Privacy Policy

Who I am

This website, digitalcomplication.com, is an interactive art project created and maintained by Laurence Lai, Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester. You can contact me at laurence@laurencelai.co.uk.

The short version

I do not collect any personally identifiable information. You are anonymous. I don't know who you are, where you live, what your name is, or how to contact you. I don't want to know. This is an art project, not a data harvesting operation.

What this site does

The Digital Complication is a non-commercial art piece exploring enshittification, digital manipulation, and information overload. It does not sell anything, does not create user accounts, does not collect personal information through forms, and does not require registration.

All interactive elements on this site (generators, faders, toggles) run entirely in your browser. No input you provide to any generator is sent to a server, stored, or processed anywhere other than your own device.

What data is collected

This site uses two third-party services that process limited, anonymous data:

Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

I use GA4 to understand how many people visit the site and which pages they view. GA4 collects:

• Pages visited and time spent
• Approximate geographic location (country/city level, not precise)
• Device type, browser, and operating system
• Referral source (how you found the site)

GA4 sets cookies on your device to distinguish between visitors. These cookies are:

• _ga - identifies unique visitors. Expires after 2 years.
• _ga_* - maintains session state. Expires after 2 years.
• _gid - identifies unique visitors within a 24-hour period. Expires after 24 hours.

GA4 data is processed by Google. Google's privacy policy applies to their handling of this data. IP anonymisation is enabled. I do not use GA4 data for advertising, remarketing, or profiling. I use it to see how many people looked at the site. That's it.

Cloudflare Pages

This site is hosted on Cloudflare Pages. Cloudflare processes your IP address and request headers as part of delivering the site to your browser. Cloudflare may also set a cookie (__cf_bm) for bot detection. Cloudflare's privacy policy applies to their handling of this data.

Lawful basis

The lawful basis for analytics data collection is legitimate interest. I have a legitimate interest in understanding how my art project is used. This processing is minimal, proportionate, and does not override your rights. You can opt out at any time by blocking cookies in your browser settings or using a browser extension such as uBlock Origin.

What data is NOT collected

This site does not:

• Collect your name, email address, or any personal information
• Use contact forms, registration, or login
• Use advertising, remarketing, or tracking pixels
• Store any data you enter into the interactive generators
• Use social media tracking or share buttons
• Sell, share, or transfer personal data to third parties for marketing

Cookies

This site uses cookies only through GA4 and Cloudflare as described above. No first-party cookies are set by the site itself. All cookies are from third-party services.

You can disable cookies in your browser settings. The site will continue to work perfectly without them. All interactive elements are client-side JavaScript and do not depend on cookies.

Yes, I'm aware that this site contains a page called Consent Theatre that satirises cookie banners. The irony is not lost on me.

International transfers

GA4 data is processed by Google, which may transfer data to the United States. Cloudflare operates a global network and may process data in multiple countries. Both services operate under standard contractual clauses and/or UK adequacy regulations for international data transfers.

Data retention

GA4 data is retained for 14 months, after which it is automatically deleted. Cloudflare server logs are retained according to Cloudflare's data retention policy.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access any personal data held about you
• Request rectification of inaccurate data
• Request erasure of your data
• Object to processing based on legitimate interest
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

In practice, I hold no personal data about individual visitors beyond what GA4 and Cloudflare collect automatically. If you want to exercise any of these rights, email laurence@laurencelai.co.uk and I will respond within 30 days.

The Screening Machine

The Screening Machine page is a satirical simulator that illustrates algorithmic bias in AI recruitment screening. It does not perform any real screening. No data you enter is transmitted, stored, or processed beyond your own browser. The scores and penalties shown are illustrative commentary, not factual assessments. No personal data is collected or inferred.

Changes to this policy

If I make significant changes to this policy, I will update the "last updated" date at the top. Given that this site collects almost no data, significant changes are unlikely.

Contact

Laurence Lai
Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester
laurence@laurencelai.co.uk
laurencelai.co.uk