Etymologically
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Privacy policy

Last updated 6 October 2026

This policy explains what information Etymologically (etymologically.com) collects when you visit or contribute, what it is used for, and the choices you have. The site is run by Bogdan Giușcă, who is responsible for your data. Questions and requests: [email protected].

If you only read the dictionary

You can read every entry without an account, and we do not ask for your name or email. Some information is still collected automatically, by us and by the services below:

  • Google Analytics counts visits and shows which pages are read, using cookies and information such as your device, browser, approximate location and the page that referred you. We see this only as aggregated statistics. See how Google uses information from sites that use its services.
  • Google AdSense may show ads on the site. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to this site and/or other sites on the Internet. You can opt out of personalized advertising in Google's Ads Settings, or opt out of some third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalized advertising at www.aboutads.info.
  • Cloudflare delivers the site and protects it from abuse. It processes technical data such as your IP address and browser to do so, and may set a short-lived security cookie.
  • Our servers, hosted by Alibaba Cloud, may keep technical logs (such as IP address and the page requested) for a short time to run and secure the site. We do not use them to identify visitors.

If you create an account

Accounts are only needed to edit the dictionary. We store your username, your email address if you give one, and your password in hashed form (we cannot read it). When you log in, a cookie called auth_token keeps you signed in for up to 30 days.

Edits are public: every change to an entry is kept in that entry's history, together with the username of the person who made it and the time. If your account is deleted, your past edits stay in the history but are no longer linked to your username.

Cookies

  • Sign-in (auth_token): only if you log in; needed for editing.
  • Analytics (Google Analytics, e.g. _ga): visit statistics.
  • Advertising (Google and its partners): showing and measuring ads, as described above.
  • Security (Cloudflare): protecting the site from bots and attacks.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings; the dictionary still works without them.

Why we process data

Under the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation, we rely on: our legitimate interest in running, securing and improving the site (server and security logs); providing the service you asked for (your account); and, where the law requires it, your consent (analytics and advertising cookies). Google and Cloudflare may process data outside your country, including in the United States, under their own safeguards.

Social media

We post new entries to Etymologically's accounts on Bluesky, X and Facebook. If you interact with those posts, the network's own privacy policy applies. Our Facebook app is used only to publish posts to our own Facebook Page: it does not log you in, and it does not collect or store any information about Facebook users.

Your rights and data deletion

You can ask to see the personal data we hold about you, correct it, or have it deleted, and you can object to how it is used. To delete your account and its data, or any other data you believe we hold about you (including in connection with our Facebook app), email [email protected] with the subject “Delete my data” and your username if you have one. We will confirm the deletion within 30 days. You also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.

Children

The site is meant for a general audience and is not directed at children under 13. Children under 16 should not create an account without a parent's permission.

Changes

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new date.