Privacy Policy

Information We Collect

PlainCrime's approach to visitor privacy reflects our commitment to responsible data use. Analytics are handled by Umami, a cookie-free platform that does not collect any personal data about visitors. All traffic metrics are stored in anonymized, aggregate form.

Cookies & Tracking Technologies

PlainCrime does not set first-party cookies. However, third-party services used on this site may set cookies:

  • Google AdSense uses cookies to serve ads based on your visits to this and other websites. Google's DoubleClick cookie enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your browsing patterns.
  • Cloudflare may set security cookies (e.g., __cf_bm) to distinguish humans from bots.
  • Google Analytics (GA4) uses cookies to measure website traffic and usage patterns. Data is processed by Google in accordance with their privacy policy.

Your browser's light/dark theme preference is stored in localStorage, which never leaves your device.

Advertising

We display advertisements through Google AdSense. Google and its advertising partners may use cookies and web beacons to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites. This includes:

  • Google's use of the DoubleClick cookie for ad serving
  • Third-party vendors and ad networks serving ads on this site

You can opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. You can also opt out of third-party vendor cookies at aboutads.info. For a full list of Google's ad technology providers, visit Google's ad technology providers page.

Data Sources

All data displayed on this site comes from publicly available crime data from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. No private or proprietary data is used. No personally identifiable information from these datasets is stored or displayed.

Editorial Independence & How Content Is Produced

PlainCrime is produced by a documented, automated data pipeline overseen by our editorial team. Official FBI UCR data is transformed into readable profiles using our published methodology, and every figure is computed directly from the source and checked against it before publication. Individual jurisdiction pages are generated from the validated dataset rather than written by hand; our editorial team maintains the methodology, reviews the output, and handles corrections. See our editorial & corrections policy for details.

We do not accept payment, sponsorship, or promoted placement from law enforcement agencies, cities, states, or any covered entity. Our only revenue source is contextual display advertising served by Google AdSense, advertisers do not influence which jurisdictions we cover or how we present data, and they do not receive preferential placement.

Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services:

Your Rights

Under GDPR, CCPA, and similar privacy regulations, you have the right to:

  • Know what data is collected about you
  • Request deletion of your data
  • Opt out of personalized advertising (see Advertising section above)
  • Use browser privacy features or ad blockers to limit tracking

If you are in the European Economic Area (EEA), you may be presented with a consent dialog for personalized advertising in compliance with GDPR. California residents may opt out of the sale of personal information under CCPA.

Children's Privacy

PlainCrime does not knowingly collect information from children under 13.

Changes

We may update this policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated date.

Contact

Questions about this privacy policy can be directed to privacy@plaincrime.com.