What we measure
This page explains in plain language what we measure about our readers, what we use it for, and what you can do about it. The legal text is in the privacy notice. Privacy notice
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Why we measure
A newspaper needs to know how many people read it, which topics its readers care about, where they come from and where they stop reading. That is how we decide what to cover more. We sell no ads, pass measurement data to no one, and do not use it to follow you personally.
Two measurement systems
Plausible
An open-source counter running on our own server. It sets no cookie, assigns no identifier, does not follow you across sites. We store the visitor’s IP address with the events so that abusive or automated traffic can be filtered out; that is personal data, processed on the basis of our legitimate interest. This system always runs, without consent, because it does not touch your device.
Google Analytics
Google’s measurement service (Google Ireland Ltd. / Google LLC, USA), which lets us see our numbers in the comparable form used everywhere else. It sets a cookie (_ga, _ga_… – for at most 13 months) only if you chose “OK” on the card. If not, Google receives only identifier-free signals from which you cannot be recognised. Google truncates your IP address. Advertising features (Google Signals, personalisation) are switched off. Google processes the data under the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and deletes it after 14 months.
What exactly is sent
Every event carries: the page title and address (URL), the page language and your reading language, the page type, for articles the section and publication date, and whether you are signed in (yes/no, nothing more). Never your name, e-mail address, or the text of your comments or answers.
| Event | What it means |
|---|---|
| page_view | A page opened: which page, its type (article, front page, section…), its language, the article’s publication date and section. |
| article_read | An article read: you scrolled at least halfway and spent at least half a minute on it. |
| scroll | You reached the bottom of the page (Google Analytics’ own 90% scroll signal). |
| search | You searched the site: the search term and which kind of result you clicked. |
| share | You shared an article (which platform). |
| newsletter_signup | You signed up for the newsletter, and where (front page, article, survey). Your e-mail address is not part of it. |
| donation | You started or completed a donation: the amount and currency. No card data, no name. |
| paywall / subscription | You saw the paywall, started or completed a subscription (which plan). |
| comment_* | The commenting steps: login click, return, rules shown, quiz passed, comment posted. Your text is not part of it. |
| survey_* | Answering an in-article survey (which question, how many answered). Your answers are not part of it. |
| click / file_download | Click on an outbound link, file download. |
| page_not_found | Opening a page that does not exist (to find broken links). |
What you can do
You can change your decision at any time with the buttons above or the “Cookie settings” link in the footer. If you choose “Only the necessary”, the Google cookie is deleted immediately. We cannot reliably interpret your browser’s “Do Not Track” and similar settings, which is why we ask on the card. Questions? Write to the address in the privacy notice.