ViewSource.net

Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 8, 2026

1. Introduction

ViewSource.net ("we", "our", or "the Service") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard information when you use our website source code viewing service.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

  • URLs: We temporarily process URLs that you submit to view source code. These URLs are not stored permanently.
  • No Account Required: ViewSource.net does not require user registration or accounts, so we do not collect personal information like names, email addresses, or passwords.

2.2 Automatically Collected Information

  • IP Address: We temporarily process IP addresses for rate limiting purposes. These are not stored permanently.
  • Browser Information: Standard web server logs may include browser type, device type, and referring URLs for technical maintenance purposes.
  • Analytics: We use Google Analytics to understand how users interact with our Service. This includes page views, session duration, and general usage patterns. Google Analytics may set cookies in your browser.
  • Advertising: We display advertising through Mediavine. Mediavine and its advertising partners may set cookies and similar technologies and collect information such as your IP address, device and browser type, operating system, and interactions with ads, in order to serve and measure advertising. See section 6 for the full disclosure.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for the following purposes:

  • Service Delivery: To fetch and display website source code as requested
  • Rate Limiting: To prevent abuse and ensure fair usage of the Service
  • Service Improvement: To analyze usage patterns and improve the Service
  • Technical Maintenance: To diagnose technical issues and maintain service reliability
  • Security: To detect and prevent fraudulent or malicious activity

4. Data Storage and Retention

  • No Permanent Storage: URLs you submit and the source code retrieved are processed in real-time and are not permanently stored on our servers.
  • Temporary Data: Rate limiting data is processed transiently at the edge and is not retained beyond the short rate-limit window.
  • Analytics Data: Google Analytics retains data according to their retention policies, which you can learn more about in Google's Privacy Policy.
  • Advertising Data: Data collected by Mediavine and its advertising partners is retained by those companies under their own retention policies, which we do not control. See section 6 and the Mediavine Partners list.

5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We and our third-party partners use cookies and similar tracking technologies to provide and improve our Service and analyze usage. Here are the types of cookies we use:

5.1 Essential Cookies

  • Theme Preference: We store your light/dark theme preference in your browser's local storage for convenience. This data never leaves your device.
  • PWA Installation: If you install ViewSource.net as a Progressive Web App (PWA), your browser may cache application files locally for offline functionality.

5.2 Analytics Cookies

  • Google Analytics: Google Analytics sets cookies to track usage across sessions, including page views, session duration, and user interactions. You can disable these cookies through your browser settings or by using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

5.3 Advertising Cookies

  • Mediavine and its advertising partners: We use Mediavine to manage the advertising on this Service. Mediavine and the partners it works with set first- and third-party cookies and similar technologies (tags, pixels, and beacons) to serve advertising, to measure whether ads were seen and interacted with, and — where you have not opted out — to serve interest-based (personalised) advertising. The full disclosure, the categories of data collected, and the partner list are set out in section 6.
  • Opting out: If you opt out of personalised advertising, you will still see ads on the Service, but they will be non-personalised. See section 9 for how to opt out.

5.4 Managing Cookies

You can control and manage cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to refuse cookies or delete specific cookies. However, blocking certain cookies may affect your experience on our Service. For more information on managing cookies, consult your browser's help documentation.

6. Third-Party Services

6.1 Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to analyze Service usage. Google Analytics collects information such as how often users visit the Service, what pages they visit, and what other sites they used prior to coming to the Service. We use this information to improve our Service. Google Analytics collects only the IP address assigned to you on the date you visit the Service, not your name or other identifying information.

You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Mediavine Programmatic Advertising (Ver 1.1)

The Website works with Mediavine to manage third-party interest-based advertising appearing on the Website. Mediavine serves content and advertisements when you visit the Website, which may use first and third-party cookies. A cookie is a small text file which is sent to your computer or mobile device (referred to in this policy as a "device") by the web server so that a website can remember some information about your browsing activity on the Website.

First party cookies are created by the website that you are visiting. A third-party cookie is frequently used in behavioral advertising and analytics and is created by a domain other than the website you are visiting. Third-party cookies, tags, pixels, beacons and other similar technologies (collectively, "Tags") may be placed on the Website to monitor interaction with advertising content and to target and optimize advertising. Each internet browser has functionality so that you can block both first and third-party cookies and clear your browser's cache. The "help" feature of the menu bar on most browsers will tell you how to stop accepting new cookies, how to receive notification of new cookies, how to disable existing cookies and how to clear your browser's cache. For more information about cookies and how to disable them, you can consult the information at All About Cookies.

Without cookies you may not be able to take full advantage of the Website content and features. Please note that rejecting cookies does not mean that you will no longer see ads when you visit our Site. In the event you opt-out, you will still see non-personalized advertisements on the Website.

The Website collects the following data using a cookie when serving personalized ads:

  • IP Address
  • Operating System type
  • Operating System version
  • Device Type
  • Language of the website
  • Web browser type
  • Email (in hashed form)

Mediavine Partners (companies listed below with whom Mediavine shares data) may also use this data to link to other end user information the partner has independently collected to deliver targeted advertisements. Mediavine Partners may also separately collect data about end users from other sources, such as advertising IDs or pixels, and link that data to data collected from Mediavine publishers in order to provide interest-based advertising across your online experience, including devices, browsers and apps. This data includes usage data, cookie information, device information, information about interactions between users and advertisements and websites, geolocation data, traffic data, and information about a visitor's referral source to a particular website. Mediavine Partners may also create unique IDs to create audience segments, which are used to provide targeted advertising.

