Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-06-08

1. Overview

Japan Local Voices ("we", "us", "our") operates the website at japanlocalvoices.com. This Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, why we collect it, and your rights regarding that data. By using our site you agree to the practices described here.

2. Data We Collect

•IP addresses — collected transiently by our hosting provider (Vercel) for security and rate-limiting purposes. We do not store raw IP addresses in our database.
•Hashed IP address (ip_hash) for comments — when you post a comment, your IP address is converted to a one-way HMAC-SHA256 hash and stored alongside the comment. The original IP cannot be recovered from this hash.
•Hashed IP address for report rate limiting — when you submit a content report, the same hash is computed only as an in-memory rate-limit key and is not stored in our database. The hash is discarded when the serverless function instance recycles.
•Anonymous user ID (anon_id) — a 7-character identifier derived from md5(ip_hash | article slug | UTC date), rotated daily. It is used to display a consistent pseudonym within a single day on a single article.
•Comment content — the name (optional) and text you submit when posting a comment.
•Posting country (optional) — when you post a comment you may show a country next to it. By default it is set from your approximate location (a country code supplied by our hosting provider, Vercel, at the moment you post); we do not store your IP address to derive it. You can override it to any country, or choose “Prefer not to say” to store no country at all. The selected country code is stored with the comment and shown publicly.
•Content report data — when you submit a report via the report form, we receive the article URL, the optional comment ID, your written reason, and an optional contact email. This data is forwarded to our operator via email (see Section 4) and is not stored in our database.
•Newsletter email address — if you subscribe to our newsletter, your email address is processed by our newsletter provider (see Section 4) and is not stored in our database.
•Usage analytics — aggregate, anonymised page-view data collected by Vercel Analytics. No cross-site tracking cookies are used.

3. How We Use Your Data

•To display your comment on the article page.
•To display the optional posting country (auto-detected from your approximate location or chosen by you) next to your comment.
•To enforce per-IP rate limits (currently configured at 5 comments per 10 minutes and 3 content reports per hour) to prevent spam and abuse. The report-form limit is a best-effort cap maintained in memory and may admit slightly more requests across concurrent serverless instances.
•To generate a daily-rotating anonymous display ID so readers can distinguish different commenters within a thread.
•To receive, review, and act on content reports submitted via the report form.
•To deliver the newsletter to subscribers (see Section 4).
•To improve site performance and understand content popularity through anonymised analytics.

4. Third-Party Services

We share data with the following third parties as necessary to operate the site:

•Vercel — hosting and edge network. Processes request logs including IP addresses.
•Supabase — database hosting. Stores hashed IP addresses, anon_ids, and comment content.
•Vercel Analytics — anonymised, cookie-free page-view statistics.
•Resend — transactional email delivery. When this service is enabled, it is used to forward content reports from the report form to our operator's inbox. Resend processes the report payload (article URL, optional comment ID, your reason, optional contact email) and retains delivery logs in accordance with its privacy policy. Resend privacy policy
•beehiiv — newsletter delivery. When this service is enabled and you subscribe, your email address is processed by beehiiv. Their privacy policy applies.
•Google AdSense (planned) — display advertising. If enabled in the future, Google may set cookies to serve personalised ads. You will be able to opt out via Google's Ad Settings.
•Amazon Associates and other affiliate networks (planned) — if enabled in the future and you click an affiliate link, the partner network may record that click.

5. Data Retention

Comments and associated hashed data (ip_hash, anon_id) are retained for up to 3 years from the date of posting, after which they are deleted unless a legal obligation requires longer retention. When the report form is enabled and you submit a report, it is delivered as email to our operator's inbox; we retain those messages for as long as needed to act on or document the report, and the email-provider-side logs follow Resend's policy. When the newsletter is enabled and you subscribe, your subscription is managed by our newsletter provider; you can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any newsletter email. To request early deletion of your comment, your report submission, or your newsletter subscription, please contact us at contact@japanlocalvoices.com with the relevant identifiers (article URL, approximate posting time, or email address). We will process requests within 30 days.

6. Cookies

Japan Local Voices does not set first-party tracking cookies. When Google AdSense is enabled (planned), it may set non-essential cookies to serve personalised ads. Under GDPR, we will obtain your prior consent before enabling personalised ads for EU/EEA visitors. You can control cookies through your browser settings or a browser extension such as uBlock Origin.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have rights including:

•Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
•Rectification — request correction of inaccurate data.
•Erasure — request deletion of your data (see Section 5).
•Portability — request your data in a machine-readable format.
•Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interests.

