Privacy policy

This policy sets out, plainly, what SohoPage collects when you read, respond or write to us, why we keep it and for how long. The short version: very little, and not for long.

At a glance

• Reading needs no account, and readers are given no cookies.
• There are no analytics, no advertising, no tracking pixels and no third-party scripts.
• A response to a story stores the name you give and your words. No email address is asked for.
• Messages sent through the contact page are deleted automatically after 90 days.
• Web server logs are rotated and deleted after about two weeks.

When you read

You can read every story without an account, and we do not set cookies in your browser. Like almost every website, our web server keeps standard access logs: your IP address, the page requested, your browser’s user agent and the time of the request. These logs are used for security and to keep the site running well. They are rotated and deleted after about two weeks.

When you respond to a story

A response stores the name you enter and the text you write; we do not ask for an email address. Responses are held for review. Once a moderator approves one, it is published beneath the story with your name and the date, and anyone can read it. Responses that are not approved are deleted automatically after 30 days.

When you write to us

The contact page asks for your name, your email address, a topic and your message. We use these only to reply to you and to deal with your request. Messages are deleted automatically after 90 days.

Writers

Writer accounts are by invitation. The profile details a writer chooses to publish (a portrait, a short biography and, optionally, a website link) and the stories they publish are public by design, and are also distributed through RSS feeds.

Preventing spam

To limit how often forms can be submitted, your IP address is held briefly in memory when you send a response or a message. It is not written to the site’s database.

Cookies

Readers receive no cookies. The only cookie SohoPage sets is a session cookie for the site’s administrators when they sign in.

Third-party services

A few files are fetched from other providers. When your browser requests them, those providers receive your IP address and browser information, and their own privacy policies apply:

• Google Fonts (fonts.googleapis.com and fonts.gstatic.com) supplies the typefaces used on every page.
• Unsplash (images.unsplash.com) supplies the photographs on the front page.

The site is served over HTTPS, using certificates from Let’s Encrypt, so pages and forms travel encrypted between your browser and us.

What we do not do

We do not sell personal information, build advertising profiles or share what you send us with anyone beyond what is described above.

Your requests

To ask for a copy of the information we hold about you, or for it to be deleted, use the contact page and choose Privacy request. If it concerns a response you wrote, include a link to the story and the name you used, so that we can find it.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, we will update it on this page and change the “last updated” date at the top.