Privacy

Last updated August 29, 2026 · theinfomachine.fyi

The short version: we collect what we need to send and improve the briefs you asked for, we never sell or rent your information, and you can leave and take your data with you at any time. The details:

What we collect

• Your email address, when you subscribe, so we can send the briefs and let you manage your subscription.
• Subscription state: which lists you're on, and whether you've confirmed, so we send the right things and honor unsubscribes.
• Payment details, if you become a Supporter: handled entirely by our payment processor, Stripe. We never see or store your card number; we keep only Stripe's customer/subscription identifiers so we can manage your subscription.
• Email engagement: we, and our email delivery provider, may collect engagement data about the emails we send: whether a message was delivered, opened, and which links were clicked, along with technical signals such as IP address and mail client. We use it in aggregate to see what's landing and improve the briefs and our deliverability. We always act on bounces and spam complaints so we stop emailing an address that doesn't want us.

What we don't do

We don't sell, rent, or trade your information. We don't send you anything you didn't ask for, and we don't run ad networks or third-party ad-targeting trackers. The engagement data above is first-party: we use it to improve the product, never to profile you for advertisers.

Who we share it with

Only the service providers that make the product work, and only as much as they need:

• Stripe: payment processing for Supporters.
• An email delivery provider: sending the emails.
• A cloud infrastructure provider: hosting and storage.

Each acts as our processor under its own privacy terms. We may also disclose information if the law requires it.

Cookies & your browser

The site stores your light/dark theme preference in your browser. We don't run website analytics, with one disclosed exception: when you click a source link on a story page, it passes through our own redirect (a /r/… address on our domain) on the way to the publisher, and we record that click. What we record is the time, the destination, which story and which slot on the page the link was in, and a coarse browser-versus-bot classification. No IP addresses, no cookies, no per-reader identifiers; it's first-party, and we use it in aggregate to learn which stories and sources readers find useful. Beyond that, we analyze the standard server access logs our hosting produces — the kind every website has: the page requested, the time, the browser type, and the network address the request came from — kept for 90 days and read in aggregate to see which stories get read. There is no analytics script on the page, no tracking cookie, and no per-reader profile. Either way, we don't use advertising cookies or third-party ad trackers.

Keeping and deleting your data

We keep your subscription data for as long as you're subscribed. Unsubscribe from any email in one click and we stop sending. If you'd like your data deleted, email support@theinfomachine.fyi and we'll remove your subscription information promptly. We keep a minimal record that you've asked not to be contacted — so we never email you again — along with records we're required or have a legitimate business need to retain. Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, or export your data. Just ask.

Children

The Information Machine isn't intended for anyone under 16, and we don't knowingly collect their information.

Changes

If we change this policy, we'll update the date above and, for anything material, tell you by email.

Contact

Questions about your data: support@theinfomachine.fyi

The Information Machine LLC
418 Broadway # 12094
Albany, NY 12207