Privacy notice
This notice explains what information Polling Interval handles when you read the site, use a Netcalc tool or write to us. We collect as little as we can.
Reading the site
Every page is readable without an account. We run no third-party analytics or advertising trackers (affiliate links are counted as described below, without identifying anyone), and no social media plug-ins that follow you between sites.
We do keep one small measurement of our own. When a page goes to the background or you leave it, your browser posts a short status line to our server: the page address, the seconds it was actually visible, how far down you got, whether you came from a search engine, an AI assistant, another site or directly, and the country Cloudflare attaches to the request. The line is tied together by a random value that only exists while that page is open, and we store it without any cookie, IP address or browser details. If your browser sends Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control, the line is never sent.
Like any web server, ours briefly records technical details of each request (the address requested, the time, your IP address and browser type) to keep the site running and to stop abuse. These logs are kept for a short time and then deleted. Our hosting and content delivery providers process this data for us to deliver the pages.
Netcalc tools
The calculators run in your browser. The addresses, counter readings and other values you type are not sent to us or stored anywhere.
Writing to us
The contact form sends us your name, the email address you give, the subject and your message. We use them only to read and answer you. Each message is stored on our server and a copy is emailed to the editors' inbox, passing through Cloudflare's email service on the way. Before the form sends anything, Cloudflare Turnstile checks that a person rather than a script is writing; to do that, Cloudflare looks at technical details of your browser and connection under its own privacy policy, and we only receive a pass or fail. Messages are kept for up to two years, then deleted unless the conversation is still going. We never sell or share them and never add you to a mailing list. Please do not send passwords, SNMP community strings or full device configurations.
Affiliate links and their cookies
Some articles link to shops through the CJ Affiliate network. These links carry an identifier for this site, so the shop can credit us with a small commission if you buy something.
When you click such a link, the shop or the network (CJ and the advertiser) may set cookies in your browser to record that the visit came from here. That happens on their sites, under their own privacy notices, and only after you click. A few pages show a labelled sponsored banner served by the CJ network; loading its image lets the network count the view. We receive only summary reports of clicks and orders, never your name or what else you bought. When you click one of these links, your browser also sends us a short note saying which box the link was in and which product or shop it named, so we can see which placements readers find useful. The note carries no IP address, cookie or other identifier and is kept only as daily totals, split by the country Cloudflare reports for the click.
Cookies
The public site sets no cookies of its own. See the cookie policy for the one technical cookie used by the editors' sign-in page and for the third-party cookies mentioned above.
Your rights
Depending on where you live (for example under the EU or UK GDPR, or US state privacy laws such as California's), you may have the right to ask what we hold about you, to have it corrected or deleted, or to object to how it is used. Write to us through the contact page and we will answer within 30 days.
Changes
If this notice changes, the date at the bottom of the page changes with it.