Privacy policy

The short version

MCReference has no accounts, no login, no comments and no newsletter. There is nothing here to sign up for, so there is no name, email address or password to store. We do not build a profile of you and we do not sell anything about you to anybody.

What is collected automatically

Like every web server, ours records a line per request: the page asked for, the time, the browser’s user agent string, and the IP address the request came from. These logs exist so the site can be kept running and abuse can be stopped. They are not linked to any identity and are not used for advertising.

Cookies

MCReference sets one thing in your browser: your light or dark theme choice. It is stored locally so the page does not flash the wrong colour on your next visit. It never leaves your device and it is not a tracking cookie.

Google also sets its own cookies, for advertising and analytics. Both are described below, with links to opt out of each.

Advertising

This site shows adverts served by Google AdSense. Google and its partners use cookies to serve adverts based on your previous visits to this and other websites.

You can opt out of personalised advertising at Google’s ads settings, or opt out of third-party vendors’ use of cookies at aboutads.info. Google’s own description of how it uses data from sites that use its services is at policies.google.com.

Images and files loaded from other sites

MCReferencedoes not host project icons, screenshots or downloadable files. Icons and screenshots are loaded directly from the host the author published them on, and every download link points at the author’s own release. That means your browser contacts those hosts, and they can see the request the same way any website you visit can. We do this rather than copying the files because they belong to their authors, and hotlinking with credit is the honest way to show somebody else’s work.

Links to another site carry rel="nofollow noopener" and a no-referrer policy, so the destination is not told which page you came from.

Analytics

This site uses Google Analytics to count visits and see which pages are read. It records the page you asked for, roughly where in the world you are, and what kind of device you used. It does not receive your name or email address, because this site never asks for either.

Google sets its own cookies to do this, and describes what it does with the data at policies.google.com. You can opt out of Google Analytics entirely with Google’s own browser add-on, and any browser setting that blocks third-party cookies stops it too.

Children

MCReference is a technical reference for software. It is not directed at children, and it does not knowingly collect anything from anyone.

Your data, and how to ask about it

Since we hold no account and no profile, there is nothing personal to export or delete on request. Server logs age out on their own. If you believe something on this site involves you and should not, write to us and we will look at it: see the contact page.

Changes to this policy

The date at the top of this page is the date it last changed. Because the policy describes what the code actually does, it is edited in the same change as the behaviour it describes rather than afterwards.