Welcome to The Peel (“we,” “our,” or “us”). We take your privacy seriously—mainly because the lawyers said we have to. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your information when you visit our site.
By using this website, you agree to the practices described here. If you don’t agree, please close this tab and go read a real newspaper.
1. Information We Collect
We collect very little information, but here’s what might come through:
a. Basic Website Data
When you visit, our server automatically logs:
- Your IP address (the internet equivalent of your home address)
- Browser type and version
- Pages viewed and time spent
This information is used only to count visitors and occasionally brag about them.
b. Voluntary Information
If you:
- Subscribe to a newsletter
- Submit a tip, comment, or contact form
We’ll collect your name and email address.
We promise not to sell or trade it, even if offered a lifetime supply of coffee.
c. Cookies
We use cookies to remember that you’ve been here before.
You can block cookies in your browser settings, but then we can’t promise a smooth reading experience—or any experience at all.
2. How We Use Information
We use your information to:
- Maintain and improve the site
- Send occasional email updates (only if you opt in)
- Keep the bots from pretending to be human
We do not use your data to:
- Sell ads for things you don’t need
- Create secret profiles
- Control your thoughts (that’s your social media’s job)
3. Sharing of Information
We don’t sell, rent, or share your personal information—unless required by law, court order, or divine intervention.
If law enforcement ever asks, we’ll hand over exactly what we have: almost nothing.
4. Third-Party Services
The Peel may use reputable third-party tools for analytics or newsletter delivery (such as Google Analytics or Mailchimp).
These services have their own privacy policies and data-handling practices, which we don’t control but try to understand between coffee refills.
5. Data Retention
We keep non-identifiable log data for up to one year to analyze trends and delete it once we forget why we kept it.
6. Your Rights
If you want to:
- See what information we have about you
- Correct it
- Delete it entirely
Send an email. We’ll respond promptly—unless your request sounds like spam or conspiracy theory, in which case we’ll probably still respond, but with sarcasm.
7. Children’s Privacy
This site isn’t directed to children under 13.
If a child somehow submits personal data, we’ll delete it faster than a typo in a headline.
8. Security
We use HTTPS encryption and modern hosting practices to protect your data.
Still, no system is 100 percent secure—so don’t send us state secrets, medical records, or your Netflix password.
9. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy occasionally. If we do, we’ll update the “Last Updated” date and continue pretending we’ve become more transparent.
10. Contact
Questions, concerns, or love letters?
Email us or send a carrier pigeon to:
The Peel
Richmond, Virginia, USA
Virginia’s Most Overripe Source for News That Shouldn’t Be True
