Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 26, 2026

This privacy policy explains what information Rock City Wire (“we”, “us”) collects when you visit rockcitywire.com, why we collect it, how long we keep it and the choices you have. We are an independent newsroom based in Little Rock, Arkansas. We collect as little as we can, we do not sell your information, and we carry no advertising.

The short version

You can read everything on this site without creating an account or telling us who you are.
We run no advertising and no ad networks. We measure readership with Plausible Analytics, which uses no cookies and collects no personal data.
We count how many times each story is read so we can show Top News. Those counts are totals per story — they contain no information about you.
If you comment or email us, we keep what you send so we can publish your comment or reply to you.
We never sell, rent or trade personal information.

Information we collect

When you read a story

When an article page finishes loading, your browser tells our server that the story was viewed. We add one to a running total for that story for the current hour. We do not store your IP address, a cookie ID or any other information that identifies you with this count. To avoid counting the same reader twice, your browser remembers — only in its own temporary “session storage”, which is cleared when you close the tab — which stories it has already counted. These hourly totals are used only to rank Top News, and are deleted after seven days.

Server logs

Like almost every website, the server that hosts Rock City Wire automatically records basic technical information about each request, such as your IP address, browser type, the page requested and the time. These logs are used only to keep the site secure and working, and to investigate abuse. They are kept for a limited period and are not used to build profiles of readers.

When you comment

If you leave a comment, we collect the name, email address and optional website you enter, the comment itself, your IP address and your browser’s user-agent string. The IP address and user agent help us detect spam. Your email address is never published. Your name, website and comment are published with the story.

An anonymized string created from your email address (a “hash”) may be sent to the Gravatar service to check whether you have a Gravatar profile picture. Gravatar’s privacy policy is available at automattic.com/privacy.

When you email us

If you write to [email protected], we receive your email address and whatever you choose to include. We use it only to respond to you and, for news tips, to report the story. We protect the identity of confidential sources.

Cookies and local storage

What	Purpose	How long
Comment cookies	Only if you tick “Save my name, email, and website” when commenting, so you do not have to retype them.	One year
Session storage (view counting)	Remembers which stories this tab has already counted, so a refresh is not counted twice. Never sent to us.	Until the tab is closed
Login cookies	Only for Rock City Wire staff who sign in to the site to publish.	Up to two weeks

We do not use advertising cookies, cross-site tracking cookies or social media tracking pixels. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings; the site will still work.

Third-party services

Plausible Analytics. We count visits with Plausible, a privacy-friendly analytics tool that we host ourselves at plausible.articleinnovator.com. It uses no cookies and does not collect or store personal data: your IP address is used only to produce a daily-rotating anonymous visitor count and is never stored. We see totals such as page views, referring sites, country and device type — never individual readers. See Plausible’s data policy.
Google Fonts. Our typefaces are loaded from Google’s font servers, which means your browser connects to Google and shares your IP address to download them. See Google’s privacy policy.
Share buttons. Our share buttons are plain links. Nothing is sent to Facebook, X, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn or anyone else unless you click one — and then that service’s own privacy policy applies.
Social media links. Links to our profiles on Facebook, X, Instagram and Pinterest take you to those services, which have their own privacy policies.
Embedded content. Some stories may include content embedded from other websites, such as maps or documents. Embedded content behaves exactly as if you had visited the other website, and that site may collect data about you.

How we use information

We use the information described above only to:

publish and moderate comments;
reply to your messages and follow up on news tips;
rank the most-read stories for Top News;
keep the site secure, prevent spam and fix problems;
comply with the law.

We do not use your information for advertising, and we do not sell, rent or trade it to anyone.

Who we share it with

We share information only with service providers that help us run the site (such as our web host and email provider), who may process it only on our behalf, and when we are required to by law. Rock City Wire resists legal demands for information about our sources and readers to the fullest extent the law allows.

How long we keep it

Story view totals: seven days.
Comments: as long as the comment is published, unless you ask us to remove it.
Emails: as long as needed to respond and to keep a record of our reporting.
Server logs: a limited period for security purposes.

Your rights and choices

Wherever you live, you can ask us to:

tell you what personal information we hold about you;
give you a copy of it;
correct it; or
delete it, including any comments you have left.

To make a request, email [email protected] with the subject “Privacy request”. We may need to confirm your identity first, for example by replying to the email address you used to comment. We will respond within 30 days. We will not treat you differently for making a request. We may keep information we are legally required to keep, or that is needed to protect our journalism and sources.

Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect the information we hold. No website can be completely secure, but we limit what we collect so that there is as little as possible to protect.

Children

Rock City Wire is a general news site and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

If we change how we handle your information, we will update this page and the “Last updated” date at the top. Significant changes will be noted on the home page.