Data policy

Privacy and source data

Every success story on Manifested Stories is found, read, and added by hand. A listing is not independent verification of a claim.

How stories are added

Stories are gathered manually from publicly shared accounts. Each one is read before it is added, and only first-person accounts that report a result are included. People can also send their own story through the submission form and give us permission to publish it anonymously. Every submitted story is reviewed before it can enter the public library. The site does not accept or publish stories copied from private messages, closed groups, or paywalled content.

What we store

For each story we keep the author's text, the platform it was shared on, the original link when one is available, and the date it was posted or added. We also store labels such as the desire, the methods mentioned, and the reported time frame. These labels are kept separate from the story and never change the author's words.

For a story sent through our form, we store the submitted title, story, selected desire, optional age, consent record, and review decision. We do not ask for a name or email address. To limit spam, we temporarily store a one-way, daily-changing code derived from the sender's network address. That code is removed when the story is reviewed.

How authors are credited

Stories are credited anonymously, as “Anonymous” with the platform where the story was shared. We never publish a poster's name or username. When the poster states an age in the story, including their age at the time it happened, that age may appear in the credit.

Searches on this site

Situation searches are sent privately and are not saved as written. We keep only coarse, anonymous search statistics, such as which filters were used and how many results were returned, for up to 30 days.

Visitor statistics

We count visits to understand which stories and pages are useful. For each page view we record the page, the site that linked to it, your approximate location (country, region, and city, worked out from your network by our hosting provider), and whether you are on a phone, tablet, or computer. We also count clicks on links and buttons by their visible label. We never record what you type into a form.

No cookies are used and your network address is not stored. To count unique visitors, we use an anonymous code that changes every day, so a visit cannot be linked to your visits on other days. These records are deleted after 90 days. We also use Vercel Web Analytics, which works the same cookie-free way.

Removal requests

If a story is yours and you would like it removed or changed, we will take it down. When a story is removed we keep only the minimum record needed to make sure it is not added again by mistake.