Privacy Policy
Short version: this site uses privacy-friendly analytics (Plausible) that set no cookies and collect no personal information. It also runs Google AdSense advertising, which does use cookies to serve ads - you can opt out of personalized advertising (see section 3). The longer version below covers every category of data the site touches, what we do with it, and how to opt out.
1. Who we are
PURSUE UFO Tracker (the "Site") is operated as a solo independent project. The Site mirrors and indexes U.S. Department of War PURSUE program disclosures published at war.gov/UFO. The Site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operating under the authority of the U.S. Department of War, the Department of Defense, AARO, or any other government agency.
For any privacy question, see the contact page or email [email protected].
2. Analytics (Plausible)
The Site uses Plausible Analytics for traffic measurement. Plausible was chosen specifically because it does not use cookies and does not collect personally identifiable information.
What Plausible records
- The page URL you visited on this site
- Your approximate country (derived from anonymized IP, not stored)
- Your browser and operating system family (e.g. "Chrome on Android")
- The referring page that sent you here (if any)
- The screen size category (mobile / tablet / desktop)
- A small number of custom interaction events (e.g. clicking a Share button, clicking a top-card on the homepage)
What Plausible does NOT record
- Your IP address (used briefly for country lookup, never stored)
- Cookies of any kind
- Local storage on your device
- Cross-site tracking identifiers
- Personally identifiable information
Plausible's own privacy policy is at plausible.io/privacy. Plausible is operated by Plausible Insights OU, hosted in the European Union, and is GDPR-compliant by default.
You can block Plausible at the network level using any standard ad-blocker or content-blocker. The Site continues to function normally if you do.
3. Advertising (Google AdSense)
The Site uses Google AdSense to display advertising. The Google AdSense script (publisher ID ca-pub-7264251466939264) is loaded on all pages of the Site. Unlike the analytics described above, advertising involves third-party cookies. Specifically:
- Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on the Site.
- Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to visitors based on their visits to this Site and/or other sites on the internet.
- Third-party vendors and ad networks may likewise use cookies to serve ads based on a visitor's prior visits to this Site or elsewhere.
- You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google's Ads Settings.
- You may alternatively opt out of a third-party vendor's use of cookies for personalized advertising at www.aboutads.info/choices.
You can also block advertising cookies at the network level using any standard ad-blocker or content-blocker; the Site continues to function normally if you do. Google's advertising privacy information is at policies.google.com/technologies/ads.
4. Server logs (Cloudflare)
The Site is hosted on Cloudflare Pages. Cloudflare maintains its own access logs for security and abuse prevention. These logs may include IP addresses, request paths, and user agent strings. The operator of this Site does not access raw Cloudflare logs except to investigate a specific security incident, and does not export, sell, or share them. Cloudflare's privacy policy is at cloudflare.com/privacypolicy.
5. Email / newsletter
The Site does not currently operate an email newsletter. If and when one is launched, this section will be updated to disclose the email service provider, what data is collected at signup, how unsubscribes are handled, and how the list is stored. Until then, the "subscribe" prompts on the Site link only to RSS or to a public GitHub watch page; no email address is collected.
6. Embedded content
Detail pages on the Site may embed media files (PDFs, MP4 videos, thumbnail images) hosted on third-party domains:
- war.gov (and its CDN at
portals/1/Interactive/...): U.S. Department of War, source of record for PURSUE files - dvidshub.net / cloudfront.net: DVIDS, the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service that hosts the video MP4s referenced in PURSUE
- fonts.googleapis.com / fonts.gstatic.com: Google Fonts (the Site uses the Space Grotesk and JetBrains Mono typefaces)
Embedded content from these domains may set their own cookies or collect analytics under their own privacy policies. The Site operator does not control or access this data.
7. Public domain status of the files
Files mirrored from war.gov are works of the U.S. Government and are in the public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105. No copyright is claimed by this Site over any government-source file. Original commentary, the Anomalousness Index scoring rubric, audit pages, and software code on the Site are the work of the operator and are made available under terms documented in the public repository.
8. Data subject rights (GDPR / CCPA)
The Site's analytics (Plausible) collect no personally identifiable information. The Site does serve Google AdSense advertising, which may set cookies; you can control or opt out of personalized advertising as described in section 3, and manage or block cookies through your browser settings. The Site itself does not operate an email/newsletter list. If you believe the Site holds personal data about you (for example, in correspondence you have sent to the operator), email [email protected] with a description of what you are requesting. Verified requests will be processed within 30 days.
9. Children's privacy
The Site is not directed to children under 13 and does not knowingly collect data from them. If you believe a child has provided information through this Site, contact the operator and it will be removed.
10. DMCA / takedown / corrections
The Site mirrors public-domain government files and does not host third-party copyrighted content. If you believe content on the Site infringes a right you hold, or if you have identified a factual error on any analytical page (scoring, audit log, methodology), email [email protected] with specifics. Documented corrections to data claims are logged transparently on the relevant page (see /revisions for an example).
11. Changes to this policy
This Privacy Policy will be updated as the Site adds features. Material changes (such as activating AdSense or launching an email list) will be reflected here with a new "Last updated" date at the top of the page. Significant changes will also be announced on the homepage. Continued use of the Site after a policy update constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
12. Contact
Privacy questions, data requests, takedown notices, or corrections: [email protected]