Privacy policy (Datenschutzerklärung)

Short version: this site sets no cookies, runs no analytics and loads nothing from third-party servers. We process personal data only when you write to us or request an opt-out. Measurement data concerns network infrastructure, not people. Details below.

1. Controller

Portalix UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
Thalkirchner Str. 103, 81371 München, Germany
Managing director: Stefan Böck
E-mail: noc@anycast.org

We are not required to appoint a data protection officer.

2. Hosting and server logs

This website is hosted on servers located in Germany. When you visit the site, the web server automatically records access data in server logs: the requested URL, date and time, transferred data volume, HTTP status, the referring URL, your browser and operating system (user agent) and your IP address. We use this data to deliver the site, to keep it secure and to diagnose faults. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in a secure and functioning website). Logs are deleted automatically after 14 days unless they have to be kept longer to investigate a security incident.

The site is delivered with HTTPS only. No content is loaded from third-party servers: fonts are system fonts, there are no embedded scripts from other providers, no tracking pixels and no cookies.

3. Contact by e-mail

If you e-mail us, we process your e-mail address, the content of your message and any data you include in order to handle your request. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR where the request concerns a contract or pre-contractual steps, otherwise Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in answering enquiries). We keep correspondence as long as required to handle the matter and to meet statutory retention obligations.

4. Opt-out requests

If you ask us to exclude networks from measurement we store the prefixes or AS numbers, your e-mail address and the date of the request, in our own system operated by us. We use this data only to maintain the exclusion list and to confirm the exclusion to you. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (our and your legitimate interest in honouring the exclusion reliably). The data is kept as long as the exclusion is in force; you can lift it at any time by e-mail to optout@anycast.org. The exclusion list itself is not published.

If your browser cannot reach our system, the form falls back to opening an e-mail in your mail client; in that case section 3 applies.

5. Measurement traffic and measurement data

The lab sends ICMP echo requests to one address per routed network worldwide and records which lab node receives the reply, the round-trip time and the timestamp, as described on the main page. An IP address of a network device can in rare cases be personal data (for example a single-user access line). We process it on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR: our legitimate interest in Internet measurement research and in developing open measurement tooling, with safeguards that keep the intrusion minimal: one small packet per network per run, no connection to services, no payload beyond an identifier, public opt-out honoured for all future runs, raw data kept for 12 months and then deleted, publication only in aggregate. Measurements via RIPE Atlas are sent by RIPE Atlas probes under RIPE NCC's terms.

6. Recipients of measurement data

Raw measurement data is not shared with anyone. Aggregated results (per country, per AS, per node) are published. Findings about a specific third-party network are shared with that network's operator first and published only in aggregate or with the operator's consent.

7. Recipients

We pass personal data to third parties only where described above (hosting provider as processor) or where we are legally obliged to. We do not sell data and do not use it for advertising.

8. Your rights

Under the GDPR you have the right to access (Art. 15), rectification (Art. 16), erasure (Art. 17), restriction of processing (Art. 18), data portability (Art. 20) and to object to processing based on legitimate interests (Art. 21). Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time with effect for the future. To exercise these rights, e-mail noc@anycast.org.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. The authority responsible for us is the Bayerisches Landesamt für Datenschutzaufsicht (BayLDA), Promenade 18, 91522 Ansbach, Germany, www.lda.bayern.de.

9. Changes

We update this policy when the lab or its methods change, for example when the open-source agent is released. The current version is always available at this address.

Last updated: 2026-08-23