We keep this simple: The Space Coast Wire is a news site you read. You can read almost everything without giving us anything.

What this site does not do

• No analytics services, no ad networks, and no trackers.
• No third-party scripts. In fact, the site runs no scripts at all.
• We never sell or share personal data.

When you click a link to another website, our site asks your browser not to tell that site you came from us.

Cookies

If you just read the site, we set no cookies.

If you join or log in as a free member, we set one cookie that keeps you signed in for up to 30 days. It holds a random code, not your email or password. Logging out removes it.

Free membership

Membership is free and optional. To join, you give us an email address and a password. We store your email, the date you joined, and a scrambled (hashed) version of your password. We never store the password itself.

We use your email only to run your account and to reply if you write to us. We don't send newsletters or marketing.

You can delete your account at any time from the Account page. It is removed right away, and you're signed out everywhere.

Visitor counts

Our own server counts page views so we know which stories people read. To count visitors without keeping IP addresses, it mixes your IP address and browser details with a random value that changes every day, and keeps only the resulting scrambled code for that day. Your IP address is never saved.

At the end of each day, those codes and that day's random value are deleted. All we keep are totals: page views, the number of visitors, which pages were read, which websites sent visitors, general country (from Cloudflare), and device type (phone, tablet or computer).

Sign-in protection

To slow down password guessing, our server briefly keeps a scrambled version of your IP address in memory while you sign in or join, for up to an hour. It is never written to disk.

Cloudflare

The site is delivered through Cloudflare. To deliver and protect the site, Cloudflare processes standard request data, such as your IP address, browser type, and the pages you request, and may keep logs under Cloudflare's privacy policy.

Our own server log

Our server keeps a small technical log on our own computer. It records when the site starts, problems with our own story files, sign-ins to the site owner's dashboard, and, if a page fails because of an error on our end, the address of that page. It does not record IP addresses, member emails, or passwords. It has no automatic deletion schedule.

Images

All images are served from our own site. Weather readings, satellite images and aircraft counts come from our own equipment. We publish values and pictures only, never the equipment's exact location.

Ads and sponsored content

Some pages show ads. They are plain images and links that we host ourselves, labeled "Advertisement"; there are no ad networks, tracking pixels or ad scripts. When you click an ad, it goes through a short link on our site (/go/...) so we can count clicks. We keep only totals per ad per day, never who clicked. Sponsored stories are labeled "Sponsored".

Launch videos

On our launch pages, video players from YouTube or X load only after you click "Load live stream". Once loaded, those services may set their own cookies under their own privacy policies.

Flights, launches and inspections

To show flights, launch schedules and inspection records, our server fetches public data from AirLabs, The Space Devs and the State of Florida. Your browser doesn't contact those services.

Email

If you email us, we use your email only to reply to you.

Children

This site isn't directed at children under 13, and children under 13 shouldn't create an account.

Changes

If this policy changes, we'll post the update on this page and change the "Last updated" date.

Contact

Questions about privacy, or want your account removed? Email news@spacecoastwire.com.