Privacy policy
mnprivacy.org — effective May 2026 — plain English, no exceptions
Overview
We built this site to push back against mass surveillance. It would be absurd to surveil you while you read it. So we don’t. This policy describes exactly what we collect, why, and who else sees it. It is short because our data footprint is small.
What we collect
| What | Why | Who else sees it |
|---|---|---|
| Email address | Newsletter signup — only if you subscribe | Buttondown |
| Server logs | Standard web infrastructure — IP address, browser, pages visited, timestamps | Cloudflare, Dreamhost |
That’s the complete list. We do not run analytics. We do not use tracking pixels, ad scripts, or fingerprinting. We do not have comment forms, user accounts, or contact forms that store submissions.
What we do not collect
- No analytics
- No ad tracking
- No fingerprinting
- No social pixels
- ⚠ YouTube cookies are set on the Videos page — see below
- ⚠ A Deflock map cookie is set on the home page — see below
We do not sell, rent, trade, or share your data with any party beyond the infrastructure providers listed above. We never will.
Embedded videos
Our Videos page embeds content from YouTube. When you visit a page containing a YouTube embed, Google may set cookies on your device even before you press play. These cookies are set by YouTube, not by us, and are subject to Google’s privacy policy at google.com/policies/privacy.
We use YouTube’s privacy-enhanced embed mode (youtube-nocookie.com) to minimize this, but cannot fully prevent Google’s cookie behavior. If you prefer not to receive YouTube cookies, you can watch linked videos directly on YouTube or use a browser extension that blocks third-party iframes.
Embedded map
Our home page embeds the Deflock ALPR camera map. Deflock sets a single cookie to remember your map display preferences — light or dark mode, starting location, and zoom level. This cookie is set by Deflock, not by us, contains no personally identifiable information, and is subject to Deflock’s privacy policy at deflock.org/privacy.
Third-party infrastructure
Running a website requires some trusted third parties. Here is who they are and what they see:
| Provider | Role | Their privacy policy |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare | DNS, CDN, DDoS protection — sees connection metadata | cloudflare.com/privacypolicy |
| Dreamhost | Web hosting — stores site files and server logs | dreamhost.com/legal/privacy-policy |
| Buttondown | Newsletter delivery — stores subscriber email addresses | buttondown.com/privacy |
| YouTube (Google) | Embedded video player on the Videos page | google.com/policies/privacy |
| Deflock | Embedded ALPR camera map on the home page | deflock.org/privacy |
We chose each of these providers with their privacy posture in mind. Buttondown does not enable tracking by default. Cloudflare anonymizes logs. We do not use Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, or any ad-tech infrastructure.
Newsletter
If you subscribe to our newsletter, we store your email address with Buttondown. We use it only to send you updates about ALPR surveillance in Minnesota. We do not track whether you open emails or click links — those features are disabled.
You can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of any email. Your address will be deleted from our list within 30 days of unsubscribing.
Server logs
Cloudflare and Dreamhost automatically log standard web traffic data including IP addresses, browser type, referring URLs, and page requests. We do not actively analyze these logs. They are retained according to each provider’s standard retention policy. We cannot prevent this logging — it is an unavoidable part of how the internet works — but we have chosen infrastructure providers that minimize and anonymize what they retain.
Legal requests
We collect so little data that there is almost nothing to hand over. If we receive a valid legal request, we will comply with applicable law. We will notify affected users where we are legally permitted to do so. We will not voluntarily cooperate with surveillance requests beyond what the law requires.
Your rights
You can request deletion of your email address at any time. You can ask what data we hold about you. Because we collect almost nothing, these requests are easy to fulfill. Contact us and we will respond within 30 days.
Changes to this policy
If we materially change what we collect or how we use it, we will update this page and note the date. We will not quietly expand our data collection.
Contact
last updated: may 2026