Privacy Policy
Information We Collect
PlainQuake does not require user registration or collect personal information directly. We use third-party analytics and advertising services that may collect certain information automatically.
Analytics
We use privacy-focused analytics (Umami) and Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use our site. This includes anonymous data such as pages visited, time spent, browser type, and general geographic region.
Advertising
We use Google AdSense to display advertisements. Google may use cookies to serve ads based on your visits. Learn more at Google's Privacy & Terms.
Cookies
This site uses cookies for analytics and advertising. You can manage preferences through your browser. In the EEA, we obtain consent before setting non-essential cookies.
Your Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete your personal data. For California residents, we respect your rights under the CCPA.
Data Security
We implement reasonable security measures. All connections are encrypted using HTTPS.
Contact
For privacy questions, contact hello@plainquake.com.
Our Approach to Your Data
We collect only what is necessary to operate PlainQuake and understand, in aggregate, how the site is used. We do not sell visitor data, do not share it with data brokers, and do not build advertising profiles of individual visitors outside the boundaries set by our advertising partners (Google AdSense). Cookies used by the site are listed in the main privacy policy above; each is labeled with its purpose and retention window.
Public Earthquake Records
The records surfaced on PlainQuake are drawn from the USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), a public dataset describing seismic events, magnitude, depth, location, and time. These are geophysical event records and contain no personal information about individuals. We do not republish data that is not already publicly available from the USGS, and we honor correction requests for records that are factually incorrect or that have been revised at the source. Correction is a data-quality action that traces back to the official USGS catalog.
Your Data-Subject Rights
If you are a California, EU, UK, or other resident whose jurisdiction grants data-subject rights, you may request access, correction, or deletion of any personal data we hold about you (which is generally only a hashed IP address and a short server-access log). Contact requests are handled by our editorial team at the email on the contact page. We do not charge for requests, we do not require you to create an account to exercise a right, and we do not retaliate against anyone who submits a request.
Advertising, Measurement, and Your Consent
PlainQuake displays contextual advertising through Google AdSense, which may set its own cookies for measurement and frequency capping. We deploy Google's Consent Mode v2, so if you decline cookies via a consent banner or privacy-first browser, Google limits its measurement to anonymous, aggregate signals. We also use a first-party privacy-preserving analytics tool (Umami) that does not track individuals across sites. If you prefer zero measurement, enable a tracker-blocker or browse privately, we will not work harder to profile you.
Advertising & Third-Party Cookies
This website displays advertising served by Google AdSense, a service provided by Google LLC. Google AdSense uses cookies and similar technologies to:
- Serve ads based on your prior visits to this website and other sites on the internet
- Measure ad performance and the effectiveness of advertising campaigns
- Detect and prevent invalid traffic, fraud, and abuse
Third-party vendors, including Google, may use cookies to serve ads based on your past visits to this website. You can opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings.
You can also opt out of third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalized advertising by visiting:
- Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) opt-out
- Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) opt-out
- European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (EDAA) opt-out (EEA visitors)
Cookies We Use
We and our advertising partners may set the following categories of cookies:
- Strictly necessary cookies - required for the site to function (session management, security)
- Analytics cookies - anonymized traffic measurement (Google Analytics, Umami) used to improve content
- Advertising cookies - set by Google AdSense and partner ad networks to display relevant ads
- Functional cookies - remember your preferences (dark mode, language)
You can control cookies through your browser settings or, for EEA/UK/CH visitors, via the consent banner displayed on first visit.
Data Retention & Your Rights
We retain analytics data for 26 months. Advertising cookies follow Google AdSense's standard retention policy.
If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or California, you have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you
- Request correction or deletion
- Object to processing for direct marketing
- Lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority
To exercise these rights, please use the contact methods listed on our Contact page.