Privacy Policy

1. Core Privacy Philosophy

ShortLink operates under a strict Privacy by Design standard. We believe that link shortening and campaign attribution do not require invasive cross-site user tracking or the storage of personal identifiable information (PII).

2. Visitor Click Analytics & IP Anonymization

When an end-user clicks a ShortLink short URL, our edge redirect proxy processes the HTTP request to route to the destination URL. To protect visitor privacy:

• No Plaintext IP Storage: We do not write raw visitor IP addresses to persistent storage or long-term analytics logs.
• HMAC-SHA256 Salting: Unique click attribution is computed using a rotating daily cryptographic salt via HMAC-SHA256. Hashes reduce direct identification but remain subject to privacy review.
• Coarse Geolocation Only: Geolocation resolution is performed in-memory at country/region granularity before request termination.

3. Information Collected from Account Holders

When you register an account to manage links, we collect:

• Account email address and authentication credentials (hashed using Argon2id/bcrypt).
• Created short links, tags, custom aliases, and destination URLs.
• Connected custom domains and DNS verification records.
• API key generation records and webhook endpoint URLs.

4. Cookies & Consent Management

ShortLink utilizes a privacy-first consent engine governed by our first-party cookie (sl_consent_pref). Our cookie policy divides browser storage into three strict categories:

• Essential Cookies (Always Active): Session tokens, CSRF protection, and high-speed link redirection. These cookies store zero marketing profiles and cannot be disabled.
• Analytics Telemetry (Opt-In): Pseudonymized, privacy-safe metrics to measure application performance and feature usage.
• Advertising & Promotions (Opt-In): Authorizes third-party sponsor units. No advertising scripts load before opt-in. House promotions appear only when explicitly configured; disabled placements render nothing.

Visitors may view and revise their consent choices at any time using the Cookie Preferences link located in the platform footer.

5. Advertising Boundaries

ShortLink adheres to a fundamental architectural principle: User Task First, Monetization Second. Promotional units are strictly limited to non-critical public marketing surfaces (homepage, tool result footers, and blog articles). Advertising code, third-party SDKs, and tracking beacons are strictly forbidden and permanently air-gapped from:

• Short link redirects (/[shortCode])
• Password unlock screens (/unlock/*)
• Trust & Safety abuse reporting portals (/report)
• Customer dashboards and administrative consoles (/dashboard/*, /admin/*)

6. Affiliate Monetization & Outbound Redirects

Certain editorial blog posts and recommendation cards contain affiliate links served through our dedicated outbound redirect namespace (/go/[slug]). When a visitor clicks an affiliate link:

• All affiliate links are clearly marked with an adjacent Affiliate Disclosure and use standardized rel="sponsored nofollow" attributes.
• Click telemetry records only the link identifier, placement, and whether the visitor was a bot or human. No raw IP addresses or persistent cross-site tracking profiles are created.
• Outbound affiliate destinations are verified against our centralized Trust & Safety blocklist and anti-SSRF security engine to prevent open redirect vulnerabilities.

7. Third-Party Provider Integrations

No external advertising or marketing analytics provider is currently connected. Future integrations require provider approval, legal review, consent controls, and explicit Content Security Policy rules. Development placeholders are labelled examples and are unavailable in production. These technical controls do not establish compliance with any particular privacy law.

8. Data Retention & Erasure

Users may request account deletion and the purge of all associated links, custom domains, and historical analytics at any time via account settings or by contacting support@urlshortpilot.com.