Last updated: October 25, 2026
WhyDecoded (whydecoded.com) explains AI news in plain English and checks whether AI tools are really free. This page explains what information we collect when you use the site, why, and what you can do about it. The short version: you can read everything without an account, we do not sell your data, we do not run advertising trackers, and we use Google Analytics to count visits.
What we collect and why
Newsletter
If you subscribe to our weekly email, we store your email address and the date you signed up. We use it only to send you the WhyDecoded newsletter and a welcome email when you join.
Every newsletter has a one-click unsubscribe link. After you unsubscribe, we keep your address marked as unsubscribed only so that we never email you again. If you would like it deleted completely, contact us (see below).
Sharing an article by email
When you use “Email this to a friend”, we use your friend’s email address, the name you enter and your optional note to send that one email. We do not store either address or add anyone to a mailing list.
Contact form
When you send us a message, we receive your name, email address, subject and message by email so that we can reply. Messages may be checked for spam by Akismet, a service run by Automattic.
Comments
If you leave a comment, WordPress stores the name, email address and website you enter, your comment, and your IP address and browser details to help detect spam. Comments may be checked by Akismet. Your email address is never shown publicly.
“Check if this is free” and “Was this accurate?”
These features do not ask for any personal details. If you report that a tool page is wrong, we store your answer and any note you write. To stop abuse, these features, the newsletter sign-up and email sharing count requests using a short, one-way scrambled code made from your IP address. We cannot turn that code back into your IP address, and the counters are deleted automatically after about two days.
Dark or light theme
If you switch between dark and light mode, your choice is saved in your own browser (local storage). It never leaves your device.
Cookies and tracking
We use Google Analytics to understand how many people visit, which pages they read and how they found us, so we can write more of what is useful. It records things like the pages you view, your approximate location (country or city), your device and browser, and the site that sent you. It does not tell us who you are, and we have turned off Google’s advertising features. Google Analytics sets cookies (such as _ga) for this.
If you visit from the European Union, the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, we do not set analytics cookies: Google counts your visit without cookies. Anyone can block Google Analytics with Google’s opt-out browser add-on or a content blocker. You can read how Google uses this data in How Google uses information from sites that use its services.
We do not use advertising cookies. Our security and caching provider, Cloudflare, may set strictly necessary cookies to protect the site from attacks. If you leave a comment, WordPress may save a cookie with your name and email so you don’t have to type them again. If we add advertising in the future, we will update this page first.
Our share buttons (X, Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp) are plain links. They do not load any code from those companies until you click one, at which point that company’s own privacy policy applies.
Who else handles data
- Hostinger hosts the website and its database, and keeps standard server logs (such as IP addresses and pages requested) for security and reliability.
- Cloudflare delivers and protects the site and processes visitor connections to do so.
- Our email provider sends the newsletter, confirmation emails and shared-article emails.
- Akismet (Automattic) checks comments and contact messages for spam.
- Google Analytics (Google) measures visits to the site, as described above.
We use AI services to help check the public pricing pages of AI tools and to draft news articles. We do not send your personal information to them.
We never sell or rent your personal information.
How long we keep it
- Newsletter: until you unsubscribe (then only marked as unsubscribed, or deleted on request).
- Contact messages: as long as needed to deal with your message.
- Comments: for as long as the comment is on the site.
- Abuse-prevention counters: about two days.
- Google Analytics data: 14 months, then deleted by Google.
Your rights
You can ask us to show you the personal information we hold about you, correct it, or delete it. Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR in Europe or the CCPA in California), you may have further rights, including the right to object to processing and to complain to your data protection authority. To make a request, use our contact page; we will reply within 30 days.
Children
WhyDecoded is written for a general audience and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Changes to this policy
If we change how we handle personal information, for example by adding analytics or advertising, we will update this page and the date at the top before the change takes effect.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your data? Reach us through our contact page.