The short version
We collect the minimum data needed to run the site, send the newsletter, protect the forms from abuse, handle payments, and understand whether the work is useful. We do not sell your data. We do not run ad pixels. We do not build advertising profiles. We do not use cross-site tracking cookies. We do not record your screen or keystrokes.
This policy explains what we collect, why we collect it, and how you can ask us to change or delete it.
- We do not use advertising cookies, third-party ad pixels, or cross-site tracking.
- We use only necessary or functional browser storage: security protections, your language choice, short-lived session state for things you asked the site to do, and simple session flags (for example, so we count your visit once per session - a yes/no flag, not an identifier).
- Our analytics are cookieless and used to understand the site in aggregate and catch errors.
- Newsletter signup is double opt-in. You are not added until you confirm.
- Every newsletter has an unsubscribe link.
- Paid membership billing is handled by Stripe. We never see or store your full card number.
- We do not store your IP address. It is used in the moment - security checks and a coarse location estimate (country, region, city) - and then discarded. The one exception: unauthorized attempts to access our admin console keep that request's IP, and even those records are deleted automatically after 90 days.
- You can ask us to correct or delete your personal data.
Who we are
Science Snitch is operated by Science Snitch LLC, a Wyoming (USA) company.
- Website: sciencesnitch.com
- Newsletter sender: news.sciencesnitch.com
- Contact: the contact page on this website
When you read the site
We use cookieless analytics to count page views, understand which pages are read, and notice broken pages. We do not use this to follow you around the internet.
Browser storage
We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.
The site may use a small amount of first-party browser storage for:
- remembering your language choice;
- keeping a form or welcome flow working during the current session;
- security or anti-abuse checks;
- payment or subscription flows you start.
This storage is not used for advertising, resale, or cross-site profiling.
Newsletter signup
If you subscribe, we collect:
- your email address;
- your preferred language;
- confirmation and unsubscribe records;
- signup context: the page and source you signed up from, the referring page or campaign tag that brought you here, your approximate location (country, region, city - estimated from the network), a timezone estimated the same way, your browser language, and your browser, system, and device type. We use this to send the right language version, understand how readers find us, and spot abuse. No fingerprinting, no advertising id, and no IP address - we do not store it.
We use double opt-in: you are added only after you click the confirmation link.
We also keep a consent record showing when you subscribed, confirmed, unsubscribed, or changed your status. This protects both you and us: it lets us prove what happened without guessing.
Newsletter delivery and engagement
We use Mailgun to send email.
For newsletters, we receive delivery events such as delivered, bounced, complained, unsubscribed, opened, and clicked. We use these events to:
- stop emailing people who unsubscribe or complain;
- protect deliverability;
- avoid sending duplicate or broken campaigns;
- understand whether a newsletter is useful.
Welcome survey
After confirming, you may answer an optional welcome question.
If you answer, we store the answer so we can understand what readers care about.
Please do not send sensitive information unless it is truly necessary.
Contact form
If you contact us, we collect the name, email address, and message you submit.
Alongside your message we keep a short, fixed list of context: your browser language, your browser and system type, your city and country, your timezone, the page you wrote from, and the page that referred you. No IP address, no device fingerprinting. Enough to protect the form and answer in context, not enough to build a profile about you.
We do not use contact-form information for advertising. We use it to read your message, reply, and protect the site.
Paid membership
If you buy a paid membership, payment is processed by Stripe.
We store the Stripe customer/subscription references, membership tier, status, and renewal period so we can provide the membership. We do not store your full card number. Stripe handles card entry and payment processing.
Our admin tools may show limited billing status, such as plan, renewal date, payment status, card brand, last four digits, and expiry, so we can help with support. We do not see data that can be used to charge your card outside Stripe.
Operational logs and alerts
We keep short-lived operational logs to run the service safely. These logs help us debug broken flows, investigate abuse, confirm that unsubscribe and suppression rules worked, and audit admin actions.
The detailed operational log is kept in its own restricted database, separate from the subscriber database, and its entries are deleted automatically after a limited period.
We also send ourselves minimal operational alerts for important events, such as a new signup, failed email, billing issue, abuse spike, or system error. These alerts are designed to be low-detail: they use event labels and internal references, not personal messages or raw subscriber data.
What we do not do
We do not:
- sell personal data;
- use ad networks;
- use Meta/Facebook pixel, Google Ads tags, or similar advertising trackers;
- use third-party cookies for analytics;
- record sessions, screens, mouse movement, keystrokes, or form input;
- send your full email address to browser analytics;
- use your data for cross-context behavioral advertising;
- store visitors' IP addresses (used in the moment for security and a coarse location estimate, then discarded; the one exception is unauthorized attempts to access our admin console, and even those records are deleted automatically after 90 days);
- keep sending you newsletters after you unsubscribe. You may still receive a service email about your account, such as a payment receipt, a confirmation you asked for, or a renewal reminder for a paid membership.
Who helps us run the service
We use a small set of service providers to run the site:
- Cloudflare for hosting, security, edge routing, and databases;
- Mailgun for email delivery;
- Stripe for payments;
- PostHog for cookieless product analytics and error reporting;
- operational messaging tools for minimal internal alerts.
These services are used to operate Science Snitch, not to sell or trade reader data.
How long we keep data
We keep data only as long as we need it for the purpose it was collected:
- newsletter records are kept while you are subscribed; if you unsubscribe, we keep your subscription record and unsubscribe history so we can honor your choice, unless you ask us to delete it;
- suppression records are kept so we do not email people who unsubscribed, complained, bounced, or asked not to be contacted;
- operational logs are short-lived and automatically pruned;
- survey and feedback answers are pruned when no longer useful; answers linked to your subscription are removed with it, or on request;
- payment records are kept as needed for billing, accounting, and dispute handling;
- contact messages are kept only as long as needed to respond, keep a reasonable record, and protect the service - and are deleted from our database automatically after 12 months at the latest.
If you ask us to delete your data, we remove personal data from our own databases where we can, and ask our service providers to delete it too, except records they must keep for legal, security, or financial reasons. We may keep a minimal do-not-contact record so we do not accidentally add you again.
Your choices
You can:
- unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time;
- cancel paid membership through the billing portal or by contacting us;
- ask for a copy of the data we hold about you;
- ask us to correct inaccurate data;
- ask us to delete your data;
- object to any processing we do based on our legitimate interests; we will stop unless we have a compelling reason to continue, such as fraud prevention or keeping the do-not-contact list working.
Use the contact page to make a privacy request. We may need enough information to verify that the request is really about you. We answer privacy requests within 30 days, free of charge. If you are unhappy with our answer, you can complain to your local data-protection authority - though we would appreciate the chance to fix it first.
Email unsubscribe and paid membership
Unsubscribing from emails stops newsletter emails. It does not automatically cancel billing, because mailbox unsubscribe buttons can sometimes be triggered by email apps rather than by you personally.
If you unsubscribe while you have an active paid membership, we show you a clear way to manage or cancel the membership too. We do not want anyone paying for something they no longer want.
Where your data lives
We are a US company, so your data is processed in the United States and on our providers' global infrastructure. Wherever you live, you get the same rights described on this page, and our providers use recognized safeguards for international transfers.
Security
We use Cloudflare, access controls, separate databases, rate limits, double opt-in, unsubscribe suppression, payment-provider webhooks, and operational logs to protect the service.
Children
Science Snitch is written for adults. It is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If you believe a child has given us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
If we materially change how we collect or use data, we will update this policy and, where appropriate, notify subscribers. We will not use data we already collected in a materially different way without asking you first.
Contact
Questions or privacy requests: use the contact page on sciencesnitch.com.