure. The things logged appear to be pretty much default stuff for web server software and for something like Google analytics. If they didn’t say that stuff was being logged, I’d be suspicious. Not linking to personally identifiable information to me means that they don’t do anything to match the IP address you access the site with to the email address you use to subscribe to the newsletter with. Whether you believe them or not is a different question. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-a-websites-privacy-policy/922354/3 "2020-10-06T17:53:11Z")
In regards to “privacy”, it’s best to assume that you have none. “Privacy” is like “carbon paper”. It is a term for something real, and we do know what it means, but technology has rendered it pretty much obsolete. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-a-websites-privacy-policy/922354/4 "2020-10-06T21:17:33Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > That reads to me like extremely normal procedure. Yup, I agree. All that information is gathered by pretty much every website out there. It becomes more concerning when they are linking your browsing behavior to personally identifiable information (PII), and in particular “sharing” (i.e., selling) that data with “preferred vendors”. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-a-websites-privacy-policy/922354/5 "2020-10-06T21:38:52Z")
Third agreement for normal procedure. This is how sites do things like count “unique visitors” and analyze how effective their page navigation is.