Privacy by Design: Why we don't have a cookie notice

A Different Approach

You might have noticed something missing on Onetime Secret: there's no cookie consent banner. That's not an oversight—it's by design. While most websites greet you with pop-ups about tracking and cookies, we've taken a deliberately different approach: we don't track you at all.

Just the Essentials

Our service uses only the bare minimum cookies needed for core functionality:

• Session management
• Language and color mode preferences
• Data center selection (currently EU and US jurisdictions)

That's it. No tracking cookies, no third-party analytics, no behavior monitoring.

Real Benefits of Not Tracking

This minimal approach delivers tangible benefits:

• Smaller attack surface for enhanced security
• Straightforward privacy policy without surprises
• Faster page loads without tracking
• scripts and bloated requests
• No cross-site tracking concerns

Proven Since 2012

As a service that's been operating since 2012, we've proven that respecting privacy and delivering value go hand in hand. While others rely on tracking for improvements, we focus on what matters: direct user feedback and essential operational metrics. This keeps us aligned with our core mission of providing a reliable, trustworthy service for sharing sensitive information.

How We Improve Without Tracking

Some ask how we improve our service without detailed analytics. Our approach is simple:

1. Direct user feedback through via email and our feedback page
2. Open-source community contributions and insights
3. Focus on core functionality and security

Open Source for Transparency

Our commitment to privacy extends to transparency about our practices. Our entire codebase is open source, allowing anyone to verify our privacy claims. We believe this level of transparency is essential for building and maintaining trust.

Privacy in Practice

This isn't just about avoiding cookie notices—it's about providing a service that can earn your trust. When you share sensitive information through Onetime Secret, you can be confident that we're protecting not just your secrets, but your privacy at every level.

Learn More

Our open-source repository shows exactly how we implement these privacy principles in practice. We believe the best way to prove our commitment to privacy is to show our work.

This post is part of our ongoing commitment to transparency and privacy-focused service delivery. For technical details about our privacy practices, see our Privacy Policy.

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