Moses Lake School District

Education Research

Privacy & Reader Tracking Explained

Complete transparency about what we track, what we don't, and why we designed it this way.

Our Privacy Promise

We do not collect any personally identifiable information about you.

No names. No emails. No phone numbers. No IP addresses. No tracking cookies. No browser fingerprinting. Nothing that could identify who you are as a person.

What Is the Reader Number System?

The Problem We're Solving

This website contains over 150 pages of research across multiple documents. We were concerned that readers might:

  • Get lost in the amount of information
  • Forget where they left off
  • Not know what they've already read
  • Get bored and give up

So we created a simple tracking system to help you:

  • See what you've read and what's left
  • Resume reading where you left off
  • Track your progress across multiple visits
  • Use the same tracking on different devices (phone, tablet, computer)

How It Works

When you first visit the research section:

  1. Your web browser generates a random Reader Number (like "reader-abc12345")
  2. This number is completely random—no connection to your identity
  3. We show you this number in a popup and ask you to write it down
  4. Your browser stores this number locally on your device
  5. As you read, your progress is saved under this number

On future visits:

  1. Your browser remembers your Reader Number automatically
  2. Your progress loads and you can continue where you left off
  3. On a different device? Enter your Reader Number manually to resume

Key Point: The Reader Number is just a random code. It's like a library card number—it tracks which books you've checked out, but tells us nothing about who you are.

What We DO Track

Reading Progress (Anonymous)

We track WHAT you read, not WHO you are.

Under your anonymous Reader Number, we track:

  • Pages viewed: Which pages you've visited
  • Time reading: How long you spend reading (to reward engagement)
  • Sections completed: Which parts of documents you've finished
  • Bookmarks: Pages you've saved to return to
  • Points earned: Gamification to make reading more engaging
  • Feedback submitted: If you click "helpful" or "not helpful" on sections

Example of what's in our database:

Reader ID: reader-xyz12345
Pages Read: 12
Time Reading: 45 minutes
Points: 250
Level: 3
Sections Completed: ["Common Core", "Spending Analysis"]
Bookmarks: ["What Works", "Take Action"]
Last Visit: 2025-12-14

Notice what's missing? No name, no email, no IP address, no location—nothing that identifies you.

What We DON'T Track

We Deliberately Do NOT Collect:

  • ❌ Your name
  • ❌ Your email address
  • ❌ Your phone number
  • ❌ Your physical address
  • ❌ Your IP address
  • ❌ Your precise location (city, GPS coordinates, etc.)
  • ❌ Browser fingerprinting (tracking your specific browser/device combo)
  • ❌ Third-party tracking cookies (Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, etc.)
  • ❌ Social media profiles
  • ❌ Search history
  • ❌ Any personally identifiable information

Technical Details (For the Privacy-Conscious)

How the Reader Number Is Generated

The process:

  1. JavaScript code runs in your browser (client-side)
  2. It generates a random 8-character string (letters and numbers)
  3. Format: "reader-" followed by 8 random characters
  4. Example: "reader-a7k2m9x4"
  5. This is NOT based on your IP address, browser, or any identifying info
  6. It's purely random—like rolling dice

Where it's stored:

  • In your browser: localStorage (stays on your device)
  • In our database: Just the random ID and your reading progress

Database Audit

We conducted a code audit to verify no personal data is collected. Here's what we checked:

$ grep -i "ip" /web/mlsd/api/app.py
Result: No IP address collection found

$ grep -i "remote" /web/mlsd/api/app.py
Result: No remote address tracking found

$ grep -i "addr" /web/mlsd/api/app.py
Result: No address collection found

Conclusion: The API code contains zero IP address logging or personal data collection.

What's in the Database

Table: reader_progress

Fields stored:

  • reader_id - The random "reader-xyz12345" string
  • total_points - Integer (gamification score)
  • level - Integer (calculated from points)
  • badges_earned - JSON array of achievement badges
  • pages_read - Integer count
  • sections_completed - JSON array of section names
  • time_reading_minutes - Integer (engagement metric)
  • days_active - Integer (how many different days visited)
  • bookmarks - JSON array of saved pages
  • last_updated - Timestamp

That's it. No other fields. No hidden tracking. No personal data.

The "What If" Scenarios

What if someone hacked the database?

They would get a list of random Reader IDs and reading progress:

  • "reader-abc12345 read 15 pages, earned 200 points"
  • "reader-xyz67890 bookmarked the Common Core section"
  • "reader-def24680 spent 30 minutes reading"

They could NOT:

  • Identify who any of these readers are
  • Connect Reader IDs to real people
  • Find names, addresses, emails, or phone numbers
  • Track anyone's internet activity beyond this site

It would be meaningless data because the Reader IDs are anonymous by design.

What if law enforcement requested data?

We couldn't identify users even if we wanted to. The system contains:

  • Random Reader IDs with no connection to identity
  • No IP addresses (we don't log them)
  • No names, emails, or contact information
  • No way to reverse-engineer who a Reader ID belongs to

We designed it this way on purpose. Your privacy is protected even from us.

What if I want to delete my data?

Easy. Just clear your browser's localStorage:

  1. Open browser settings
  2. Clear browsing data / Clear storage
  3. Your Reader ID is deleted from your device

On the server side, your Reader ID and progress remain in the database, but:

  • It's still just "reader-xyz12345 read some pages"
  • There's no way to connect it to you anymore
  • It's effectively anonymous orphaned data

If you want us to delete server-side data: Contact us with your exact Reader ID and we'll remove it. (But again, it contains no personal information anyway.)

Why We Built It This Way

Design Philosophy: Privacy First

We could have used standard web analytics (Google Analytics, etc.) to track visitors. Those tools collect IP addresses, browser fingerprints, and extensive tracking data. Many websites do this.

We chose not to.

Instead, we built a custom system that tracks READING PROGRESS (which pages, how long, what's completed) without tracking WHO YOU ARE (name, location, identity, browsing habits).

The benefit to you: Progress tracking across devices without sacrificing privacy.

The benefit to us: We can see which content is most read (helps us improve), but we can't identify individual readers.

Win-win: Useful functionality without invasion of privacy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you see my name or email?

No. We don't collect it, so we can't see it. The system only knows "reader-xyz12345 read these pages."

Can you track me across the internet?

No. Our tracking is limited to this website only. We don't use third-party cookies or tracking networks that follow you to other sites.

Can you tell what city I'm in?

No. We don't collect IP addresses, so we can't determine your location—not even approximately.

What if I use a VPN or Tor?

Doesn't matter. Since we don't track IP addresses anyway, using a VPN or Tor makes no difference. You're equally anonymous either way.

Why do you ask me to write down my Reader Number?

So you can use it on multiple devices. Your phone stores one Reader ID, your laptop stores another. But if you write down your number, you can enter it on any device and access the same progress.

What if I lose my Reader Number?

No problem. Just get a new one. Your browser will generate a new random ID and you start fresh. There's no account to recover or password to reset—it's just a random number for tracking progress.

Can other people see my reading history?

Only if they have your Reader Number AND access to your device. The system doesn't display anyone's reading history publicly. If someone steals your Reader Number, they could see your progress, but:

  • They still wouldn't know who you are
  • They'd only see "this person read these pages"
  • No personal information would be revealed

Questions About Privacy?

We take privacy seriously. If you have questions about what we track or how the system works, please reach out. We're happy to explain any technical details or address concerns.

Bottom line: We designed this system to be useful without being invasive. Your privacy matters. We collect only what's necessary for progress tracking—nothing more.

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