8. Regional Provisions

•GDPR (EU/EEA residents): Our lawful basis for processing comment data is legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR). The purpose is operating a public discussion forum and preventing spam/abuse; the impact on users is minimal as we store only a one-way hash and a daily-rotating pseudonym. You have the rights listed in Section 7. Our data controller contact is contact@japanlocalvoices.com.
•CCPA (California residents): We do not sell personal information. You may request disclosure or deletion of your data.
•Japan Act on Protection of Personal Information: We handle personal information in accordance with applicable Japanese law.

9. Children's Privacy

Japan Local Voices is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe we have collected data from a child, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. For material changes, we will provide at least 30 days' notice via a prominent notice on the site before the change takes effect.

11. Contact

Questions about this policy? Email us at contact@japanlocalvoices.com.

2. Data We Collect

•IP addresses — collected transiently by our hosting provider (Vercel) for security and rate-limiting purposes. We do not store raw IP addresses in our database.

•Hashed IP address (ip_hash) for comments — when you post a comment, your IP address is converted to a one-way HMAC-SHA256 hash and stored alongside the comment. The original IP cannot be recovered from this hash.

•Hashed IP address for report rate limiting — when you submit a content report, the same hash is computed only as an in-memory rate-limit key and is not stored in our database. The hash is discarded when the serverless function instance recycles.

•Anonymous user ID (anon_id) — a 7-character identifier derived from md5(ip_hash | article slug | UTC date), rotated daily. It is used to display a consistent pseudonym within a single day on a single article.

•Comment content — the name (optional) and text you submit when posting a comment.

•Posting country (optional) — when you post a comment you may show a country next to it. By default it is set from your approximate location (a country code supplied by our hosting provider, Vercel, at the moment you post); we do not store your IP address to derive it. You can override it to any country, or choose “Prefer not to say” to store no country at all. The selected country code is stored with the comment and shown publicly.

•Content report data — when you submit a report via the report form, we receive the article URL, the optional comment ID, your written reason, and an optional contact email. This data is forwarded to our operator via email (see Section 4) and is not stored in our database.

•Newsletter email address — if you subscribe to our newsletter, your email address is processed by our newsletter provider (see Section 4) and is not stored in our database.

•Usage analytics — aggregate, anonymised page-view data collected by Vercel Analytics. No cross-site tracking cookies are used.

3. How We Use Your Data

•To display your comment on the article page.

•To display the optional posting country (auto-detected from your approximate location or chosen by you) next to your comment.

•To enforce per-IP rate limits (currently configured at 5 comments per 10 minutes and 3 content reports per hour) to prevent spam and abuse. The report-form limit is a best-effort cap maintained in memory and may admit slightly more requests across concurrent serverless instances.

•To generate a daily-rotating anonymous display ID so readers can distinguish different commenters within a thread.

•To receive, review, and act on content reports submitted via the report form.

•To deliver the newsletter to subscribers (see Section 4).

•To improve site performance and understand content popularity through anonymised analytics.

4. Third-Party Services

We share data with the following third parties as necessary to operate the site:

•Vercel — hosting and edge network. Processes request logs including IP addresses.

•Supabase — database hosting. Stores hashed IP addresses, anon_ids, and comment content.

•Vercel Analytics — anonymised, cookie-free page-view statistics.

•Resend — transactional email delivery. When this service is enabled, it is used to forward content reports from the report form to our operator's inbox. Resend processes the report payload (article URL, optional comment ID, your reason, optional contact email) and retains delivery logs in accordance with its privacy policy. Resend privacy policy

•beehiiv — newsletter delivery. When this service is enabled and you subscribe, your email address is processed by beehiiv. Their privacy policy applies.

•Google AdSense (planned) — display advertising. If enabled in the future, Google may set cookies to serve personalised ads. You will be able to opt out via Google's Ad Settings.

•Amazon Associates and other affiliate networks (planned) — if enabled in the future and you click an affiliate link, the partner network may record that click.

5. Data Retention

6. Cookies

7. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have rights including:

•Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

•Rectification — request correction of inaccurate data.

•Erasure — request deletion of your data (see Section 5).

•Portability — request your data in a machine-readable format.

•Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interests.

8. Regional Provisions

•GDPR (EU/EEA residents): Our lawful basis for processing comment data is legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR). The purpose is operating a public discussion forum and preventing spam/abuse; the impact on users is minimal as we store only a one-way hash and a daily-rotating pseudonym. You have the rights listed in Section 7. Our data controller contact is contact@japanlocalvoices.com.

•CCPA (California residents): We do not sell personal information. You may request disclosure or deletion of your data.

•Japan Act on Protection of Personal Information: We handle personal information in accordance with applicable Japanese law.