What we keep, what we don't.

Plain-language summary.

We are a small independent publication. Our analytics is anonymous, our newsletter is opt-in, and our affiliate links are disclosed every time we use one. We don't track you across the web, we don't share your email with anyone, and we don't run third-party advertising. If any of that changes, we'll update this page and tell newsletter subscribers directly.

What we collect.

Two things, only the second of which is identifying:

That's the entire list. We don't ask for names, phone numbers, or addresses. If you contact us via the form, we keep that thread in our editorial inbox until the conversation is finished, then archive for two years for our own reference.

Cookies & analytics.

We use one privacy-respecting analytics product (Plausible) which does not set tracking cookies and does not store IP addresses. The site sets one functional cookie to remember your theme preference (light/dark) and one to remember whether you've dismissed the affiliate-link banner. Both expire after 12 months and contain no personal data.

What we don't do

• No third-party advertising trackers. No Google Ads, no Meta pixels, no retargeting.
• No session replay. We don't record what you click, scroll over, or hover.
• No A/B-testing tools that fingerprint you. If we test layout changes, it's with anonymous bucket assignment that resets when you clear cookies.

The newsletter.

The Brief is a monthly editorial newsletter. We use Buttondown to send it. Subscribing is opt-in (a single confirmation email); unsubscribing is one click in any issue. We see open rates and click rates as anonymous aggregates only — your individual reading behaviour is not surfaced to the editorial team.

If you unsubscribe, we delete your email from the active list within 24 hours. We retain a one-way hash of the unsubscribed address for up to 6 months solely to prevent accidental re-subscription, then it's purged.

Affiliate links.

Some links to tools we review include affiliate codes. When you click them and later sign up, we may earn a commission. This never affects scores, rankings, or what we choose to review. Affiliate-bearing links are marked on every page that contains them.

The affiliate networks we use (Impact, PartnerStack, and a small number of direct programs) drop their own cookies on click — we don't control those, but we link to each network's privacy policy in our methodology.

Who we share data with.

Three categories of processors, all under standard data-processing agreements:

• Buttondown — sends the newsletter. Holds your email.
• Plausible Analytics — anonymous traffic stats. Holds nothing identifying you.
• Cloudflare — DDoS protection & CDN. Sees your IP at the network layer (not stored).

That is the entire list. We do not sell data, we do not run audience-marketplace integrations, and we do not provide bulk exports to anyone — including the tool vendors we review.

Your rights.

If you live in the UK, EU, or California, you have the right to (a) ask what data we hold on you, (b) ask us to correct it, (c) ask us to delete it, and (d) ask us to give you a copy. We honour all four for everyone, regardless of jurisdiction.

To exercise any of these, email us from the address you used to subscribe. We respond within 7 days; if your request needs longer (very rare), we'll tell you why.

Retention

We keep your newsletter email for as long as you stay subscribed. Anonymous analytics are retained for 24 months in aggregate form. Inbound contact-form messages are kept for two years from the last reply, then archived offline. If we change anything material, we'll bump the version number at the top of this page and email subscribers with a one-paragraph summary of what changed.

Children.

The site is intended for an adult professional audience. We don't knowingly collect data from anyone under 16. If you believe we have, please send us a message and we will purge the record immediately.

Changes to this policy.

If we change anything material, we'll bump the version number at the top of this page and email subscribers with a one-paragraph summary of what changed and why. We'll never make a change retroactively apply to data you've already given us — new terms apply going forward.

The full revision history is published in our transparency log.

Contact.

Privacy questions and everything else can go through our contact page.

Belreos Ltd., registered in England & Wales, № 11842903. Registered office: 12 Hatton Garden, London EC1N 8AH, United Kingdom.