Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 25, 2026

Short version: We don't sell your data. We collect anonymous analytics to improve the site and store minimal preferences (theme, liked stories) locally in your browser. That's it.

1. Who We Are

Pocket Stories (pocketstories.cc) is a free short fiction platform publishing new stories daily. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights.

2. Information We Collect

2a. Analytics Data (Google Analytics 4)

We use Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use the site. GA4 collects anonymised data including:

Pages visited and time spent
General geographic location (country/city level)
Device type, browser, and operating system
How you found the site (search, direct, social, etc.)
Interactions such as story reads, likes, shares, and filter use

This data is collected via cookies and is processed by Google. It is aggregated and anonymous — we cannot identify individual users from it. You can opt out using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

2b. Local Storage (Your Device Only)

We store two small pieces of data in your browser's localStorage. This data never leaves your device:

Theme preference — whether you prefer light or dark mode.
Liked stories — the IDs of stories you've liked, so your likes persist between visits.

You can clear this at any time via your browser's developer tools or by clearing site data.

2c. Like Counts (Cloudflare Workers)

When you like a story, a request is sent to our backend (hosted on Cloudflare Workers) to increment a public like counter. We store only the story ID and the count — no personal information or IP address is stored permanently.

3. Cookies

We use cookies only for Google Analytics. These are first-party cookies set by Google's gtag.js library (e.g. _ga, _ga_*). They are used solely for analytics purposes. We do not use advertising, tracking, or session cookies.

You can manage or delete cookies through your browser settings at any time.

4. Third-Party Services

We rely on the following third parties to operate the site:

Cloudflare Pages — hosts this website. Cloudflare may log access requests (IP, user agent) for security and performance. See Cloudflare's Privacy Policy.
Google Analytics — provides usage analytics. See Google's Privacy Policy.
Google Fonts — serves the Inter and Lora typefaces. See Google Fonts Privacy FAQ.

5. Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with any third party beyond what is described above. We have no advertising partners and run no ads.

6. Data Retention

Google Analytics data is retained for 14 months by default, after which it is automatically deleted. Local storage data persists until you clear it in your browser.

7. Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete data held about you. Because we do not collect or store personally identifiable information ourselves, most requests should be directed to Google for analytics data. For any other requests, contact us using the details below.

8. Children's Privacy

Pocket Stories is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page will reflect any changes. Continued use of the site after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact

Questions about this policy? You can reach us via Instagram or YouTube.