We do not collect your data. Here is proof.
Last updated: April 2025
The short version
- →We do not collect your name, email address, or anything personal.
- →We do not require you to sign up for anything.
- →We do not sell your data to anyone.
- →Your bibliography stays in your browser. It never touches our servers.
What we collect
Standard web analytics through Vercel Analytics. This means we see aggregate data like page views, which country requests come from, and what browser people are using. We do not see who you are, just that someone visited.
When you paste a URL, DOI, or ISBN to generate a citation, that input is sent to our API to process. We use it to look up metadata and return a formatted citation. We do not store it. Once your citation is generated, we forget the request entirely.
Cookies
We use a small number of cookies and we will be straight with you about what they are for:
Google AdSense
We run ads to fund the site. AdSense sets cookies to show relevant ads. You can opt out of personalized ads through Google's ad settings.
Vercel Analytics
Performance and usage analytics. Aggregated, anonymous. No personal identifiers.
We do not use tracking cookies, session recording, or any cookie that would let us identify you across the web.
Third party services
A few third parties are involved in making FreeCitation work. Here is what each one does and what they receive:
Vercel
Hosting and analyticsOur infrastructure. Your requests pass through Vercel's edge network. Vercel's privacy policy applies to hosting data.
Google AdSense
AdsWe show ads to keep the lights on. Google may use cookies to show relevant ads. You can manage ad preferences at adssettings.google.com.
Crossref
DOI metadataWhen you paste a DOI, we send it to Crossref's public API to look up the citation metadata. Crossref is a nonprofit registry. They do not receive anything about you, just the DOI.
Open Library
ISBN metadataWhen you paste an ISBN, we query Open Library's public API to look up book details. Same deal: they receive the ISBN, nothing about you.
Your saved bibliography
When you generate citations, they are saved automatically so you can export your bibliography at the end. That saved list lives entirely in your browser's local storage. It never gets sent to our servers. We genuinely cannot see it.
Since we have no accounts, there is also nothing to delete on our end. Clear your browser's local storage and your bibliography is gone. That is the whole data lifecycle.
Children
FreeCitation does not knowingly collect data from anyone, including children. Because we collect no personal data at all, COPPA compliance is straightforward: there is nothing to collect.
Contact
Questions about this policy? Something unclear? Reach us at:
[email protected]