Effective: June 2026. Global Debt Clock (global-debt-clock.com) is an independently produced data resource. This page explains what data we collect, how cookies and local storage are used on this site, and your rights.
We collect very little. There are no user accounts, no newsletter, and no forms that collect personal information anywhere on this site.
request.cf.country). This value is used to render the page and is not stored in a database or file — it exists only for the duration of that request. As a fallback, if that signal is unavailable, the page makes a client-side request to a third-party IP-geolocation service (see the Third-Party Services table below).Here is the complete inventory of what this site stores in your browser:
pwa_dismissed (localStorage) — remembers that you closed the "install app" prompt, so it doesn't reappear. No personal data.gdc-consent (localStorage) — remembers your choice ("accepted" or "declined") from the cookie/ad-consent banner described below, so we don't ask again on every visit.The consent banner shown on every page stores your choice in the gdc-consent localStorage key described above. You can change your choice at any time by clearing your browser's site data for global-debt-clock.com, which will show the banner again on your next visit.
This site runs, or intends to run, display advertising through Google AdSense. Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this and other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve personalized ads to you based on your visit to this site and/or other sites on the Internet.
You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. You can also opt out of a third-party vendor's use of cookies for personalized advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info/choices. For more detail on how Google's advertising partners use data, see Google's partner sites policy.
The AdSense script is only loaded in your browser if you accept the consent banner. If you decline, no advertising script or advertising cookie is loaded.
The table below lists every third-party service this site currently uses (or is configured to use) and what each one receives.
| Service | Purpose | What it receives |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare | Hosting, CDN, security | Standard request logs (IP, user-agent, URL) for every page load. See Cloudflare's privacy policy. |
| Google AdSense | Display advertising (once consented / when active) | Advertising cookie identifiers and standard ad-request data, subject to Google's advertising policies. |
| Google Analytics | Aggregate site-usage analytics (page views and in-page interaction events such as calculator use) | Analytics cookie identifiers and usage events, subject to Google's privacy policy. |
| Google Fonts | Loads the site's typefaces | Your browser requests font files directly from fonts.googleapis.com/fonts.gstatic.com, which receives standard request data (IP, user-agent). |
| geojs.io | Client-side fallback country detection | Your IP address, to return an approximate country code, used only when the server-side signal is unavailable. |
| The Guardian API | Server-side fetch of news headlines shown on the site | No user data is sent — this is a server-to-server request made by our Cloudflare Worker, not your browser. |
GDPR / UK GDPR. If you are in the UK or EEA, our legal basis for the limited processing described above is legitimate interest (operating and securing the site, showing a sensible default country) and, for advertising and analytics cookies, your consent given via the cookie banner. You may withdraw consent at any time by clearing your site data for this domain, which resets the banner. You have the right to access, correct, or request deletion of any personal data we hold about you (in practice, this is limited to what's in server logs), and the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
CCPA. If you are a California resident: we do not sell your personal information. Any advertising cookies set by Google after you consent may constitute a "share" of data for cross-context behavioral advertising under CCPA; you can opt out at any time using the links in Section 3, or by declining the consent banner. You have the right to know what personal information is collected and to request its deletion by contacting us at the email below.
Global Debt Clock provides a free, embeddable iframe widget that other websites can include on their pages (see the widget builder). When a page embedding our widget loads, the visitor's browser fetches a small data file from our servers directly. We receive only standard server request logs for that fetch (IP, user-agent, referring page) — no data about the embedding site's visitors is retained beyond typical, short-lived Cloudflare request logs.
We may update this policy as the site changes — for example, when Google AdSense is formally activated, or if we add new data sources. Material changes will be reflected by updating the effective date at the top of this page.
Questions about this policy or a privacy request? Contact us at [email protected].