There Are No Kings

This Privacy Policy explains how There Are No Kings ("we," "our," or "us") collects, uses, shares, and protects information about you when you use our website and services (the "Service").

1. Information we collect

Account information. When you register we collect your email address and, optionally, your name and phone number. We store a hashed password (never the plaintext). For verification we send one-time codes to your email and/or phone.
Contributor & writer information. If you apply to write, we collect your application text and any sample links you provide. For payouts we collect the information required by our payment processor (Stripe), which may include identity and bank/account details handled directly by Stripe.
Submissions. Content you submit (reports, comments, articles) and associated metadata.
Usage data. Log data such as IP address, browser type, pages viewed, and aggregate analytics (including article view counts and ad impressions/clicks).
Cookies. We use cookies for authentication sessions and basic analytics.

2. How we use information

to operate, maintain, and secure the Service;
to verify your identity and prevent fraud and abuse;
to process contributor submissions, writer applications, and payouts;
to calculate ad-revenue attribution and writer earnings;
to communicate with you about your account, submissions, and corrections;
to measure and improve the Service.

3. Verification codes

Verification codes sent by email or SMS are stored only as one-way hashes with a short expiry and are discarded after use. We do not use your phone number for marketing.

4. Payments

Payments and payouts are processed by Stripe. We do not store full card numbers or bank credentials on our servers; that information is handled by Stripe under its own privacy policy.

5. How we share information

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only:

with service providers (e.g., hosting, email/SMS delivery, Stripe) who process it on our behalf;
when required by law or to respond to lawful requests;
to protect the rights, safety, and property of the Service and its users;
in connection with a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, with notice where required.

6. Data retention

We retain account and submission data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service and comply with our legal obligations. You may request deletion of your account as described below.

7. Your rights

Depending on your location, you may have rights to access, correct, export, or delete your personal information, and to object to or restrict certain processing. To exercise these rights, contact us via the contact page.

8. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including hashed passwords and verification codes, encrypted transport (HTTPS), and access controls. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Children

The Service is not directed to children under 18 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date above reflects the most recent revision.

11. Contact

Questions about privacy? Reach us via our contact page or at privacy@therearenokings.com.