What we collect, what we don't.
Effective: 17 May 2026
Recent Data is a research-first publication. We keep visitor data collection as minimal as possible. This policy explains exactly what we collect, what we don't, and how we handle the data we receive from Meta and Google when the site owner connects a YouTube or Instagram account.
What we collect from visitors
Anonymous, aggregated visit data: page views, downloads of research files, source-link clicks, and referrer information. IP addresses are hashed before storage so the same visitor can be counted once without us retaining the IP itself. No cookies are set for tracking; the only cookies the site uses are for the admin login session.
What we don't collect
We don't run third-party ad networks. We don't sell visitor data. We don't profile individual users. We don't require an account to read the site.
Data we receive from Meta (Facebook / Instagram) and Google (YouTube)
Recent Data mirrors the site owner's own YouTube and Instagram posts so that each post can be paired with the research behind it. The only account that ever authorises this site against Meta or Google is the site owner's own admin account — ordinary visitors are never asked to sign in with Facebook, Instagram, or Google.
When the site owner connects their account, we receive and store, in encrypted form, an OAuth access token and a small amount of metadata required to call the platform APIs: the connected channel/page ID, the linked Instagram Business Account ID, the public username, and a label such as @username. We use these tokens only to read the owner's public posts (title, caption, media URL, thumbnail, timestamp, view/like/comment counts) and to refresh the token when it expires. We do not post on the owner's behalf, do not read private messages, and do not access any data about the owner's followers.
From YouTube we read: video ID, title, description, thumbnail URL, publish timestamp, duration, and public view/like/comment counts. From Instagram (via the Instagram Graph API) we read: media ID, caption, media type, media URL, permalink, timestamp, public like and comment counts, and — for reels and videos — the public view count.
How long we keep this data
Encrypted OAuth tokens are kept for as long as the site owner's account is connected, and are deleted immediately when the owner disconnects the integration from the admin dashboard. Mirrored post metadata is kept for as long as the post is published on this site. If a post is deleted on YouTube or Instagram, our daily sync removes the corresponding entry on the next run.
Embedded posts
Posts are embedded from YouTube and Instagram natively. When you press play, those platforms set their own cookies and apply their own privacy policies. We use YouTube's privacy-enhanced mode (youtube-nocookie.com) which delays cookie-setting until you actually watch a video.
Downloads
When you download a research file, we count the download in an aggregate counter on the file (no per-user record). The file is served directly to your browser.
Your rights and how to request deletion
If you are the connected site owner and would like the OAuth token and mirrored data associated with your account removed, you can either disconnect the integration from the admin dashboard (which deletes the token immediately) or email us at the address below and we will remove everything within 30 days. Visitors who would like the anonymous aggregate counters they have contributed to reset can also write to us, though because this data is anonymised and aggregated we cannot single out an individual visitor's contribution.
See also our data deletion instructions page for a step-by-step guide.
Contact
Privacy contact: ajaysharmabki96@gmail.com. We respond within 7 working days.
Changes
If this policy changes, the page will be updated with a new effective date.