Privacy & Cookie Policy

1. Who we are

Asteroid Close-Approach Tracker is a public website displaying near-Earth object data sourced from NASA's publicly available NeoWs API. The site does not require registration, does not process payments, and does not collect personal data beyond what is described below.

2. What data we collect and why

We collect the following categories of data, with your consent where required:

2a. Essential cookies

We store a single cookie (user_cookie_consent) to remember your cookie preference. This cookie is strictly necessary for the site to honour your choice and expires after 365 days. No consent is required for this cookie under UK PECR.

2b. Analytics cookies (only with your consent)

If you accept analytics cookies, we use the following services. You can withdraw consent at any time via the Cookie preferences link in the footer.

We do not use analytics data for advertising. All Google Analytics signals for advertising (ad_storage, ad_user_data, ad_personalization) are permanently denied.

3. Google Consent Mode V2

We implement Google Consent Mode V2. Before you grant consent, Google Tag Manager loads in a cookieless, consent-pending state — no analytics cookies are set and no personal data is sent to Google. Only after you click "Accept all" does Google Analytics begin tracking and setting cookies. If you reject, GTM continues to load (for technical reasons) but all consent signals remain denied.

4. Microsoft Clarity

Microsoft Clarity records sessions on your device including mouse movements, scrolls, and clicks. This data is used solely to improve the layout and usability of the site. Clarity does not receive any personally identifiable information. The Clarity script is only loaded after you accept analytics cookies. For more information, see Microsoft's Privacy Statement .

5. Third-party data: NASA NeoWs API

Asteroid data is fetched server-side from NASA's public NeoWs API. Your browser does not make any direct requests to NASA. No personally identifiable information is sent to NASA. See NASA's API terms.

6. Your rights

Under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the right to:

• Withdraw consent at any time (via the Cookie preferences link in the footer)
• Request access to any personal data held about you
• Request erasure of your data
• Lodge a complaint with the ICO: ico.org.uk

Because this site collects only anonymous analytics data (IP addresses are anonymised by Google and Clarity), there is generally no personal data to access or erase. Clearing your browser cookies removes all locally stored data.

7. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page will reflect any changes. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.