Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 30, 2026

ProdStories is a blog. You can read every post without an account, and we don't run a newsletter. We collect as little data as we can. This policy covers what we do collect, why we collect it, and what you can do about it.

Who we are

ProdStories (prodstories.com) is run by three individuals based in the United States: Serhii Zubkov, Yevhen Omelianenko, and Yuliia Svitlychna ("we", "us"). We decide together how the site processes personal data, so under the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) we are joint controllers. Guest authors who write posts for the site are not controllers. They don't get access to visitor data.

To contact us about anything in this policy, email hello@prodstories.com. Any of us can handle your request.

Summary

• We don't sell your personal information.
• We don't ask for your name or email to read the blog.
• Right now we store two small preference cookies and use cookieless, aggregated analytics from our hosting provider.
• We may add more services later: Google Analytics, Google AdSense, comments, and a contact form. They are described below. Where the law requires your consent, we will ask for it before any of them sets cookies or collects data.

What we collect and why

1. Your display preferences

The site remembers two choices you make:

These values are only there to show the site the way you asked. They contain no identifiers, we don't use them for tracking, and we don't share them with anyone. You set them yourself when you use the toggles, so the law treats them as strictly necessary for the service you requested and no consent banner is needed for them. You can delete them at any time in your browser settings.

Legal basis (GDPR): our legitimate interest in remembering the settings you chose (Art. 6(1)(f)).

2. Hosting and server logs

The site is hosted by Vercel Inc. and delivered through Vercel's global content delivery network (CDN), so pages, images, and scripts load from a server near you. Like any web server, Vercel receives technical data when your browser requests a page: your IP address, browser user agent, the requested URL, the referring page, and the time of the request. Vercel uses this data to deliver the site, keep it secure, and troubleshoot errors. Vercel keeps these logs only for a short, limited period.

Legal basis (GDPR): our legitimate interest in running a secure, working website (Art. 6(1)(f)).

3. Vercel Web Analytics and Speed Insights (in use)

We use Vercel Web Analytics to learn which posts people read. It doesn't use cookies. To tell visits apart, it creates a temporary hash from the incoming request and resets that hash every day, so it can't follow you across days or across other websites. We see only aggregated numbers: page views, referrers, countries, and browser, operating system, and device types.

We use Vercel Speed Insights to measure page performance (Core Web Vitals such as load time and layout shift) and find slow pages. It collects performance metrics along with the route, browser, and device and connection type. It doesn't use cookies.

Legal basis (GDPR): our legitimate interest in understanding which content is useful and keeping the site fast (Art. 6(1)(f)).

4. Guest authors

If you write a guest post, we process the details you give us: your name, email address, short bio, photo, and the profile links you choose, along with our correspondence about the post. We use your email only to work with you on the post. We publish only the byline details you approve.

Legal basis (GDPR): performance of our agreement to publish your post (Art. 6(1)(b)).

We keep your byline for as long as your post is published. We keep our correspondence for up to 2 years after the post is published or declined. You can ask us to update or remove your byline details at any time.

Services we may add

We may add the services below in the future. This section describes how each one would process data. When a service goes live, we will update this policy and the "Last updated" date. If you are in the EEA, the UK, or Switzerland, we will ask for your consent before loading any service that sets non-essential cookies.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics 4 gives us more detailed usage statistics, such as how people navigate between posts and how long they stay. It sets first-party cookies (for example, _ga and _ga_<ID>, which last up to 2 years) and processes data such as pages visited, approximate location, device, and browser. Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses. Google processes this data as our service provider.

You can opt out with the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Legal basis (GDPR): your consent (Art. 6(1)(a)).

Google AdSense

Google AdSense would show ads on the site. Google and its third-party vendors use cookies and similar technologies to serve ads based on your previous visits to this site and to other websites. With these advertising cookies, Google and its partners can serve ads based on your visits to ProdStories and other sites on the internet.

• For more detail, see how Google uses information from sites that use its services.
• You can turn off personalized ads in Google's Ad Settings.
• You can opt out of personalized ads from many third-party vendors at aboutads.info (US) or youronlinechoices.eu (EU).