If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices to opt-in or opt-out of this data collection, please visit National Advertising Initiative opt out page. You may also visit Digital Advertising Alliance website and Network Advertising Initiative website to learn more information about interest-based advertising. You may download the AppChoices app at Digital Advertising Alliance's AppChoices app to opt out in connection with mobile apps, or use the platform controls on your mobile device to opt out.

For specific information about Mediavine Partners, the data each collects and their data collection and privacy policies, please visit Mediavine Partners.

6.3 External Websites

When you use our Service to view source code, we make HTTP requests to third-party websites on your behalf. We do not control these websites and are not responsible for their privacy practices. Please review the privacy policies of any websites you choose to inspect.

7. Data Sharing and Sale of Information

7.1 Sale and Sharing of Personal Information

We do not sell your personal information for money. We do not rent or trade your personal information, and we do not sell the URLs you submit or the source code retrieved.

However, you should understand the following. We display interest-based advertising through Mediavine, and that advertising involves disclosing certain information about your device and browsing (described in section 6) to advertising partners.Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA) and several other US state privacy laws, this kind of disclosure for cross-context behavioural advertising is treated as a "sale" or "share" of personal information, even though no money changes hands. We therefore treat it as such, and you have the right to opt out — see section 9.2 for how.

7.2 Data Sharing with Service Providers

We may share information with the following categories of third-party service providers:

  • Analytics Providers: Google Analytics helps us understand how users interact with our Service
  • Advertising Providers: Mediavine and the advertising partners it works with serve, measure, and optimise the ads shown on the Service
  • Infrastructure Providers: Hosting and content delivery services that help us operate the Service

These service providers are contractually obligated to use your information only for the purposes of providing services to us and are required to protect your information in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

7.3 Legal Disclosures

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., a court or government agency), including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements.

8. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect the information we process:

  • All connections to our Service use HTTPS encryption
  • Rate limiting is enforced to prevent abuse
  • We do not store sensitive user data permanently
  • Access to server infrastructure is restricted and monitored

However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

9. Your Privacy Rights

9.1 General Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights:

  • Access: Request information about the personal data we process about you
  • Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data (temporary data is automatically deleted after the rate limit window expires)
  • Opt-Out of Analytics: Disable Google Analytics through browser settings or the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on
  • Opt-Out of Personalised Advertising: Use the advertising opt-out tools listed in section 6 — the NAI opt-out page and the Digital Advertising Alliance. If you are in a region where a consent prompt is shown, you can also withdraw or change your consent there. Opting out does not remove ads; it makes them non-personalised.
  • Cookie Management: Control cookies through your browser settings

9.2 California Privacy Rights (CCPA/CPRA)

California residents have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA):

  • Right to Know: You can request information about the categories and specific pieces of personal information we collect, use, and disclose
  • Right to Delete: You can request deletion of your personal information
  • Right to Opt-Out of Sale or Sharing: Because we serve interest-based advertising, we treat the disclosure of advertising identifiers and related data to our advertising partners as a "sale"/"share" under the CCPA/CPRA (see section 7.1). You can opt out using the tools listed in section 6 and section 9.1, and we honour the Global Privacy Control signal (see section 13)
  • Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights
  • Right to Correct: You can request correction of inaccurate personal information
  • Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information: We do not collect or use sensitive personal information

Because we do not permanently store the URLs you submit, the source code retrieved, or your IP address, the access, deletion, and correction rights are largely satisfied by our data handling practices — there is very little held about you to access, delete, or correct. The exception is advertising: data collected by our advertising partners is held by those companies under their own policies, and the opt-out right described above is the mechanism that applies to it.

9.3 US State Privacy Laws (Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Others)

Residents of Virginia (VCDPA), Colorado (CPA), Connecticut (CTDPA), Utah (UCPA), and other states with comprehensive privacy laws have similar rights:

  • Right to access personal data
  • Right to delete personal data
  • Right to correct inaccuracies
  • Right to opt out of the sale of personal data and of targeted/interest-based advertising — see section 7.1 and section 9.2

9.4 European Privacy Rights (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

  • Right to access your personal data
  • Right to rectification of inaccurate data
  • Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten")
  • Right to restrict processing
  • Right to data portability
  • Right to object to processing (including for direct marketing)
  • Right to withdraw consent at any time
  • Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

Because we do not permanently store the URLs you submit, the source code retrieved, or your IP address, most of these rights are satisfied by our data handling practices — temporary data is deleted automatically once its purpose is served.

Advertising is handled separately. Where consent is required, a consent prompt is shown before non-essential advertising cookies are set, and you can withdraw or change that consent at any time through the same prompt. Data collected by our advertising partners is held by those companies as independent controllers or joint controllers under their own policies; the partner list and their individual privacy policies are linked in section 6.

10. Children's Privacy

ViewSource.net is not directed to children under the age of 13 (or 16 in the EEA). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under these ages. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can delete such information.

11. International Data Transfers

The Service may be hosted on servers in various locations worldwide. By using the Service, you consent to the transfer of your information to countries that may have different data protection laws than your country of residence. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable laws.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. We will notify you of any material changes by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy. Your continued use of the Service after such modifications constitutes your acknowledgment of the modified Privacy Policy.

13. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control

Some browsers include a "Do Not Track" (DNT) feature that signals to websites you visit that you do not want to be tracked. Because there is not yet a common understanding of how to interpret DNT signals, we do not currently respond to DNT signals. However, you can use the opt-out mechanisms described in this Privacy Policy to control tracking.

We do recognise the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal. GPC is a browser or extension setting that communicates an opt-out of the sale or sharing of your personal information. Where your browser sends a GPC signal, it is treated as a valid opt-out request for interest-based advertising, as required under the CCPA/CPRA and comparable US state privacy laws.

14. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, our privacy practices, or wish to exercise your privacy rights, please contact us through our website.