Short version: we collect almost nothing.
Balansebarn is a website you read. The only thing we ever store about you is an email address, and only if you give it to us yourself. Here is the full overview, in plain language.
If you just read
We use no tracking cookies and no third-party analytics tools. The site runs on Vercel, which keeps ordinary, short-lived server logs to keep the service up. If you choose larger text in the reading tool, that choice is remembered locally in your browser and sent nowhere.
If you bookmark or read articles without an account
The bookmarks live in cookies in your own browser (bb_saved for bookmarked articles, bb_read for which articles you have opened, so we can suggest things you have not read yet, with a lifetime of one year). They never leave your browser unless you later log in and choose to bring the lists with you.
If you create an account and log in
Then we store your email address, the name you choose to display, your bookmarks, which articles you have opened (so we can suggest things you have not read) and how many minutes of focused reading you have had per day (for the hourglass in the reading tool) with Supabase, hosted in Stockholm (EU). Login happens with a one-time link by email; we never store passwords. Your browser receives the necessary login cookies to keep you logged in; they are not used for tracking. The legal basis for the processing is the agreement with you: you ask for an account, we provide it.
If you comment
Comments are public and are shown with the name you have chosen. We store the comment, the name and the time with Supabase (EU). You can delete your own comments yourself, at any time, with the delete button next to the comment.
If you send feedback
Giving feedback requires no account. We store what you write, which page you sent it from and the time with Supabase (EU), and notify the editor by email. The email address is optional: it is stored only if you fill it in yourself, and is used only to reply to you. If you are logged in, the feedback is linked to your account. Feedback is never published; it goes straight to the editor.
If you sign up for Balansebrevet, the newsletter
Then we store your email address with Supabase (EU), and the signup is confirmed with a link by email before it takes effect. The same link logs you in, so signing up also gives you an account you can manage storage and subscription from. After confirmation, the address is shared with Resend, the service that sends the actual newsletter. The legal basis is your consent, and it can be withdrawn at any time: an unsubscribe link in every issue, one click. The address is used only for Balansebrevet; it is not sold, not shared and not used for advertising.
Data processors
Vercel (hosting), Supabase (database and login, EU/Stockholm) and Resend (email delivery) process data on our behalf, governed by data processing agreements. We have no other recipients.
Your rights
You can at any time ask to access, correct or delete your data. Send an email to oyvind@balansebarn.no, and we will sort it out, no fuss. You can also complain to the Norwegian Data Protection Authority (Datatilsynet), but we hope you tell us first.
When this changes
If the site gains new features that affect privacy, we update this page and datestamp the change. Last updated 19 July 2026.