Privacy Policy
Last updated October 22, 2026
This policy explains what information VillagePost ("we", "us") collects when you use VillagePost at https://villagepost.net, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. We try to collect as little as we can.
1. What we collect
- Account information: your username, email address, and a one-way hash of your password (we never see or store the password itself).
- Profile information you choose to add: display name, location and "about you" text. These are public.
- Your city: the city you last picked, so the site opens there next time. When you're logged in we also save it on your account so it follows you to your other devices. Only you see this. Pages you create show the city you put them in.
- Content you post: wall and profile posts, comments, forum topics and replies, hearts, pages and events, and who you follow. Most of this is public.
- Private messages you send to other members. Only you and the other person can read them. Moderators see a message only if one of you reports it, and then only that message. We also store who you've blocked.
- Things you share privately: items and notes you send to another user through "share". These are visible to you, the person you send them to, and our administrators when investigating abuse.
- Reports you file about content, which moderators see along with your username.
- Security information: to prevent spam and abuse we record your IP address and the time of sign-ups, logins and password resets. These IP addresses are stored only as a one-way hash and deleted within 24 hours. Our web server also keeps standard access logs (IP address, page requested, browser type) for a short time.
- Usage statistics: we use Google Analytics to understand how many people visit, which pages they look at, and how they found us. See section 4.
2. How we use it
- to run the site: show your content, deliver messages and shares, keep you logged in, remember your city;
- to email you about your account: confirming your address, password resets, username reminders, alerts about new private messages (you can turn these off), and important notices. We don't send marketing email;
- to keep the site safe: preventing spam and abuse, enforcing our terms of use, and responding to reports;
- to understand, in aggregate, how the site is used so we can improve it;
- to comply with the law.
3. Cookies
Cookies are small files your browser keeps for a site. We use:
| cookie | set by | what it's for | how long |
|---|---|---|---|
vpsid | VillagePost | keeps you logged in and protects forms from forgery | 30 days |
vp_city | VillagePost | remembers which city you picked | 1 year |
vp_noga | VillagePost | remembers that you turned Google Analytics off (only if you do) | 5 years |
_ga, _ga_* | Google Analytics | counts visits and tells new visitors from returning ones | up to 2 years |
We don't use advertising cookies. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings; the site works without the Google Analytics cookies, but you need the first one to log in.
4. Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics, a service of Google LLC, to see things like how many people visit, which pages are popular, roughly where visitors are (country, region, city), what kind of device and browser they use, and which website or search sent them. When you visit a public page, your browser sends this information to Google, which processes it for us and gives us totals and charts.
- Google Analytics does not log or store full IP addresses.
- We send Google only the address of the public page you're on, without anything after a "?" (so no search terms or one-time links). Analytics is never loaded on private pages: messages, settings, logging in, signing up, password resets, email links or the admin area.
- We don't send Google your username, email address or anything you post, and we don't link analytics data to your account.
- We have turned off Google signals and ad personalization, and we don't use Google Analytics for advertising.
- We keep analytics data for no more than 14 months.
Google's own use of the information is covered by Google's privacy policy; see also how Google uses information from sites that use its services.
Your choices:
- If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track signal, we don't load Google Analytics at all.
- You can turn it off for this browser here:
- Or install Google's opt-out browser add-on, which works on every site that uses Google Analytics.
5. What we don't do
- We don't sell your personal information, and we don't share it for advertising based on your activity across other sites.
- We don't show ads.
- We don't use advertising trackers.
6. Who can see your information
- Everyone: your username, profile, and anything you post publicly.
- Moderators and administrators: volunteers or staff who keep the site in order can see account details needed for moderation (such as account status and email address) and the content you post, but not your private messages unless one is reported to them. Administrators can see private shares when investigating abuse.
- Service providers that process data for us under contract: our hosting provider (servers and database), our email provider Resend (to deliver account and message-alert emails), and Google (Google Analytics, as described above).
- Legal reasons: we may disclose information if required by law, or if we believe in good faith it's needed to protect someone's safety or our rights.
- If VillagePost is ever transferred to a new owner, your information may transfer with it, under this policy.
7. How long we keep it
We keep your account and content until you delete them. Unconfirmed sign-ups are removed after 3 days, security records within 24 hours, and Google Analytics data after no more than 14 months. Copies in backups are overwritten on a regular schedule.
8. Your choices and rights
- You can edit your profile and change your email or password from your settings.
- You can delete anything you posted, and you can delete your whole account from your settings. That removes your profile and content.
- You can ask us for a copy of your information, or ask us to correct or delete it, by emailing support@villagepost.net. Depending on where you live (for example California or another US state with a privacy law, or the EU/UK), you may have additional rights, such as to opt out of certain uses, and we will honor them. We won't treat you differently for using them.
9. Children
VillagePost is not for children under 13. We don't knowingly collect information from them. If you believe a child under 13 has an account, email us and we will delete it.
10. Security
We use HTTPS, hash passwords with a strong algorithm, and limit who can access personal data. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a password you don't use elsewhere.
11. Changes
If we change this policy in a significant way, we'll post a notice on the site before the change takes effect. The date at the top shows when it last changed.
12. Contact
VillagePost · support@villagepost.net