Privacy Policy

Overview

LevelUpShelf is an independent guide to LitRPG and progression fantasy books. This policy explains what data we collect when you visit the site, how we use it, and what your rights are. Short version: we don't sell your data, we run no ads or affiliate trackers, and we keep collection minimal.

What we collect

Analytics. We use Google Analytics 4 to count page views, but it only loads if you click Accept on the cookie banner. Until then no analytics script is downloaded and no analytics cookie is set. Google Consent Mode starts at “denied”; Accept only allows analytics storage. Advertising storage, ad personalisation and Google signals stay off for everyone. We see totals such as page views, the site that sent you and your approximate country.

“Was this helpful?” votes. Guides have a helpful / not helpful button. We store the vote count per article. To stop repeat votes, we keep a one-way hash of your IP address for about an hour, then it expires. We cannot turn the hash back into your IP address.

Things saved in your browser. Your theme choice (light or dark), the articles you save, the articles you have opened and, when a cookie banner is shown, your banner choice are stored in your browser's localStorage. They never leave your device and we never see them. Clearing your browser data removes them.

Server logs. Like every website, our web server and our network provider (Cloudflare) see your IP address, browser type and the page you asked for when you load a page. We use these logs only to keep the site running and secure.

Email. If you email us at contact@levelupshelf.com or admin@levelupshelf.com, we keep your message and address only to reply. We don't add you to any list or share your address. There are no accounts, comments or newsletter sign-ups on LevelUpShelf.

Cookies

The only cookies we set are Google Analytics 4 cookies (_ga and _ga_*), and only after you click Accept. If you click Decline, or ignore the banner, none are set. We never use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. You can withdraw your consent at any time: clear this site's cookies and data in your browser. That deletes the Google Analytics cookies and your stored choice, nothing loads again until you click Accept, and the banner asks again on your next page.

No ads, no affiliate links

LevelUpShelf shows no advertising and uses no affiliate links. Links to Amazon, Audible, Royal Road, Goodreads or publishers are plain links to the page a fact came from. See how we source facts.

Third-party services

Articles may embed a Reddit post or a YouTube video. Those embeds load from Reddit or YouTube, which can set their own cookies when you play or interact with them. See Google's privacy policy for details. External links (publishers, Amazon, Audible, Royal Road, Goodreads, Reddit) are subject to their own privacy policies, which we don't control.

Data storage and security

The site runs on a rented server (VPS) behind Cloudflare. We don't store payment information because we don't sell anything on this site.

Your rights

You can ask us what data we hold about you (if any), request deletion, or object to its use. Email admin@levelupshelf.com and we'll respond within 5 business days. Since we collect almost nothing personally identifiable, most requests are quick to resolve.

Changes to this policy

If we change how we handle data in a meaningful way, we'll update this page with a new date. Continued use of the site after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.