Privacy Policy

The short version

Was That A Quake? does not require an account, does not track you across sites, and does not sell your data to anyone. We collect the minimum information needed to run the website and nothing more.

What we collect on this site

When you visit, your browser sends standard request data to our server: your IP address, user agent, referring URL, and the pages you visit. We use this only to operate the service — for example, to apply rate limiting and to log errors. We do not associate it with you personally and we do not share it with third parties.

We use Google Analytics to measure aggregate traffic patterns — page views, referrers, device types, country. Google Analytics sets first-party cookies in your browser to recognise repeat visits. We do not view individual-level reports and we do not use Google's advertising integrations.

What we don't do

• We don't require an account or store personal information.
• We don't fingerprint your browser.
• We don't sell, rent, or share your data with anyone.
• We don't use advertising or behavioural-targeting products that profile users.

Earthquake & tsunami data sources

When the site fetches data from official agencies (USGS, GeoNet, JMA, BMKG, EMSC, Geoscience Australia, NOAA), those requests are made by our server — not your browser — so those agencies do not receive your IP address.

Third parties involved in rendering this site

To deliver the experience, your browser makes requests to:

• A map tile provider, for the background map. Standard HTTP request data is sent when your browser loads tiles.
• An affiliate ad network, for any advertisement creatives shown on the page. The network receives standard HTTP request data when your browser loads an ad banner, and uses it to track impressions and credit click-throughs.
• Google Analytics, for aggregate traffic measurement (see above).

Each third party operates under its own privacy policy.

Affiliate links

Some links on this site are affiliate links, meaning we may earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. Affiliate links are labelled with rel="sponsored" and a visible "Sponsored" tag, and click tracking is handled by the affiliate network and the destination merchant.

Children's privacy

Was That A Quake? is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13.

Changes to this policy

If we update this policy, we'll change the "last updated" date at the top. Material changes will be communicated more prominently.