Privacy
This notice explains what RWBP stores for anonymous readers, registered users, support checkout, and site preferences.
Last reviewed: May 31, 2026
RWBP separates data into anonymous reader data, registered account data, operational payment records, local browser preferences, and basic service logs.
Public content can be read without an account. Personalization, saved content, voting, supporter tools, and billing tools require a registered account or an explicit checkout action.
Anonymous users can read the public site without creating an application account. RWBP does not create an account profile, saved preference record, bookmark list, vote list, supporter account, or registered-user content interaction record for anonymous browsing.
RWBP systems may store basic server and security logs for anonymous requests, including request path, timestamp, IP address, user agent, response status, and operational error details needed to run and protect the service.
The anonymous user’s browser may store local preferences: selected site language, UI mode (day, night, or system), sidebar collapsed state, and the “stay anonymous” choice. These values are stored in the browser and are not synced into an RWBP account.
If an anonymous user starts optional support checkout or sponsorship, RWBP stores an operational payment or sponsorship record for that action: payment purpose, amount, currency, topic or campaign slug when provided, public display name when provided, badge or public-mention consent, provider, payment status, provider IDs, receipt URL when available, fee amount, net amount, and timestamps. Payment card and bank details are not stored by RWBP.
If an anonymous user submits a privacy request, RWBP stores the request type, name, contact email, optional account email, California-resident or authorized-agent flags, relationship to RWBP, request details, request status, verification status, response deadlines, response notes, and timestamps.
Registered users have an account record. RWBP stores email address, name when provided, account role, supporter status, supporter since date, supporter tier, billing portal availability, provider customer ID when payment processing creates one, account timestamps, and the authentication credential needed to sign in. Passwords must be handled by the authentication system as protected credentials, not stored or displayed as plaintext.
For logged-in users, RWBP can display a profile picture from either a custom uploaded image or Gravatar. If a user uploads a custom profile picture, RWBP stores the image file, media metadata, and the user-account relationship to that image. If no custom image is set, RWBP computes a Gravatar image URL from the account email; the user’s browser may request the image from Gravatar.
Registered-user preferences stored by RWBP include perspective mode, reading depth, preferred language, additional content languages, “see all content languages” setting, topic focus, and action prompt visibility.
Registered-user content actions stored by RWBP include bookmarked or voted content ID, content type, title, language, link, eyebrow, section, vote value, bookmark flag, last interaction timestamp, and the user relationship that owns the action.
Registered supporters may also have linked payment and sponsorship records: payment purpose, amount, currency, status, provider, provider session/payment/subscription/customer IDs, receipt URL, fee amount, net amount, paid timestamp, topic or campaign reference, public display name, badge consent, public mention approval, amount visibility, and editorial independence acknowledgement.
If a registered user submits a privacy request while logged in, RWBP may connect that request to the account so staff can verify and respond without asking the user to create a separate request profile.
RWBP does not store payment card numbers, CVC codes, bank account numbers, raw payment method details, card fingerprints, card expiration dates, card brand, last four digits, CVC check results, or banking credentials.
Payment card and bank details are entered only through the payment provider’s hosted checkout or customer portal. RWBP stores only the operational payment and sponsorship records needed to confirm status, route supporter benefits, issue recognition when approved, reconcile fees and net amounts, and provide a provider-hosted receipt link when available.
The site uses session cookies for login, account access, security, payment handoff, and other functions that are necessary to provide a requested service. Anonymous browsing does not require an RWBP account session.
Local storage is used for interface preferences such as selected site language, UI mode, sidebar collapsed state, the anonymous-reader choice, and the privacy-choice record named rwbp-privacy-consent. Local storage values remain on the reader’s device unless the reader clears them or changes the setting.
Optional analytics and optional third-party media embeds are treated as non-essential. They must stay off unless the reader allows them through Privacy Choices.
Embedded or linked third-party services such as payment checkout, YouTube, Substack, Reddit, Gravatar, or future analytics providers may apply their own privacy terms when readers interact with them or opt into the related feature.
RWBP is hosted in Iceland and may be read by people in the European Economic Area, so GDPR-style data rights are treated as a baseline for account and support data.
Depending on the situation, a person may request access, correction, deletion, restriction, portability, objection to certain processing, or withdrawal of consent for optional processing. Some records may need to be retained for security, legal, tax, donation, accounting, dispute, or editorial-integrity reasons.
Privacy requests should identify the relevant account email, checkout reference, sponsorship display name, or browser/device context. RWBP may need to verify identity before changing or exporting account records.
RWBP does not currently sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, and it does not use sensitive personal information to infer characteristics.
California residents may use the privacy request path to ask to know or access personal information, delete personal information, correct inaccurate personal information, opt out of sale or sharing, limit the use of sensitive personal information, or raise another privacy request.
RWBP tracks privacy requests so staff can verify identity when needed, confirm receipt, respond within the relevant deadline, and document completion, denial, withdrawal, or legal/security/accounting reasons for retention.
Typical legal bases include providing the requested service, consent for optional processing, legitimate interests such as security and fraud prevention, and legal obligations for payment, accounting, tax, and dispute records.
RWBP should keep personal data only as long as needed for the purpose described here, then delete, anonymize, or aggregate it unless a legal, security, accounting, or editorial-integrity reason requires retention.
Production backups may briefly retain deleted or changed records until the normal backup rotation expires. Restored backups must be reconciled against completed deletion or correction requests when practical.
This page is the source of truth for the public user-data inventory. Any implementation change that adds, removes, or changes stored anonymous-user data, registered-user data, local browser storage, cookies, consent choices, payment records, sponsorship records, privacy request records, or content interaction records must update this privacy notice in the same change.
Feature work that changes stored user data is not complete until the relevant anonymous-user and registered-user lists above still match the application behavior.
Privacy requests should include the email address or account context needed to identify the relevant records. Do not send payment card data.
RWBP should log the request, verify identity where needed, respond within the legally required window, and document any reason a request cannot be fully completed.
