What this notice covers
This notice covers understandingaccounting.org and its media site, media.understandingaccounting.org. It does not cover D2L, iClicker, WileyPLUS, or another site that you open from a link here. It describes the YouTube players on some pages, but Google's own policy governs what YouTube does.
Information stored in your browser
The site can use your browser's local storage to remember display choices. These choices include the color theme, contrast, reading mode, text size, typeface, line spacing, and text alignment. A lesson with audio can also remember where you stopped.
These settings stay in your browser. The site does not send them to the instructor or Plausible Analytics, and neither uses them to identify you. You can remove them by resetting the site's controls or clearing the site's data in your browser.
Practice completed on this site
Answers entered in practice activities are checked in your browser. They are not sent to the instructor or Plausible Analytics, and they do not become part of your grade. The site has no contact form, payment system, or advertising tracker.
Site analytics
Understanding Accounting uses Plausible Analytics to provide general, aggregate statistics about how people use the site. It can show me information such as which pages receive the most visits, how visitors reach the site, and the types of devices and browsers they use. It does not tell me who you are or let me identify your activity as an individual student.
Plausible does not use cookies, browser storage, persistent identifiers, or cross-site tracking. It does not store IP addresses. Your practice answers, reading progress, display settings, and other information stored in your browser are not sent to Plausible.
I use these general statistics to improve the course materials and site navigation. They are not used for attendance, assessment, or grading. Read the Plausible Analytics data policy for more information.
YouTube players
A meeting page, slide page, or reading page can show a YouTube player when the recording is also on the course's YouTube channel. The player loads from Google's privacy-enhanced domain, youtube-nocookie.com. Google describes this mode as preventing views of embedded content from influencing your browsing experience on YouTube.
Opening a page with a player sends a request to Google for the player. Google receives the technical information in that request, such as your IP address and the page address. Pressing play starts a YouTube session, and YouTube can then set cookies or store data in your browser under the Google privacy policy. This site does not receive any information about what you watch.
You do not need the player. Each embedded recording has a download link beside it for the same file on media.understandingaccounting.org, which this notice covers. Read YouTube's page on embedding for Google's description of privacy-enhanced mode.
Hosting records
Amazon Web Services (AWS) delivers the site's pages, slides, audio, and video. AWS Amplify creates access logs for requests to the main site. Those logs record information about a request, such as the requested address and technical information needed to deliver it. AWS states that Amplify keeps these logs until the hosted application is deleted.
These records support delivery and security. They are not used for attendance, assessment, or grading. Do not place private or sensitive information in a site address or its query text because the address can appear in an access log. Read the AWS Amplify access-log documentation for more information.
Course systems and external links
Graded work is submitted through D2L or completed in class as stated in the assignment. Course systems and external sites apply their own privacy rules when you use them. The Michigan State University privacy statement explains the University's practices. Review the notice for any other site before providing personal information there.
Questions or changes
This notice will be updated if the site begins collecting different information or adds a new service. Enrolled students can ask questions through D2L.