Privacy & Cookie Policy
Last updated: June 2026
cliffnote.me turns a book into a short, shareable summary using AI. We keep data collection to the minimum needed to run the service fairly. No account, no name, no email, no advertising, and no selling of data.
The cookie we use
When you accept, we store a single cn_vid cookie containing a random, anonymous ID. It is not linked to your identity. We use it only to: remember that you consented, apply your free monthly usage budget, and prevent abuse. Clearing it resets your anonymous session. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.
We use Vercel Web Analytics to count page views and understand which features are used. It is privacy-friendly and does not set cookies or collect personally identifiable information.
What we store
- The cliff notes you generate — the book title/author you chose and the AI-written summary.
- Your anonymous visitor ID and a running count of your monthly usage (for the budget).
The library is a shared public gallery: cliff notes you generate are visible to other visitors and have a public, shareable link. Don't put anything private in them. Generated cliff notes are kept permanently as part of the shared library.
Who we share with
To provide the service we send data to these processors:
- Anthropic (Claude) and OpenRouter / DeepSeek— the book title and author you pick are sent to one of these AI providers to generate the summary. The provider depends on the book and length. See each provider's privacy policy.
- Open Library — provides book search results and cover images.
- Vercel — hosting, storage of generated notes, analytics, and rate-limit/budget data.
Retention
Generated cliff notes are kept indefinitely as part of the public library. Your anonymous usage counters reset monthly and expire automatically.
Your rights (CCPA & GDPR)
Because we collect no name, email, or account, the data tied to you is limited to your anonymous cookie ID and its usage counters. Subject to applicable law — including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA) and the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — you have the right to access, correct, or delete your data, and to object to or restrict its processing.
- We do not sell or share your personal information for advertising, and we do not profile you. There is nothing to opt out of in that sense.
- Access / deletion: clearing this site's cookies erases the anonymous ID that links any data to you. To request removal of a specific cliff note you generated, contact us and reference its link.
- You may exercise these rights without discrimination in service.
Your choices
If you don't accept the cookie, you can't read or generate cliff notes on the main site (public shared links remain viewable). To remove your anonymous session, clear your browser cookies for this site.