Privacy and cookies

Last updated 8 November 2026

The Tech Docs Podcast is made in Ireland by Stuart, Jackie, Jade, Ken and Pat. This page explains what this website collects, why, and what you can do about it. Short version: we don't sell anything about you, we don't run ads, and the only tracking we do is counting visits, and only if you say yes.

Counting visits (Google Analytics)

If you tap Yes on the cookie banner, we use Google Analytics to see how many people visit, which pages and episodes they look at, roughly where in the world they are, and what kind of device they use. It helps us work out what people like.

Google Analytics sets two cookies, _ga and one starting _ga_, to recognise a returning visitor. It doesn't tell us who you are. Google keeps the detailed data for no more than 14 months.

If you tap No thanks, or don't choose at all, Google Analytics doesn't run and those cookies aren't set. You can change your mind at any time:

Things saved on your device

These stay in your own browser and are never sent to us:

• Your cookie choice, so the banner doesn't ask every time.
• Where you stopped in an episode, so you can pick up where you left off.
• A copy of the site's pages, so it loads quickly and works offline if you add it to your home screen.

Clearing your browser's website data removes all of these.

If you get in touch

• Email: if you email us, we use your address and message to reply. We won't add you to a mailing list or pass your details on.
• The message form: the "Send us a message" form on the Contact page is delivered to us by a service called Formspree. Your name and email are optional. We only use what you send to read and answer it.
• Voice messages: these go through SpeakPipe and are covered by their privacy policy as well as ours. We only use them for the show and to reply to you.

Other services the site uses

• Hosting: the site is hosted on GitHub Pages. Like any web host, GitHub may log your IP address for security.
• Episode audio: episodes play from Audioboom, who host the show, so Audioboom sees your IP address and counts the listen.
• Backup episode list: if our own episode list ever fails to load, the site fetches it from Audioboom through a public relay service instead, and that service sees your IP address. This rarely happens.
• Links elsewhere: links to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, podcast apps and news sites take you to their own websites, which have their own privacy policies.

Why we're allowed to use it

• Google Analytics: only because you said yes. You can take that back at any time with the Cookie settings button.
• Emails, form messages and voice messages: because you sent them to us and want a reply, or want to be part of the show.
• Hosting and playing episodes: because the site and the show can't work without them.

How long we keep things

We keep emails, form messages and voice messages so we can follow up and look back at what listeners have sent us. We don't delete them on a schedule, but we'll delete yours whenever you ask.

Google Analytics data is kept for no more than 14 months. Things saved on your device stay until you clear them.

Data outside the EU

Google, GitHub, Formspree, SpeakPipe and Audioboom are based outside Ireland, and some of them are in the United States, so information they handle may be processed there. They protect it using the safeguards GDPR requires for transfers outside the EU, such as the EU–US Data Privacy Framework or the European Commission's standard contract terms.

Your rights

Under data protection law (GDPR), you can ask us what we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, or object to how we use it. Email hello@thetechdocpod.com and we'll sort it out.

If you're not happy with how we've handled something, you can complain to the Data Protection Commission at dataprotection.ie.

Changes

If we change how the site handles your information, we'll update this page and the date at the top.