Privacy policy

Information we process

To provide and protect the website, we and our service providers may process network addresses, browser and device information, access times, requested pages and security logs. If you email us, we receive the contact information and contents you choose to provide.

How we use information

We use this information to operate and secure the website, understand article readership, troubleshoot problems, and respond to inquiries, corrections, privacy requests and copyright concerns. You do not need to create an account simply to read an article.

Region and language choice

For URLs without a specified language, we use country or region information supplied by our hosting platform from the visiting IP to choose Chinese or English. If unavailable, we use browser language, then English. Explicit Chinese and English links keep their language. This feature does not separately store IP or region records or request precise location. With cookie consent, ihs_locale remembers your language for up to 180 days. Without consent, the URL keeps the current language; declining or withdrawing consent removes the preference.

Article text size

When you choose an article text size, the site remembers small, medium or large in this browser’s local storage for other articles, language versions and future visits. This preference uses no cookie, is not sent to our servers and is not used for analytics. You can change it anytime or clear the site’s local browser data. If storage is restricted, text size can still be changed on the current page but may not be remembered.

Illustration preferences

To reduce repeated illustrations, we store illustration preferences in the current browser tab. They are normally cleared when the tab closes. These preferences are used only to rotate illustrations and are not sent to our servers or used for analytics. If local storage is restricted, illustrations remain available but may repeat.

Article reaction limits

To limit repeated reactions, we create a keyed digest from the network address, browser type and article identifier, and store the digest and reaction count rather than the raw network address in the reaction-limit table. The digest is used for the five-reaction limit on that article; no reaction cookie is used. People on the same network with similar browsers may be counted together, while changing network or browser can create a new count.

Anonymous comments

You can post comments without signing in. Comments that pass our comment rules are displayed publicly and stored in our database. Submissions matching restricted language, links or personal information are rejected. Please do not include personal information. We may hide inappropriate comments. To request removal, contact us with the article link and comment text. We do not ask for your name or email, but hosting security logs may include network addresses.

Cookies and reading statistics

With your consent, we use a browser identifier named ihs_reader for up to 30 days to measure article-reading trends over the previous seven days. Each browser is counted at most once per article per day. The statistics use a daily changing identifier without storing an associated raw IP address; records older than 30 days are periodically removed when new statistics are recorded.

You can decline or change your choice at any time using “Cookie settings” in the footer. Declining stops reading statistics and removes the statistics cookie from this browser. We remember a decline in your browser’s local storage. Session cookies used for editorial sign-in do not affect visitors reading the site.

Article rating interactions

When you click an article rating button, we record the total number of clicks for that article to update its score and ranking. Each click counts. This feature does not set a cookie or store a browser identifier or IP address in the counter tables. Separate recent daily totals support trending rankings.

Google website analytics

With your consent, we use Google services to understand website visits. Google may receive information such as device, browser and page-visit data and use cookies; its privacy policy applies. If you decline or withdraw consent, the site will not load Google analytics tags. Google Privacy Policy

Service providers and international processing

We use third parties for hosting, data storage, security and related services. These providers may process information outside your country or region under their service terms and applicable law. We may also disclose information when required by law or to protect legitimate rights.

Retention and security

Apart from the reading statistics described above, retention of logs and correspondence depends on operational, security, provider and applicable legal needs. We take reasonable steps to protect information, but no internet transmission or storage is completely secure.

Your choices and rights

You can manage cookies in your browser. Depending on applicable law, you may have rights to request access to, correction or deletion of personal information, or to object to certain processing. We will handle requests under applicable law and may need to verify your identity.

Article sharing

Share buttons open the selected social platform only when you click, passing the public article link and, where supported, its title. The WeChat button copies the link, and system sharing is provided by your device. We do not load third-party sharing plugins or add sharing cookies. Further activity on a platform is governed by its privacy policy.

External links

News sources and other third-party websites linked here are operated independently. We do not control their content or privacy practices; please review their policies before use.

Contact us

For questions about this policy or your personal information, contact: jiegoo@gmail.com.