What We Collect
When you create an account or subscribe, we collect your email address and name. If you subscribe to a paid plan, your payment information is collected and processed directly by Stripe— we do not store your card number, CVV, or full payment details on our servers. When you sign up on one of our town sites, we also record which town site you signed up on and when.
We also collect standard server logs (IP address, browser type, pages visited) and use privacy-focused analytics to understand how the Service is used.
How We Use Your Information
- To provide and maintain the Service, including delivering email newsletters
- To process subscriptions and payments through Stripe
- To send service-related communications (account confirmations, subscription changes, trial reminders)
- To improve the Service based on aggregate usage patterns
- To see whether our ads on Facebook and Instagram bring in new readers, and to help those ads reach people likely to be interested (see Advertising on Facebook and Instagram)
We don’t sell your information for money. We share a limited sign-up record with Meta for advertising measurement, which some state laws treat as a “sale” or “targeted advertising.” You can opt out at any time through Your Privacy Choices. We share your information only with the companies listed under “Third-Party Services,” for the reasons given there, and as the law requires.
Advertising on Facebook and Instagram
We advertise Townbrief on Facebook and Instagram, which are run by Meta Platforms, Inc. To learn which ads actually bring in new readers, we tell Meta when someone signs up.
What we send. When you sign up on a Townbrief town site, our server sends Meta a short sign-up record containing:
- a scrambled (“hashed”) copy of your email address. Before it leaves our servers, we run your email through a standard one-way code (SHA-256). Meta compares it with the hashed emails of its own users, so if you have a Facebook or Instagram account under that email, Meta can link the sign-up to your account;
- the date and time you signed up;
- which town site you signed up on; and
- a random ID number our system assigns to your account.
What we don’t send. We don’t send your name, your email in readable form, your IP address, your device or browser details, your phone number, your location, or anything about what you read.
Every sign-up, not just ad clicks. We send this record for every new sign-up, whether or not you came from one of our ads.
What Meta does with it. Meta uses it to tell us how many sign-ups our ads produced (we see totals) and to show our ads to people more likely to sign up. Meta’s own use of this information is governed by Meta’s terms and the Meta Privacy Policy.
A hashed email is still personal information. Hashing hides your email address, but it doesn’t make you anonymous. It’s exactly how Meta recognizes you. We treat it as your personal information.
No pixels or ad cookies. We don’t put Meta’s tracking pixel or any advertising cookies on our sites. The sign-up record goes directly from our server to Meta’s. Nothing on the page tracks you.
Opting out. To stop us sending your sign-up to Meta, use Your Privacy Choices or email dave@townbrief.com with the subject “No Meta.” If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal when you sign up, we treat that as an opt-out too. If we haven’t sent your sign-up yet, we won’t. If we already have, we won’t send anything more about you. You can also limit how Meta uses information from businesses like us in your Facebook or Instagram settings, under “Your activity off Meta technologies.”
Third-Party Services
We use the following third-party services to operate Townbrief:
- Stripe — payment processing. Subject to Stripe’s Privacy Policy.
- Mailgun — email delivery for newsletters and transactional emails.
- Umami — privacy-focused, cookie-free analytics (self-hosted).
- Meta Platforms, Inc. (Facebook and Instagram) — advertising measurement. We send Meta the sign-up record described under Advertising on Facebook and Instagram. Subject to the Meta Privacy Policy.
Cookies
We use essential cookies to keep you logged in. Our analytics tool (Umami) doesn’t use cookies. We don’t use third-party advertising cookies or tracking pixels. Separately, our server sends Meta a limited sign-up record when you sign up; see Advertising on Facebook and Instagram.
Data Retention
We retain your account information for as long as your account is active. If you cancel your subscription, we keep your account so you can resubscribe later. You may request full account deletion by emailing us.
Advertising records. We keep a simple log of which accounts we’ve sent to Meta (the account ID number, town, and dates), not your email address, so we never send the same sign-up twice. Meta keeps what it receives under its own terms.
Your Rights
You may at any time:
- Access and update your account information
- Unsubscribe from marketing emails (service emails related to your subscription cannot be opted out of)
- Request deletion of your account and personal data
- Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
- Opt out of our sharing your sign-up with Meta for advertising, through Your Privacy Choices or a Global Privacy Control signal from your browser
To exercise these rights, email dave@townbrief.com.
Children
The Service is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be posted on this page with an updated date.
Related: Terms of Service · Subscription Terms · Your Privacy Choices
Questions? dave@townbrief.com