Privacy policy

What we collect

Severance Ledger is a publication, not an account-based service. We do not run user logins, and most visitors never give us any personal information at all. We collect data in two ways:

• Analytics. When analytics are enabled, we use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to measure aggregate traffic — which articles are read, roughly where readers come from, and how the site performs. GA4 is configured with IP anonymization (anonymize_ip) enabled, so your full IP address is not stored by Google, and the data is used only in aggregate — we are not trying to identify individual readers. (Analytics may not be active on every visit; when it is off, the site sets no analytics cookies.)
• Things you send us. If you email us or submit our contact form, we receive what you choose to send — your name, email address, and message — so we can reply and, where relevant, act on a tip or correction. We use that information only for that purpose.

Our web host, Cloudflare, may also process limited technical information (such as IP addresses) as part of serving and protecting the site — standard log and security data common to any hosted website.

Cookies

Any cookies this site sets are used for analytics only. When GA4 analytics are enabled we ask for your consent first, through a banner: analytics cookies are set only if you accept, and until then no analytics cookies are stored (we use Google Consent Mode, which keeps analytics storage denied by default). You can change or withdraw your choice at any time via the "Cookie settings" link in the footer. We do not use advertising cookies, we do not run third-party ad networks or affiliate trackers in our editorial pages, and we do not sell advertising — so there is no ad-targeting profile being built from your visit. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings; the site will still work.

How we use data, and what we never do

We use the data above to understand which coverage is useful, to keep the site running and secure, and to respond to messages you send us. We do not:

• sell or rent your personal information to anyone;
• share it with third parties except the service providers that operate the site (our analytics and hosting providers, below) or where the law requires it;
• use it to build advertising profiles or run retargeting.

Service providers

We rely on a small set of providers to operate Severance Ledger:

• Cloudflare — hosting and content delivery. See Cloudflare's own privacy documentation for how it handles data on behalf of the sites it serves.
• Google Analytics 4 — aggregate usage analytics, configured with IP anonymization as described above.

These providers process data on our behalf under their own privacy terms. We do not share your information beyond what these services require to function.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you have rights over your personal information. Under the EU/UK GDPR you may request access to the data we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, object to or restrict certain processing, and withdraw consent. Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA) you have the right to know what personal information we collect, to request its deletion, and to opt out of any sale or sharing of personal information — and to note, we do not sell or share your personal information.

To exercise any of these rights, email editor@severanceledger.com with the subject "Privacy request". We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law. Because we keep so little, in many cases there is simply nothing personal on file to return or delete.

Data retention and children

Analytics data is retained according to our GA4 configuration and Google's retention controls; correspondence is kept only as long as needed to handle your message. Severance Ledger is intended for an adult, working audience and is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.

Changes and contact

If we change this policy, we will update the date at the top of this page. Questions about privacy, or a request about your data, go to editor@severanceledger.com.