BeLibre uses Matomo, a self-hosted analytics tool, to see how many people visit the site and which pages they read. We run Matomo on our own server at analytics.gaeremyn.be. We do not share any data with third parties, we do not use advertising trackers, and we do not sell or profile anyone.
# Nothing runs until you choose
On your first visit we do not load Matomo and we store nothing on your device. We show a banner with three options, and you decide how much we may measure. Until you choose, your browser sends no request to our analytics server.
# The three choices at a glance
| No tracking | Without cookies | With cookies | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matomo analytics | Does not load | Runs, no cookie | Runs |
| Cookie in your browser | None | None | One first-party cookie |
| Data sent to our server | None | Yes | Yes |
| Your visit is counted | No | Yes | Yes |
| Pages read and rough region | Not recorded | Recorded | Recorded |
| Returning visits recognised | No | No | Yes |
| The rest of the site | Works fully | Works fully | Works fully |
# No tracking
Matomo is not loaded. Your browser never contacts our analytics server, no cookie is set, and nothing about your visit is recorded. You are not counted, so we gain no insight into which articles and pages readers find most interesting. We are left guessing about what our work is worth to you.
# Without cookies
Matomo runs, but it sets no cookie and stores nothing on your device. We can see that someone visited, which pages they opened, and a rough region worked out from your IP address. The last two bytes of that address (its final two numbers, for example 84.197.x.x) are removed before it is stored. A full IP address can identify a single internet subscription, such as one home or office; with its last two numbers gone, what remains points only to a broad area like a province or a large city. That is what keeps the measurement anonymous: there is no complete address left that could be linked back to your connection. Because there is no cookie, we cannot tell whether you have been here before: every visit looks new to us.
# With cookies
Everything from “Without cookies”, plus one small first-party cookie. “First-party” means it belongs to BeLibre and is read only by our own server, never by anyone else. It lasts about 13 months and lets us recognise a return visit as the same person instead of a new one. Your IP address still has its last two bytes removed before storage, so a visit still cannot be traced back to you by name, and we still do not follow you to other websites.
# Changing your choice
You can change your mind at any time. Use the “Privacy settings” link in the footer to reopen the banner and pick a different level. If you move to a level without cookies, any Matomo cookie is deleted.