Last updated: August 27, 2026

This page explains what information FinallyTheFacts.com collects when you visit, why, and what choices you have. It's written to be genuinely readable rather than dense legal boilerplate — if anything here is unclear, use the Contact Us page and ask.

What we collect

If you use the Contact Us form: your name, email address, subject, message, and the IP address your submission came from (kept to help prevent abuse of the form). This is stored in our database and used only to respond to you — it is never sold, and never used for marketing without your separate, explicit consent.

If you subscribe to our newsletter: your email address, stored specifically for sending the newsletter and nothing else. We use a double opt-in process — you'll receive a confirmation email with a link you must click before you're actually subscribed, so no one can sign up an email address that isn't theirs. Every newsletter email includes a one-click unsubscribe link that requires no login and takes effect immediately; you can also stop receiving emails at any time via that link. We never sell or share subscriber email addresses with third parties, other than our email-sending provider, which processes them solely to deliver the emails on our behalf.

If you browse without submitting any form: a session cookie may be set for site security purposes (this is strictly necessary for the site to function and isn't something you can opt out of, in the same way a shopping cart needs a cookie to remember what's in it — though as a reader, you'll rarely encounter this unless you're logged into the admin panel).

Your light/dark mode choice is remembered using your browser's local storage, purely so the site displays correctly next time you visit. This never leaves your device and isn't shared with us.

Cookies and similar technologies

Strictly necessary storage (site security, your light/dark mode preference) is always active, since the site can't function properly without it.

We use a simple two-tier system: strictly necessary storage (site security, remembering your cookie choice itself, your light/dark mode preference) is always active, since the site can't function properly without it, and doesn't require consent under data protection law. Anything beyond that — currently limited to advertising, if and when any ads are shown — only activates if you accept it via the cookie banner shown on your first visit. You can change your choice at any time using the "Cookie Settings" button near the top of the page.

If you reject non-essential cookies, any ad content on this site simply won't load or run — you'll still see the same articles and features, just without ad scripts or any cookies they might otherwise set.

Third-party services

We rely on a small number of external services to run this site:

• Google Fonts — used to load the site's typefaces. Your browser makes a request directly to Google's servers to fetch these, which may expose your IP address to Google in the process.
• Font Awesome (via Cloudflare's CDN) — used for icons throughout the site, loaded the same way, from Cloudflare's servers.
• Google reCAPTCHA — if enabled, our Contact Us form uses Google's reCAPTCHA to help prevent automated spam. It loads only on that page, and only when you interact with the form, and may set its own cookies or use your IP address as part of its fraud-detection process. See Google's Privacy Policy for detail on how it handles that data.
• Our RSS/video feed sources — headline and video panels on the homepage link out to external publishers and platforms (e.g. news outlets, YouTube). Clicking through to any of them is subject to that site's own privacy policy, not ours.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Some links to books on this site are affiliate links — if you make a purchase after clicking one, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

How long we keep data

Contact form submissions are kept only as long as needed to address your inquiry, and are periodically reviewed and removed by our staff. You can request earlier deletion at any time — see below.

Your rights

If data protection law applies to you (for example, the UK/EU GDPR), you have the right to ask what personal data we hold about you, request a copy of it, ask us to correct or delete it, and object to how it's used. To exercise any of these, contact us via the Contact Us page with a clear description of your request. We'll respond within a reasonable timeframe.

Children's privacy

This site is not directed at children, and we don't knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 16.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

If how we handle data changes meaningfully, we'll update this page and adjust the "last updated" date above.