Privacy policy

This page explains what data Người Việt Nam collects, what it is used for, how long we keep it and what rights you have. Our principles: collect only what is necessary, no account needed to read, no tracking cookies, and we do not sell data.

1. When you read the site

• You do not need an account to read, search or view the map.
• We do not set tracking or advertising cookies. The site does not set cookies to identify you.
• The operating infrastructure (servers, content delivery network) may keep minimal technical logs, which may include IP addresses, to run the service and prevent abuse [TO CONFIRM: provider, server location and log retention period].
• Visit statistics, no cookies. We use the open-source tool Umami, operated by us [TO CONFIRM: server location], to learn which types of pages are read and what to improve. Each page view sends only: the page type and a generic path pattern (for example "article page", without the article name), the language of the page (vi or en), the domain of the site that referred you (without its path), a screen-size group (phone, tablet, computer), the time of the view and a random anonymous code (section 5). We do not send search keywords, the names of articles you read, the text of contributions, your saved-articles list, your IP address or any identifying information, and we do not measure the administration area. The statistics server uses the connection address only to tell visits apart and does not store the raw IP address [TO CONFIRM: verify the real configuration before launch]. If your browser has Do Not Track turned on, we do not load the statistics tool and send nothing.

2. When you search

The keywords you type are used to return results. For keywords with no results, we store an anonymous aggregate (the normalised keyword and how many times it occurred) to learn what content to add. We do not store an IP address or any identifying information with the keyword, and we do not store the text of keywords that look like personal data (email addresses, phone numbers, ID numbers). The aggregate is deleted 90 days after the keyword was last seen.

3. When you send a contribution or an error report

• Data we receive: the text of your contribution, the links you paste, and your name and email if you choose to give them. Your name and email are used only to reply to your contribution; if you leave an email, we promise to reply within 14 days.
• Spam protection: we do not store your IP address. We store a one-way hash of the IP, mixed with a secret key that changes every week, only to detect bursts of submissions. The IP cannot be recovered from this value. Each IP can send only a limited number of contributions per hour.
• Who can see it: editors and administrators can see the name and email. Subject-matter advisors see only the text of the contribution, not the name and email.
• Retention: the name and email are deleted or anonymised 12 months after the contribution has been handled. The text of a contribution without personal data may be kept as a basis for article corrections.
• Reference code: we give you a code to check the status of your contribution. The lookup page shows only the status and dates, never personal data. Keep the code private if you do not want others to see the status.
• No accounts, no file uploads. We accept only text and links.

4. Verifying that you are not an automated program (CAPTCHA)

The contribution page uses Cloudflare Turnstile. This service is loaded only on the contribution page and decides whether you are a real person from technical information about your browser, under Cloudflare's policy. We do not send Cloudflare the text of your contribution, your name or your email.

5. Data stored on your device

Some features store information on your own device (it is not sent to a server), for example turning the search shortcut on or off and, when available, a list of saved articles for re-reading or reading offline. You can remove it by clearing the site data in your browser. What you type in the contribution form is not stored on your device.

For visit statistics only: to count readers who come back after 7 and 30 days without an account or cookies, your browser creates a random code and stores it on your device. This code is unrelated to your identity, is not tied to your saved-articles list and is sent only with page views. How to remove it: clear the site data in your browser settings (privacy section); the code is deleted and you are counted as a new reader. Statistics are kept for [TO CONFIRM: retention period, proposed 13 months] [PENDING LEGAL REVIEW: whether a persistent device code counts as an identifier under personal-data rules, and whether an accept-or-refuse mechanism is needed].

6. Your rights

You can ask to see, correct or delete the personal data you gave us (the name and email in a contribution). Please contact us through the Contact / Content removal page and quote the reference code of the contribution. We will verify the request before acting on it [PENDING LEGAL REVIEW: response time, basis under Vietnamese personal-data protection rules, for example Decree 13/2023/ND-CP].

7. Sharing with third parties

We do not sell or rent personal data. We use infrastructure providers to run the site (hosting, content delivery network, image storage) and Cloudflare Turnstile as described in section 4; they process data only on our instructions or under their own policies (the statistics tool is operated by us and statistics are not shared with third parties) [TO CONFIRM: list of providers, where data is stored, transfers outside Vietnam]. We may disclose data when a competent state authority requires it in accordance with the law.

8. Changes to this policy

When the way we handle data changes, we update this page and note the date. The general terms are in the Terms of use.