Privacy policy

Who runs this site

Route 66 Trip Guide (route66tripguide.com) is an independent website; more about it is on the About page. For any question about privacy, write to hello@route66tripguide.com.

What we collect ourselves

Nothing that names you. There is no sign-up, no newsletter, no payment and no form that sends us personal details. We never ask for your device's location.

If you email us, we receive your address and your message. We use them only to answer you and do not add you to any list.

What stays in your browser

To work without an account, the site keeps a few things in your browser's own storage, on your device:

• the places you saved with the heart ("My trip");
• the last plan you opened, so the planner can offer to continue it;
• your recent searches on the site;
• where you were in a list, so "Back" returns you to the same spot (until you close the tab);
• your answer to the cookie question, so we do not ask on every page.

We have no database of visitors, and this storage is not sent to us. You can remove saved places with "Clear all" in My trip, or wipe everything by clearing this site's data in your browser settings.

A trip or a plan is simply a web address: the towns and stops are written in the link. Anyone you send the link to sees the same trip, and like any page address it is visible to the services described below.

Analytics and cookies

To understand which pages are useful and where people get stuck, we use:

• Google Analytics. It counts visits and pages and records roughly where visitors are (country and city, worked out from the IP address), what device and browser they use and how they arrived. It sets cookies whose names start with _ga. See how Google uses this information. To opt out everywhere, Google offers a browser add-on.
• Microsoft Clarity. It shows us how pages are used through heatmaps and session replays: which page was open, where visitors tapped or clicked, how far they scrolled, and their device, browser and country. What you type into a field is masked in replays by default; the address of the page is recorded. It sets cookies named _clck and _clsk, and Microsoft may set its own cookies as well. Microsoft also uses this data for its own purposes, including advertising, as described in the Microsoft Privacy Statement.

We look at this information in summary, to improve the site. We do not try to work out who a visitor is.

Your choice

• In Europe (we go by your browser's time zone: the EU, the UK and their neighbours) these tools stay switched off until you choose "Allow" in the cookie notice. Until then nothing is loaded from Google or Microsoft and no analytics cookie is set.
• Elsewhere they are on unless you switch them off.
• If your browser sends the Global Privacy Control signal, we treat it as "No thanks".

You can change your mind at any time: open Cookie settings (the same link is at the bottom of every page). Choosing "No thanks" also removes the analytics cookies already set. Your answer is kept in your browser for a year, then we ask again. The site works the same either way; you can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings.

Other services your browser contacts

Some parts of a page are loaded from other services. As with any website, each of them sees your IP address and basic browser details when your browser asks for its part:

• Vercel hosts the site and keeps standard server logs (privacy notice).
• OpenFreeMap sends the map tiles when a map is shown (privacy).
• Wikimedia Commons serves the photos (privacy policy).
• Photon (by komoot) and Wikidata look up a town when you type one into a "From" or "To" box and our own list has no match. The text you typed is sent to them for that search.
• Google Maps and Apple Maps open only when you tap a link to them, for directions. From then on their own privacy policies apply.

Advertising

There are no ads on this site today, and no advertising cookies. If we add advertising later, this page will say so and explain your choices.

Children

The site is written for adults planning a road trip. It is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them.

Your choices and rights

Depending on where you live (for example in the European Union, the United Kingdom or California), you may have the right to ask what personal data is held about you and to have it corrected or deleted. We hold nothing under your name unless you have emailed us; write to hello@route66tripguide.com and we will answer, and delete your messages if you ask. For data held by Google or Microsoft, use the controls and links in the analytics section above. We do not sell personal information.

Changes to this policy

When the way the site handles data changes, we update this page and the date at the top. The current version always lives at this address.