Privacy policy

1. What we collect

You give us

If you send the contact form, we store your name, email address, message, and the time of the submission. Do not send sensitive personal information through that form.

Collected automatically

The web server keeps ordinary logs: IP address, browser type, pages requested, and timestamps. These are used to run and secure the site.

If you are an editor, we store your account email and a hashed password. We use a session cookie so you can use the desk; if you choose “Stay signed in,” that cookie lasts up to 30 days.

What we do not collect

We do not ask readers to create accounts. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. We do not use the satire stories as a source of personal data about real people.

2. How we use information

• To receive and reply to contact-form messages.
• To keep the site working, diagnose faults, and limit abuse.
• To sign editors into the desk.
• To meet a legal request if one is valid and required.

We do not sell contact-form contents or server logs.

3. Sharing and third parties

We use Google Analytics 4 (measurement ID G-24RM4PRNP5), the same property already on the live site. Google collects device and usage data under its own policy so we can see aggregate traffic. We do not send contact-form names or messages to Analytics.

The site may also load advertising or fonts from other companies when those features are switched on. Those companies have their own policies.

We may share information with a host or contractor who runs the server, or if the law requires it. We do not sell personal information.

Third-party sites linked from stories or ads are not covered by this policy.

4. Retention and your rights

Contact messages are kept only as long as needed to handle the request and maintain a basic record of abuse. Server logs are rotated in the ordinary course of hosting. Editor accounts remain until they are removed by an administrator.

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to ask what personal information we hold about you, to correct it, or to ask that it be deleted. Send that request through the About form. We will respond as required by applicable law.

We do not currently respond to DNT browser signals, because there is no single required standard for them.

California residents may make a yearly “Shine the Light” request about personal information shared for direct marketing. We do not share reader information for direct marketing.

5. Contact and updates

Questions about this policy: use the form on the About page.

We may update this notice. The date at the top is the current version.

Related: Terms of use, including the satire disclaimer.