Effective date: November 9, 2026. Version 1.0. This notice explains the first-party referral tracking currently used by The Immortal Times Creator Network. It supplements the Publication’s Privacy Policy.
1. What the tracking system records
When a visitor follows an active Program tracking link, the system may record the link identifier, creator and referral-link identifiers, destination page or article when identifiable, date and time, promotion platform when supplied, referring website host when the browser provides it, device category, and country code only when a valid country header is supplied by the hosting or network environment. The system stores a keyed hash derived from the visitor IP address rather than the raw IP address. It may also use a random first-party session token stored in hashed form and a first-party cookie with a maximum life of one day.
2. Purpose
Tracking is used to attribute referral-link activity to approved creators and articles, produce creator-level and aggregate referral reports, detect suspicious patterns, troubleshoot links, and maintain basic Program records. It is not designed to identify a visitor by name.
3. Limits of the data
Tracking-link clicks are not total website pageviews, unique people, ad impressions, ad clicks, conversions, or advertising revenue. Visitors may arrive directly, use an app that strips referrer information, block cookies, use privacy tools, or fail to load tracking resources. Country and device classifications may be incomplete or approximate. A missing field is recorded as unknown rather than inferred. Third-party analytics and advertising providers may use different definitions, attribution rules, filtering, and reporting delays.
4. No ad-revenue attribution promise
A referral event does not prove that a particular advertisement was displayed or clicked, nor that the event generated a particular amount of revenue. Creator commissions are not calculated from ad clicks, ad impressions, or estimated revenue. Under the Compensation & Payment Policy, the Program targets a commission of approximately 10% of actual publisher revenue attributable to qualifying, verifiable referral traffic. Attribution may require reconciliation with provider reports. Where direct creator-level revenue data is unavailable, a documented allocation may be used only if verified referral-session data and matching revenue reports support a reasonable calculation. If reliable attribution cannot be established, the related amount remains pending and is not represented as confirmed earnings.
5. Creator access
Creators may see only the campaign and referral information authorized for their own account. They do not receive visitor-level identifiers, raw IP addresses, another creator’s individual records, payment credentials, or administrator-only records. Creators must not attempt to bypass these restrictions.
6. Retention and security
Detailed referral click records are scheduled for deletion after 13 months. Security, account, campaign, agreement, and financial records may be retained for different periods where needed for administration, fraud prevention, accounting, dispute resolution, or legal compliance. Access is restricted by role. No system can guarantee absolute security, but reasonable safeguards are used.
7. Third-party services
The Publication may separately use hosting, advertising, affiliate, analytics, and social platform services. Those providers may collect information under their own notices and terms. The Publication’s Privacy Policy provides the broader explanation of third-party services and visitor privacy choices.
8. Questions
Questions about Program tracking may be sent to rayd3molition@gmail.com. See the Privacy Policy for the general site notice.
