Privacy
Privacy policy
Last updated October 15, 2026
The short version:
- No ads, no accounts, and no cookies unless you say yes.
- Google Analytics runs only if you tap Allow. It tells us how many people visit, and you can change your mind any time.
- If you share your location, it is used only inside your browser. It is never sent to us, to Google or to anyone else.
- We don’t sell or share personal data.
Who runs this site
Starman Tracker (starmantracker.com) is an unofficial, non-commercial fan project by Bjorn Dunkel. It is not affiliated with SpaceX or Tesla.
What we collect
By default, nothing. The site is a set of static files with no server-side code, database or login. Fonts, images and data are all served from starmantracker.com itself. Unless you allow analytics, loading the page doesn’t contact Google, social networks or any other third party.
Analytics (only with your consent)
On your first visit a small banner asks whether we may count your visit. If you choose No thanks, or simply ignore it, no analytics script is loaded and no analytics cookie is set.
If you choose Allow, we load Google Analytics 4, provided by Google Ireland Ltd. / Google LLC. It records things like the pages you view, how long you stay, your approximate region (derived by Google from your IP address, which Google Analytics 4 does not log or store), your device and browser type, and the referring website. We use this only to understand how many people visit and which parts of the site are used. Google may process this data in the United States.
- Advertising features, Google signals and ad personalisation are switched off.
- Your precise location from “Use my location” is never sent to Google Analytics.
- You can withdraw consent at any time via Cookie settings in the footer. Choosing No thanks there deletes the analytics cookies and stops the script.
The legal basis for analytics is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).
Hosting
The site is hosted by Cloudflare. Like any web host, Cloudflare necessarily processes technical information about each request, such as your IP address, browser type and the page requested, in order to deliver the site and protect it from abuse. We don’t run analytics on top of this, and we don’t use it to identify or profile visitors. Cloudflare handles this data under its own privacy policy.
Your location
Location is optional. Without it you can still see where Starman is relative to the Sun and Earth. If you tap Use my location, your browser asks for permission and, if you allow it, hands your coordinates to the page. They are used only on your device to calculate Starman’s distance from you, its position in your sky and its rise and set times. They are never transmitted anywhere.
- To save you asking again, the page remembers your location in your browser’s local storage, rounded to about 1 km, together with the nearest city name. Use the Clear button in the “In your sky” panel, or clear your browser’s site data, to remove it.
- If you decline, the page estimates a rough location from your device’s timezone setting. This also happens entirely in your browser.
- City search uses a list built into the page, so what you type is never sent to a lookup service.
Motion and compass (“Point my phone”)
Pointing mode reads your phone’s orientation and compass so an arrow can show you where Starman is. On iPhone, Safari asks for permission first. These readings are processed live on your device and are neither stored nor sent anywhere.
Share card
The share image is drawn in your browser. It only leaves your device if you choose to share or download it, and it then goes wherever you send it.
What’s stored on your device
The site itself uses your browser’s own storage, not cookies:
| Key | Where | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
starman:observer | Local storage | Your saved location (only if you set one) |
starman:introSeen | Session storage | Skip the intro animation for the rest of this visit |
starman:analytics | Local storage | Remembers your analytics choice (allowed or declined) |
None of these is ever sent to a server. If you allow analytics, Google Analytics also sets these cookies:
| Cookie | Set by | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga | Google Analytics | Distinguishes visitors | 2 years |
_ga_KXRT5Q8D5F | Google Analytics | Keeps track of the current session | 2 years |
Clearing your browser data removes all of the above.
Sponsors
Sponsor cards are plain links with images served from starmantracker.com. They load no third-party scripts. If you allowed analytics, a click on a sponsor card is counted in Google Analytics (which sponsor was clicked, nothing about you), so sponsors can be told how many clicks they received.
Links to other sites
The site links to other websites such as X, NASA/JPL and GitHub. Their own privacy policies apply once you follow those links.
Your rights
If you are in the EU/EEA or UK, you have the right to access, correct or delete personal data about you, to object to or restrict its processing, and to complain to a data protection authority. We hold no personal data ourselves. For analytics data, withdraw consent via Cookie settings, or contact us and we’ll help.
Changes
If the site ever starts handling data differently, this page will be updated first and the date at the top will change.
Contact
Questions about privacy? Reach out on X: @bjorndunkel.
