Privacy policy

Red Sidewalks is a small local news site. We collect as little as we can, we don't run ads, and we never sell or rent anyone's information. This page explains what we do collect and who else handles it.

Reading the site

You can read every story without an account. We count visits with a privacy-friendly analytics service that doesn't use cookies or track you across other sites; it gives us totals such as page views and the countries and devices visitors use. Like any website, our hosting providers process your IP address to deliver pages and block attacks. The site's fonts load from a font service, and the live beach cam page embeds a video player in its privacy-enhanced mode, so those services receive your IP address when they load.

Tips and photos

When you send a tip, we receive what you type, any photos you attach, and, if you choose to give them, your name and an email address or phone number. We use them to check and report the story and to follow up with you. We never publish a tipster's name or contact details. We publish your photos only if you tick the box saying we may, with the credit you choose, and we remove location and camera data from photos before publishing them.

Tips are stored privately with our service providers and emailed to our editor. Our newsroom uses AI software to read tips, public records and news reports and to help write stories, so tips are processed by our AI provider for that purpose.

Emails to Red Sidewalks

Mail sent to our addresses, such as [email protected], is handled the same way as tips. We also subscribe to government and community newsletters, which we treat as news sources.

Comments

To comment, you sign in with an email link, choose a display name and give the ZIP code where you live. Your display name and neighborhood appear with your comments; your email address and ZIP code are never shown. We use your email only to sign you in. Signing in sets one cookie that keeps you signed in for 30 days. Comment accounts are stored with our hosting provider, sign-in emails are sent by an email delivery service, and a bot check confirms that you're a person.

Social media

We post our stories to the Red Sidewalks pages on Facebook and Instagram. If you follow, comment or message us there, those platforms' own privacy policies apply to what you share there.

How long we keep things

We keep tips and emails as reporting records. Comment accounts last until you ask us to delete them. Published stories, including photos you let us publish, stay on the site as part of the public record, though we'll consider requests to remove a reader photo.

Your choices

Email [email protected] to ask what we have about you, to correct it, or to delete your tips, comments or comment account. We'll answer within 30 days. Red Sidewalks isn't meant for children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their information.

Changes

If we change this policy, we'll update it here and change the date at the top.