Privacy Policy

Effective date: to be set at launch · Last updated August 2026

The short version: your real name stays private, your nickname is public, we don't sell data, and we collect the minimum needed to run an accountable community site.

What we collect and why

Real name (members). Required at signup for accountability. Stored encrypted at rest. Visible ONLY to site administrators and moderators — never to other users, never in any public page, feed, or API response. We test for this automatically.
Email (members and alert subscribers). Used to sign in, for emergency alerts you opt into, and (Phase 2) an optional weekly digest. Visible only to admins and moderators.
Public nickname. Your chosen public identity. This is what everyone sees.
Guest comments & reports. Guests are identified by a salted, one-way hash of IP address and browser signature, used solely for spam prevention and ban enforcement. These hashes cannot be reversed into an IP and are deleted after 90 days.
Analytics. We use self-hosted Umami analytics: aggregate page counts with no cookies, no cross-site tracking, and no Google Analytics. Analytics data never identifies individuals.

Who can see what

Public: nicknames, badges (like Verified Local), and the content you post.
Moderators and admins: real names, emails, guest fingerprint hashes, edit history.
Every moderator access path is role-gated and every moderation action is written to an append-only audit log.

What we never do

Sell or rent your data. To anyone. Ever.
Show your real name or email publicly.
Run third-party ad trackers.
Use shadowbans (all moderation is logged publicly).

Retention

Account data: kept while your account exists; deleted within 30 days of account deletion, except where law requires longer.
Guest fingerprint hashes: 90 days.
Moderation audit records: kept indefinitely (they contain account IDs, not real names).
Emergency alert subscriptions: until you unsubscribe (one tap in any alert email).

Where your data lives

The site and its database are self-hosted on JB Web Studios' own server — your data isn't parked with a cloud database company. The one outside service is Resend, which delivers our email (alerts, listing messages, the digest) and processes recipient addresses to do so.

Your choices

Request a copy or deletion of your data: email the admin.
Unsubscribe from alert emails: one-tap link in every email.
Change your public nickname: once every 90 days from your account page.

Contact

Privacy questions: [email protected].

These documents are working drafts prepared for Marion News and have not yet been reviewed by a Montana attorney. They are not legal advice. Questions: [email protected].