LWN.net Privacy Statement
This is version 1.7 of the LWN privacy policy, revised on May 22, 2018.
Who is collecting this data?
LWN.net is operated by Eklektix Inc., a corporation based in Boulder, Colorado, USA. All data collected as a part of the operation of LWN is maintained and controlled by Eklektix.What information we collect
The LWN.net server collects the usual information from your browser and network connection: your IP address, browser, referrer link, etc. This information is used to generate statistics within LWN so that we know what our readers are interested in and where they came from. Server logs are rotated out after one month, and are not copied off the server; we do not share this information with any other party.If you create an account on LWN.net, we ask for your full name and an email address so that we may contact you. Possession of an LWN account enables you to subscribe to LWN, set various customization options, and to post comments on the site. Of course, we have no control over information you post in comments; you should not post anything you do not wish to have disclosed to the world.
Beyond the information provided when the account is created, we also track your subscription status and your last login time. Account information is retained for as long as the account itself remains open. Comments are part of the public record and the Linux community's collective history; they are retained indefinitely.
If you purchase an LWN subscription with a credit card, we must collect some contact information and, of course, the card details. That information is posted directly to our credit card gateway; none of it passes through or is stored on any LWN server. Payment via PayPal discloses the email address associated with the PayPal account to us; we do not retain that information.
The creation of subscriber links is tracked, as is the number of hits on each link created; this information is retained for a period of two months.
All data collected directly by LWN is stored on our (cloud-based) servers; currently those servers are all based in the United States.
How we use your information
Information provided by you is used internally at LWN so that we may implement various site features, understand how our readers are using the site and how we may improve the user experience.With the following exceptions, we will not share your personal information with any third party. Your private information is private, and we intend to keep it that way. The exceptions are:
- Any information you post in a public location — such as comments —
is necessarily public.
- Credit card and transaction information must be shared with our credit
card processing company. We must retain transaction information
(dates, dollar amounts, and what was purchased)
indefinitely for accounting and fiscal reporting purposes. We may
have to disclose this information to the government in the event of a
tax audit; this has never occurred in LWN's history.
- If we are presented with a valid search warrant by a government
agency, we will, in all likelihood, have to comply. This has never
occurred in LWN's history.
- Remotely-hosted advertising content and analytics data collection
will cause your IP address, requested page URL, and any information
supplied by your browser to be passed to third parties. Note that
subscribers at the Professional Hacker level and above can turn off
advertising and analytics in the account customization area.
- If you are part of a group subscription to LWN, the designated administrator(s) for that group can access your account name, your full name, and the date you last logged into your account.
We may use your email address to contact you in limited, important situations. We will not use your address to send you advertising materials, for LWN or anybody else. If you sign up for any of LWN's mailing lists, we will, of course, send you the content that is relevant to that list. We will never subscribe you to a mailing list without an explicit request on your part.
Use of cookies
If you create and use an LWN account, the LWN_Session1 cookie is needed to securely manage your sessions on the site.
Advertisers and analytics may also make use of cookies. Accepting third-party cookies is entirely up to you, of course.
Control over your data
If you have any concerns about our use of your data, to withdraw consent for data collection, or to request deletion of specific data, please contact us at lwn@lwn.net.