Privacy policy
Last updated: October 25, 2026
Unintended Puns (“we”, “us”) runs unintendedpuns.com, a site where people share puns that someone said by accident. This policy explains what we collect, why, who helps us run the site, and how to get your information changed or deleted. We’ve tried to keep it as plain as the site.
The short version
- You don’t need an account. There are no passwords and no payments.
- If you submit a pun, the pun and its context are published once a person approves them. Your email, if you give it, never is.
- We only send newsletters or digests if you tick the box to opt in. Every one has an unsubscribe link.
- We don’t sell your information, and we don’t use advertising or tracking cookies.
- Email hello@unintendedpuns.com to see, fix or delete anything we have about you, or to get a pun taken down.
What we collect
When you submit a pun
- What gets published (after a person approves it): the quote, the words you highlighted, the context line (like “my dad, at the orchard”), who said it (family, work, overheard and so on), whether they noticed, and the explanation if you wrote one.
- “Caught by”: the name or handle you choose to show. Leave it blank to stay anonymous.
- Your email, if you give it. It’s private: never shown on the site.
- Moderation notes: the results of our automatic checks (for example, “might name a private person” or “possible duplicate”) and the review decision.
If you opt in to the newsletter
Your email address, when and where you opted in, and when you unsubscribe if you do.
When you react to a pun
Which buttons you pressed (groan, missed it, accidental or suspicious), tied to the anonymous browser ID below. Only the totals are shown publicly.
Automatically
- An anonymous browser ID: a random code stored in a cookie the first time you submit or react. It keeps reactions to one per browser and limits how many puns one browser can send in an hour. It isn’t linked to your name or email.
- Request logs: like most websites, our hosting provider records technical details of each request, such as your IP address, browser type and the page requested. We use these to keep the site working and secure.
- Performance data: how quickly pages load, with general device and browser information. It doesn’t use cookies or identify you.
- Bot checks: when you submit or react, a check runs in your browser that looks at browser and device signals to tell people from automated bots.
We don’t collect your name (beyond any “Caught by” name you type), phone number, address or payment details.
People mentioned in puns
Puns are things other people said, so we’re careful about them. Our house rules ban the full names of private people, and every submission is read by a person before it goes live. Our automatic checks also flag anything that looks like a name.
If a pun mentions or identifies you and you’d like it removed, email hello@unintendedpuns.com with the link. You don’t need to give a reason. We’ll take it down.
How we use it
| What we do | Why we're allowed to (for visitors in the EU and UK) |
|---|---|
| Run the site and publish approved puns | Legitimate interest in running the site, and your request when you submit |
| Review submissions, including automatic checks and AI-assisted review (see below) | Legitimate interest in keeping the site accurate, kind and free of private details |
| Email you about your own submission, like when it goes live | Your request, when you give us your email |
| Send the newsletter, digest or site news | Your consent (the opt-in box). You can withdraw it any time |
| Stop spam, bots, vote-stuffing and abuse | Legitimate interest in protecting the site and its visitors |
| Understand and improve site performance | Legitimate interest |
| Meet legal obligations | Legal obligation |
AI-assisted review
To help us review submissions, we may send the text of a submission (the quote, context and explanation) to an AI model provider. It flags things like “this doesn’t look accidental” or “this might name someone”, and can draft the explanation of the pun. We never send your email address or browser ID. A person still makes every decision about what gets published.
Services we use
We use outside service providers to run the site. They process information only on our behalf:
| Type of provider | What it does for us | What it receives |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting provider | Runs the site, delivers pages, keeps request logs, measures performance and runs bot checks | IP address, browser and device information, and the requests you make |
| Database provider | Stores the site’s data | Everything we store: submissions, emails, reactions and the browser ID |
| AI model provider | AI-assisted review of submissions, when it’s turned on | Submission text only |
| Email delivery provider | Sends email, like the note that your pun is live | Your email address and the message |
When we share it
We don’t sell your personal information or share it for advertising. We only share it:
- with the services listed above, only so they can run the site for us;
- when the law requires it, such as a valid court order;
- if the site is ever sold or transferred, with the new owner, who would have to follow this policy or tell you about changes first.
Approved puns, their context and any “Caught by” name are public, so anyone can see and share those.
Where it’s stored and how it’s protected
Our servers and database are in the United States. If you visit from elsewhere, your information is transferred to and processed in the US.
Everything is sent over encrypted connections (HTTPS). The database can only be reached by our own server code. The public part of the site can only read approved puns, and never emails or browser IDs. The review queue is password-protected. No system is perfectly secure, but if a breach affects your information we’ll tell you and the relevant authorities as the law requires.
How long we keep it
| Information | How long |
|---|---|
| Published puns | Until they’re taken down |
| Submissions that weren’t approved | Kept so we can spot duplicates and repeat abuse. Deleted on request |
| Email on a submission | As long as the submission, or until you ask us to remove it |
| Newsletter sign-up | Until you unsubscribe. After that we keep only the fact that you unsubscribed, so we never email you by mistake |
| Reactions | As long as the pun is on the site |
| Request logs and performance data | A limited time, set by our hosting provider |
Your choices and rights
Wherever you live, you can ask us to:
- tell you what we have about you, and give you a copy;
- correct something that’s wrong;
- delete your information, including your email or a pun you submitted;
- stop sending you email. Every newsletter has an unsubscribe link, or just email us.
In the EU and UK you also have the right to object to or restrict how we use your information, to move it elsewhere, to withdraw consent at any time, and to complain to your local data protection authority.
In California you have the right to know what we collect, to delete it, and not to be treated differently for asking. We don’t sell or “share” personal information as California law defines it.
To do any of this, email hello@unintendedpuns.com. There are no accounts, so we may ask you to confirm from the email address involved, or to send the pun’s link, so we can find the right information.
Cookies
We don’t use advertising or tracking cookies. We use:
| Cookie | What it’s for | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Anonymous browser ID | One reaction per pun per browser, and limiting submissions per hour | 2 years |
| Moderator sign-in | Keeps our moderators signed in. Only set for people who run the site | 30 days |
The bot check may also store a short-lived value in your browser while you use the site. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, but then reactions and submissions may not work.
Children
You must be 13 or older to submit a pun or sign up for email. Puns said by kids are welcome when an adult submits them, without the child’s name. We don’t knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you think we have, email hello@unintendedpuns.com and we’ll delete it.
Changes to this policy
When we change this policy, we’ll update the date at the top. If a change affects how we use your email, we’ll tell newsletter subscribers by email before it takes effect.
Contact
Questions, requests or takedowns: hello@unintendedpuns.com.