Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 7, 2026

Who We Are

Understanding (www.understanding.help) is a free multilingual tech glossary developed and operated by ByteCity. Our goal is to explain technology terms in simple, human-friendly words.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, contact us at www.bytecity.software.

Information We Collect

Account Information

When you create a public account, we collect your email address and name. A password is optional — you can sign in using a magic link sent to your email instead. Passwords are stored using bcrypt hashing and are never stored in plain text.

Magic Link Login

When you request passwordless login, we generate a short-lived token (valid for 15 minutes) and send it to your email address. The token is single-use and is not stored permanently after it is consumed.

Comments

If you submit a comment on a glossary term, we store the comment text along with the name and email associated with your account.

Newsletter Subscriptions

If you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect your email address and language preference (English or Spanish). Subscriptions require email verification. You can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any newsletter email.

Usage Analytics

We use Google Analytics 4, loaded through Google Tag Manager, to understand which terms people read and how they find the site. Analytics cookies are set only if you accept them in the cookie banner. Until you accept, Google Consent Mode v2 keeps analytics and advertising storage denied, IP addresses are handled in redacted mode, and no analytics cookie is written. You can change or withdraw your choice at any time via the Cookies link in the site footer.

What We Do Not Collect

  • No advertising cookies and no ad personalisation — advertising storage stays denied at all times
  • No third-party login (no Google, Facebook, or OAuth providers)
  • No advertising networks
  • No fingerprinting or cross-site tracking

How We Use Your Information

  • Authentication — to verify your identity when you sign in, using secure httpOnly session cookies.
  • Service delivery — to enable features available to registered users, such as PDF exports of glossary terms.
  • Comments — to display your name alongside comments you leave on glossary terms.
  • Transactional email — to send magic login links or newsletter verification emails when you request them.
  • Newsletter — to notify you when new terms and guides are added, if you have subscribed and confirmed your subscription.

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.

Cookies

Understanding uses two kinds of cookies. No advertising cookies are ever set.

Essential — always active, necessary for the service to work:

  • public_token — a secure, httpOnly JWT cookie set when you sign in. It expires after 30 days.

Analytics — set only after you accept them in the cookie banner:

  • _ga and _ga_<container id> — Google Analytics cookies that distinguish visitors and sessions. They expire after 2 years.

Your consent choice is stored locally in your browser under cookie-consent-v1; it never leaves your device. You can change it at any time via the Cookies link in the footer — withdrawing consent deletes the analytics cookies immediately — or delete any cookie by clearing your browser data.

Third-Party Services

Mailgun

We use Mailgun to send transactional emails (magic login links, newsletter verification messages). Your email address is transmitted to Mailgun solely for delivering these messages. See Mailgun's privacy policy.

Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager

We use Google Analytics 4, delivered through Google Tag Manager, for site analytics. It runs under Google Consent Mode v2: nothing is stored on your device until you accept analytics cookies. Google acts as our data processor under the Google Ads Data Processing Terms. Data is retained for 14 months. See Google's privacy policy and how Google uses data from sites that use its services.

Data Storage and Security

Your data is stored in a PostgreSQL database. Passwords are hashed using bcrypt. Authentication tokens are signed JWTs stored as httpOnly cookies. We take reasonable technical measures to protect your information, though no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure.

Data Retention

  • Account data is retained for as long as your account is active.
  • Comments are retained unless you request deletion or your account is deleted.
  • Newsletter subscriptions are retained until you unsubscribe.

Your Rights

You have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you
  • Request correction of inaccurate information
  • Request deletion of your account and associated data
  • Unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at www.bytecity.software.

Children's Privacy

Understanding is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of Understanding after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

For any privacy-related questions or requests, contact ByteCity at www.bytecity.software.