Analytics and privacy
What reader analytics measure, how readers are pseudonymized, and the minimum group size that protects individuals.
Analytics (Analytics) show whether the paper is being read and which sections land. They are built to answer “is this working?” without becoming surveillance. Owners, admins and editors can see them.
What we measure
| Metric | Definition |
|---|---|
| Read rate | Unique readers who opened or read an edition, divided by the number of email recipients it was sent to (capped at 100%). |
| Unique readers | Distinct people who opened an edition in the web reader. |
| Opens · Listens · Clicks | Edition opens, Listen plays, and clicks on source links. |
| Median read time | Seconds spent with the edition visible. |
| Section read-through | The share of readers who reached each section, averaged across editions (Growth and up). |
Choose a 7, 30 or 90-day window and filter by edition. Events are recorded in the web reader only, for signed-in members of your workspace. An edition counts as “read” after 30 seconds visible or scrolling past 60%. A section counts when at least half of it was on screen. Previews are never counted.
How we protect readers
- Pseudonymous. We store a one-way hash of the reader, unique to your workspace, never a name or email address. Hashes can’t be compared across workspaces.
- Minimum group size of 5. Any count from 1 to 4 shows as “< 5”. Read rate and section read-through need at least 5 readers, so nobody can work out what one person read.
- No email tracking pixels. We don’t track email opens.
- First-party. Reader events stay in Paperbeam’s database and are never sent to an analytics vendor.
Coming: a weekly Publisher report by email, and suggestions to drop sections nobody reads. Individual-level analytics (Business) will always be opt-in per workspace.