Privacy Policy

Short version

• Reading Broadside requires no account and leaves no tracking cookies.
• Analytics are cookieless and aggregate — we cannot identify individual readers.
• If you subscribe to the digest, we store your email address only.
• Public submissions are reviewed editorially. Your name and contact details are not published without your permission.
• We do not sell, rent, or share your data with advertisers.

1. Who we are

Broadside is operated by Deep Fathom LLC (deepfathom.ai), a compliance advisory and technology firm serving the US Defense Industrial Base. For privacy inquiries, contact privacy@deepfathom.ai.

2. Data we collect automatically

Cookieless analytics

We use a self-hosted Matomo instance (hosted at echo.deepfathom.ai) configured in cookieless mode. Matomo in this mode does not store cookies on your device and does not create persistent visitor profiles. It collects:

• Pages visited and time on page
• Referrer URL (the page you came from)
• Browser type and version, operating system, screen resolution
• General location derived from IP address (country and region — the IP address itself is not stored)
• Outbound link clicks

This data is retained on Deep Fathom's own infrastructure and is not shared with third-party analytics services. Because we operate in cookieless mode, no cookie consent is required under the GDPR ePrivacy Directive.

Story click ranking

When you view a story page, an anonymous click event is recorded to help rank content. Your IP address is one-way hashed before storage; the raw IP is not retained. Click data is used only for editorial ranking and is never tied to your identity.

3. Data you provide

Digest subscription

If you sign up for the Broadside digest, we collect your email address. Signup uses a double opt-in flow: you receive a confirmation email before your address is added to the send list. We use your email address to:

• Send the digest you requested (daily or weekly)
• Send the opt-in confirmation email
• Send occasional editorial notices (rarely, on major changes only)

Every digest email includes a one-click unsubscribe link. We do not share your email with third parties. Digest delivery is handled by Mailgun (a transactional email provider). Email addresses are retained until you unsubscribe; deleted or anonymized within 30 days thereafter.

Public submissions

The Submit form accepts story tips. Submissions are rate-limited by IP address (the IP is used transiently for rate limiting and is not stored). If you include contact information in a submission, it is visible to editors only and is not published. We retain submissions in our editorial database; submissions that are not promoted to stories may be deleted at any time.

Reader flags

If you use the "flag" function on a story, we record the story identifier and an optional reason. No account or personal information is required to flag. Flag data is used solely for editorial quality review.

4. Cookies

Broadside does not set tracking or analytics cookies. We may set a session cookie if you are an authenticated editor using the editor interface. Readers have no cookie interaction.

5. Third-party services

6. Your rights

You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal data we hold about you. For digest subscribers, the fastest path is the unsubscribe link in any digest email. For other requests, email privacy@deepfathom.ai and we will respond within 30 days.

If you are located in the European Economic Area, UK, or California, you have additional rights under GDPR, UK GDPR, and CCPA respectively. We honour these rights on request regardless of your location.

7. Data retention

• Analytics data: retained per Matomo instance configuration (currently 12 months of aggregate data).
• Digest email addresses: retained until unsubscription, then deleted within 30 days.
• Submissions: retained indefinitely in the editorial database; unproductive submissions may be purged at editor discretion.
• Reader flags: retained indefinitely for editorial quality review.
• Hashed click data: retained for 90 days.

8. Changes to this policy

Material changes will be noted with an updated "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We will not retroactively apply materially less protective practices to data already collected.

9. Contact

Email privacy@deepfathom.ai for any privacy questions. We aim to respond within 48 hours.