Effective Date: September 17, 2026 | Last Reviewed: September 2026
1. Introduction & Scope
EarthScales (accessible from https://earthscales.xyz) is deeply committed to preserving reader anonymity, data integrity, and strict adherence to global privacy regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), and Google AdSense Publisher Policies.
This document delineates how telemetry, analytical logs, and cookie identifiers are gathered, managed, and safeguarded when interacting with our quantitative geoscience publication.
2. Google AdSense & DoubleClick DART Cookies
EarthScales utilizes third-party advertising partners, notably Google AdSense, to sustainably finance ongoing scientific reporting and computational modeling hosting.
- Google, as a third-party vendor, employs cookies to serve contextual and interest-based advertisements across EarthScales.
- Google’s use of the DoubleClick DART cookie enables it and its partner advertising networks to serve advertisements to our users based upon their visit to EarthScales and/or other websites across the Internet.
- Cookie Opt-Out Mechanism: Users may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting the official Google Ads Settings. Alternatively, users may decline targeted third-party advertising cookies via the Network Advertising Initiative or the Digital Advertising Alliance.
3. Log Files & Web Telemetry
Like standard high-reliability scientific web infrastructure, EarthScales follows standard procedures of logging server requests. The data collected by server log files includes:
- Internet Protocol (IP) addresses (anonymized at edge nodes)
- Browser engine types and versions
- Internet Service Providers (ISP)
- Date and timestamp of request
- Referring and exit URL pathways
- Aggregated Core Web Vitals telemetry (LCP, FID, CLS) for rendering optimization
These metrics are not linked to any personally identifiable information (PII). Their sole purpose is diagnosing network latency, tracking planetary simulation render times, and ensuring system security.
4. GDPR Data Protection Rights (EU & UK Readers)
Under the General Data Protection Regulation, European Economic Area residents possess unambiguous rights:
- Right to Access: You may request copies of any personal telemetry retained.
- Right to Rectification: You may demand correction of any inaccurate or incomplete records.
- Right to Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”): You may request immediate deletion of personal records.
- Right to Restrict or Object to Processing: You may restrict the computational processing of your telemetry under specific statutory conditions.
To exercise any statutory GDPR entitlement, submit an official request to contact@earthscales.xyz. Responses are provided within 30 days.
5. CCPA/CPRA Privacy Rights (California Residents)
Under the California Consumer Privacy Act and California Privacy Rights Act, California consumers have the right to:
- Demand disclosure of categories and specific pieces of personal data collected over the preceding 12 months.
- Demand deletion of personal data collected by the publication.
- Non-Sale Guarantee: EarthScales does not sell, trade, or rent personal consumer data to commercial brokers.
- Demand non-discrimination for exercising privacy statutory prerogatives.
6. Third-Party Links & Scientific Data Repositories
Our publication frequently links to external peer-reviewed repositories (e.g., USGS seismology servers, NASA orbital databases, Copernicus Earth observation APIs). EarthScales holds no liability or control over the independent privacy practices of external repositories.
7. Privacy Policy Amendments
Any revisions to this document will be reflected immediately upon this page with an updated modification timestamp.