Privacy Policy
Browns River Ledger is an independent publication based in the United States. This policy explains what information the site handles when you read it or write to us, why we handle it, and how long we keep it. The short answer is very little, and only what's needed to run the site and reply to you.
Effective date: October 2026
The short version
- We don't use analytics services, advertising networks or tracking cookies.
- We don't run a newsletter or a mailing list.
- Our server keeps basic request logs for a short time, for security and to prevent abuse.
- If you use the contact form, we use what you send only to reply to you.
- We don't sell personal information, and we don't share it for marketing.
What is collected when you read the site
Like almost every website, ours runs on a web server that records basic information about each request it receives. Those logs include:
- the IP address the request came from
- the browser's user agent string, which identifies the browser and operating system
- the date and time of the request
- the URL that was requested
We use this information only to keep the site secure and working: to spot and block attacks, automated abuse and spam, and to diagnose technical problems. Logs are kept for a short period and then deleted or overwritten. We don't combine them with other information to identify individual readers, and we don't use them to build profiles.
We don't use analytics tools, advertising or tracking cookies, tracking pixels, or similar technologies to follow readers around the site or across the web.
What is collected when you contact us
The contact form asks for your name, your email address, your organization (optional), and your message. We use that information for one purpose: to read your message and reply to it. It isn't added to a mailing list, used for marketing, or passed to anyone else.
We delete contact messages when we no longer need them, which is normally once the conversation has run its course. We may keep a message longer if it relates to an ongoing exchange, a correction we're making, or a legal obligation.
Please don't send sensitive personal information, such as health details, financial information or government ID numbers, through the form. We don't need it.
Cookies
Readers don't receive cookies from the site. The only cookie the site sets is a single, strictly necessary cookie used when one of our editors signs in to the site's administration area. It keeps that editor signed in and is used for nothing else. Our Cookie Policy describes it in more detail, along with the security cookies our network provider may set.
Service providers
Two kinds of service provider process requests on our behalf:
- Our hosting provider operates the server the site runs on and stores the site's data, including server logs and contact messages, for us.
- Cloudflare provides the content delivery network and security services in front of the site. Requests to the site pass through Cloudflare's network, which processes information such as IP addresses and request details in order to deliver pages and protect the site against attacks. Cloudflare handles that data under its own privacy policy, available on its website.
These providers process data to run and protect the site, not to advertise to you.
What we don't do
We don't sell, rent or trade personal information. We don't share it with advertisers, data brokers or marketing partners, because we don't work with any. We would disclose information only if required to by law, or where necessary to protect the site, our writers or our readers from fraud, abuse or security threats.
Children
The site is written for working professionals, researchers and volunteers, and it is not directed at children under 13. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has sent us information through the contact form, let us know and we will delete it.
Where information is handled
We're based in the United States, and the site is operated from here. Because Cloudflare runs a global network, a request may be handled in a data center outside the United States, close to where the reader is. By using the site, you understand that information may be processed in the United States and in other countries.
Security
We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect the information we hold, including encrypted connections (HTTPS) and restricted access to the site's administration area. No system is perfectly secure, which is one more reason we keep as little information as we can in the first place.
Your choices and rights
You can ask us what personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct or delete it. In practice, this usually means a message you sent through the contact form. Send your request through the contact form, using the same email address you used before, so we can match it to your earlier message. We'll respond within a reasonable time and won't charge for it.
Depending on the state you live in, you may have additional rights under state privacy laws. We aim to honor reasonable requests from any reader, wherever they live.
Because we don't sell personal information or use it for targeted advertising, there is nothing to opt out of on that front.
Changes to this policy
If we change how the site handles personal information, we'll update this page and revise the effective date at the top. If a change is significant, we'll say so clearly here.
Contact
Questions about this policy, or about your information, can be sent through the contact form.