Privacy Policy

Diplomatic Knots (“we”, “us”, or “our”) respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. By using this site you agree to the practices described below.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only what we need to operate the site and communicate with readers:

• Email address — when you subscribe to our newsletter or contact us. We use this only to send the content you requested or to respond to your message.
• Name & message content — when you submit our contact form. Used solely to reply to your inquiry.
• Technical data — basic logs (IP address, user agent, pages viewed) for security, abuse prevention, and aggregate site analytics. Not tied to your identity.
• Local browser storage — your selected theme, reading preferences, poll/quiz responses, and personalization choices are stored in your browser only. They never leave your device.

2. How We Use Information

• To deliver our newsletter and respond to your messages.
• To improve the editorial experience based on aggregate usage.
• To detect and prevent abuse, spam, and fraud.
• To comply with applicable laws.

3. What We Don't Do

• We do not sell or rent your personal information to anyone.
• We do not use third-party advertising trackers or behavioural ads.
• We do not share your data with third parties except as needed to operate the site (e.g. our email provider) or where legally required.

4. Service Providers

We use a small number of trusted vendors to operate the site. These providers process data only as instructed:

• Sanity.io — content management for articles, authors, and editorial data.
• Resend — transactional email delivery (newsletter welcome emails, contact form submissions).
• Upstash / Vercel — hosting, edge caching, and rate limiting.

5. Cookies

We use a minimal set of cookies and local storage strictly necessary to operate the site (e.g. remembering your theme). We do not set advertising cookies. You can clear browser storage at any time from your browser settings.

6. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time via the link in every email.
• Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you, or request its deletion, by emailing us.
• Object to processing or withdraw consent at any time.

7. Data Retention

We retain newsletter subscriptions until you unsubscribe. Contact form messages are kept for as long as needed to respond and for legitimate record-keeping, then deleted. Aggregate, non-identifying analytics may be kept indefinitely.

8. Children

Diplomatic Knots is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by updating the “Last updated” date above. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance.

10. Contact

Questions about this policy or your data? Email us at hello@diplomaticknots.com.