CiteCount Privacy Policy

At CiteCount, we are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard information when you use our web application, CiteCount (“the Service”), available at cite.js.org. Our core principle is simple: we do not collect or store any of the text, citations, or content you input or process using CiteCount on our servers. All computation, including word counting and citation exclusion, occurs entirely on your device.

1. Information We Collect

Anonymized Analytics Data
We use Google Analytics and LiteAnalytics to collect anonymized data about how visitors interact with our website. This may include:

Page views and visit duration
Browser type and device information
Approximate location (e.g., country or region, derived from anonymized IP addresses)
Referral sources (e.g., how you found our site)

This data helps us understand usage trends and improve the Service. No personally identifiable information tied to your inputs or processed content is collected.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies
CiteCount uses cookies from Google Analytics and LiteAnalytics to enable analytics. Cookies are small text files stored on your device that help us track anonymized usage patterns. You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings, though this may affect some analytics functionality.

Local Storage
We use your browser's local storage to save settings (e.g., light/dark mode preferences) and, if AutoSave is enabled, your text content and citation enabling states. This data remains on your device and is not transmitted to us. It ensures your work is preserved locally if you refresh or leave the page.

User-Provided Content
When you use CiteCount to count words or process text, all operations happen locally on your device. We do not collect, store, or transmit any of the text, citations, or other content you input into the Service to our servers.

2. How We Use Your Information

The anonymized analytics data we collect is used solely to:

Monitor and improve the performance of CiteCount
Understand how users discover and navigate the Service
Enhance user experience and functionality

No data from your inputs or processed content is used by us, as it remains entirely on your device.

3. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or share your personal information with third parties, except as follows where anonymized analytics data is shared:

Analytics Providers: Google Analytics and LiteAnalytics process anonymized data on our behalf, subject to their respective privacy policies.

4. Your Choices and Rights

Cookies: You can opt out of analytics cookies via your browser settings or tools like the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-On.
EU/EEA Residents: If you're in the European Economic Area, you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including access to, correction of, or deletion of your data. Since we only collect anonymized analytics data, these rights primarily apply to cookie-related information. Contact us for assistance (see below).

5. Security

Since all text processing and AutoSave data storage happen on your device, your input data never reaches our servers. For the analytics data we do collect, we rely on the security measures of Google Analytics and LiteAnalytics. However, no online service can guarantee absolute security, and you use CiteCount at your own risk.