If you are in the EEA, the UK, or Switzerland, a consent tool will ask for your choice before any ad cookies are set. If you decline, Google may still show non-personalized ads.

Legal basis (GDPR): your consent (Art. 6(1)(a)).

Comments

If we add comments, posting one would mean collecting the name or handle you enter, the text of your comment, and the time you posted it. It may also mean collecting your email address (which we would not publish) and your IP address (used to fight spam). If a third-party provider hosts the comments, that provider would process this data under its own policy. We would name the provider here.

Comments are public. Don't post anything in a comment that you don't want other people to see.

Legal basis (GDPR): performance of the service you requested (Art. 6(1)(b)) and our legitimate interest in preventing spam and abuse (Art. 6(1)(f)).

YouTube videos

If we embed YouTube videos in posts, we will use YouTube's privacy-enhanced mode (youtube-nocookie.com). Where possible, we will load the player only after you click it. Before you click, nothing is sent to YouTube. Once the player loads or you press play, Google receives your IP address and browser data, and it may set cookies or use local storage to play the video, count views, and prevent abuse. See the Google Privacy Policy.

Legal basis (GDPR): your consent, given when you click to load the video (Art. 6(1)(a)).

Contact form

If we add a contact form, it would collect what you enter, typically your name, email address, and message. We would use that data only to reply to you. We would not add you to any mailing list.

Legal basis (GDPR): our legitimate interest in answering your message (Art. 6(1)(f)).

Who we share data with

We don't sell your personal information or share it with advertisers directly. Data reaches only the following parties:

• Vercel Inc. (hosting and CDN, Web Analytics, Speed Insights). See the Vercel Privacy Policy.
• Google LLC (Google Analytics, AdSense, and YouTube embeds, if enabled). See the Google Privacy Policy.
• A comments or form provider, if we add one. We will name it here when that happens.
• Authorities, if the law requires it.

International data transfers

We are based in the United States, and our providers process data mainly in the United States. If you visit from the EEA, the UK, or Switzerland, your data will be processed in the US. Our providers protect these transfers with legally recognized safeguards, such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses or the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.

How long we keep data

• Preference cookies: up to 1 year, or until you delete them.
• Server logs: a short period set by Vercel's log retention.
• Analytics: aggregated reports only. We don't keep visitor-level profiles.
• Comments: for as long as the comment is published, or until you ask us to delete it.
• Contact messages: up to 2 years after our last exchange, then deleted.
• Guest author details: your byline for as long as your post is published; correspondence for up to 2 years after the post is published or declined.

Your rights

If you are in the EEA, the UK, or Switzerland

Under the GDPR you have the right to:

• access the personal data we hold about you
• correct inaccurate data
• have your data deleted
• restrict or object to processing, including processing based on our legitimate interests
• receive your data in a portable format
• withdraw consent at any time, without affecting processing that already took place

You also have the right to complain to the data protection authority in your country.

If you are in the United States

Depending on your state (for example, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, or Oregon), you may have the right to know what personal information we collect, to access and delete it, to correct it, and to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information for targeted advertising.

We don't sell personal information. If we enable personalized ads through Google AdSense, you can opt out with the Google tools listed above. We honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals as a request to opt out of targeted advertising. Most browsers don't send a standard "Do Not Track" signal, and we don't respond to one. We don't treat anyone differently for exercising their privacy rights.

How to make a request

Email hello@prodstories.com. We will reply within 30 days (45 days where US state law allows). We may ask for information to confirm the request is really yours. You may also send the request through an authorized agent.

Children

ProdStories is written for professional developers and is not directed at children. We don't knowingly collect personal data from children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA and UK). If you think a child has sent us personal data, email us and we will delete it.

Security

The site is served only over HTTPS. We limit access to any personal data to the three of us and our providers. No website is completely secure, but we collect as little as we can, so there is less that could be exposed.

Changes to this policy

When our practices change, including when we turn on any of the services under "Services we may add", we will update this page and the "Last updated" date. If a change is significant, we will also note it on the site.

Contact

Questions or requests: hello@prodstories.com