Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to Yrkus ("we," "us," "our"). We are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our website, yrkus.com, and our URL shortening services (collectively, the "Service").

By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with the terms of this privacy policy, please do not access the service.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information in a few different ways to operate and improve our Service.

2.1. Information You Provide to Us

When you create a short link, you voluntarily provide us with:

• The Long URL: The original destination URL that you wish to shorten.
• Optional Custom Slug: If you choose to customize your short link, we collect the custom alias you provide.
• Optional Expiration Date: If you set an expiration time for your link, we collect this information.

We do not require you to create an account or provide any personally identifiable information like your name or email address to use our basic Service.

2.2. Information We Collect Automatically

When you interact with our Service, either by creating a link or visiting one, we automatically collect certain information:

• When Creating a Link: We log your IP address to monitor for and prevent abuse of our Service, such as spam or malicious activity.
• When Visiting a Short Link: For the purpose of providing analytics to the link's creator, we collect the following information from visitors who click on a Yrkus link:
  • IP Address (used to derive the country of origin)
  • Country of Origin
  • Browser Type and Version (e.g., Chrome, Firefox)
  • Operating System (e.g., Windows, macOS, iOS, Android)
  • The date and time of the visit.
• Log and Usage Data: Like most websites, our servers automatically record information ("Log Data") created by your use of the Service. This Log Data may include information such as your IP address, browser type, the referring domain, pages visited, and search terms.

2.3. Information from Third-Party Services

We use third-party services to help operate and secure our platform. These services may collect information from you.

• Google reCAPTCHA: To protect our Service from spam and automated abuse, we may use Google reCAPTCHA. This service collects hardware and software information, such as device and application data, and sends it to Google for analysis. Your use of reCAPTCHA is subject to Google's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes, including:

• To Provide and Maintain the Service: To create short links, redirect visitors to the correct destination URL, and enforce link expiration.
• To Provide Public Analytics: To collect and display aggregated, non-personally identifiable statistics for each short link, which are publicly accessible.
• To Ensure Security and Prevent Abuse: To monitor for malicious activity, spam, and other violations of our Terms of Service. IP addresses are used to identify and block abusive usage patterns.
• To Improve Our Service: To understand how users interact with our Service, diagnose technical problems, and develop new features.

4. Data Sharing and Disclosure

Your privacy is important to us, and we do not sell your personal information. However, we may share information under the following circumstances:

• Public Analytics Data: The analytics data associated with a short link (total visits, country, browser, and OS data) is publicly available to anyone who has access to the link's statistics page. This data is aggregated and does not contain personally identifiable information such as full IP addresses.
• Service Providers: We may share information with third-party vendors and service providers who perform services for us, such as website hosting and data analysis. These providers are obligated to protect your data and are restricted from using it for any other purpose.
• Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, protect and defend our rights or property, prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service, or protect the personal safety of users or the public.

5. Data Retention

We retain data for as long as it is necessary to provide our Service and for the purposes outlined in this policy.

• URL Data: Information about a short link (the long URL, short code, and analytics data) is retained indefinitely unless the link expires or is deleted for a violation of our terms.
• Request Logs: IP address logs used for abuse detection are retained for a limited period, typically no longer than 30 days, after which they are securely deleted.

6. Data Security

We use a combination of technical, administrative, and physical controls to maintain the security of your data. We take reasonable measures to protect the information we collect from loss, theft, misuse, and unauthorized access. However, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and we cannot guarantee the security of your data.

7. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not directed to individuals under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete that information.

8. Your Data Rights

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal data under laws like the GDPR or CCPA. Because we collect very limited personal data and do not have user accounts, exercising these rights may be challenging. However, if you have questions or concerns about your data, please contact us.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date at the top. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us through the contact form or email address provided on our website.