Privacy Policy

What this site is

The Synergist Daily Quarterly is a satirical publication. This privacy policy describes how we handle the limited data the site does collect — primarily an email address when you subscribe to our newsletter, a strictly-necessary functional cookie, and standard server logs.

What we collect

• Email address and name (when you subscribe). We collect your email address and an optional name when you subscribe to our newsletter. Your email and name are processed and stored by our newsletter provider, Buttondown — see "Newsletter (Buttondown)" below.
• A strictly-necessary functional cookie. We set a single small cookie (named s) containing an opaque session identifier. The cookie is HttpOnly and SameSite=Lax, has no third-party reach, and carries no user-identifying content. It exists so that the site's reading-time estimate stays stable while you're reading a post (rather than flickering on page reload). This cookie is strictly necessary for site functionality and is exempt from the cookie-banner consent requirement under GDPR and the EU ePrivacy Directive — see "Cookies in detail" below for the full breakdown.
• Standard server logs. Our hosting provider logs each request's URL, IP address, user-agent, and timestamp, retained for a normal operational period (typically a few weeks) and used only for debugging, abuse prevention, and capacity planning.

What we don't collect

• No third-party tracking pixels.
• No advertising cookies.
• No analytics cookies. If we use analytics at all, it is a privacy-respecting, cookie-free option (Plausible, Fathom, Umami, GoatCounter, or our hosting provider's built-in option) that does not set tracking cookies and does not share data with third parties.
• No user accounts. There is no login, no password, no profile.

Newsletter (Buttondown)

Our newsletter is delivered via Buttondown. When you subscribe, your email address (and optional name) are sent to Buttondown for fulfillment. Buttondown handles double opt-in confirmation, list management, and unsubscribe requests on our behalf. Buttondown's data handling is governed by their privacy policy.

Every email we send includes an unsubscribe link. Unsubscribing removes your address from our mailing list immediately.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights over your personal data — for example, under the GDPR (European Union and United Kingdom) or the CCPA/CPRA (California). These commonly include:

• Access — confirmation of whether we hold data about you, and a copy of it.
• Correction — fixing data that is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Deletion — removal of your data from our systems.
• Portability — receiving your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Objection or restriction — limiting how we process your data.
• Withdrawal of consent — withdrawing consent for newsletter sends, equivalent to unsubscribing.

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@thesynergistdaily.com. For unsubscribe and most other newsletter-related actions, the unsubscribe link in any email is the fastest path.

Cookies in detail

The Synergist Daily Quarterly uses exactly one cookie. There is no cookie banner because the cookie is strictly necessary for the site to function and is therefore exempt from consent requirements under the EU ePrivacy Directive (Article 5(3) exemption) and the GDPR.

Cookie name

s

Purpose

Holds an opaque random session identifier used to keep the per-post reading-time estimate stable within a single browsing session. Without this cookie, reloading the page would change the estimate, which is a usability problem the cookie exists to solve. The identifier is not associated with your email, your name, or any other data we hold.

Lifetime

Session-scoped. Typically expires when you close your browser; the server may rotate the identifier from time to time as part of normal operation.

Flags

HttpOnly (not accessible to JavaScript) and SameSite=Lax (sent only on first-party navigation). No Secure requirement is dropped — in production the cookie is also Secure.

Third-party reach

None. The cookie is set by The Synergist Daily Quarterly only; it is not shared with, accessible to, or set by any third party.

Why no banner

EU ePrivacy and GDPR exempt strictly-necessary functional cookies — those that are required for a service the user has explicitly requested — from the consent and banner requirements. A single session identifier used to keep a UI feature consistent within a session is a textbook example of this category, equivalent to a CSRF token or a shopping-cart cookie.

Updates to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by an updated "last updated" date below. Continued use of the site after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

Last updated: set by editor at launch.