Privacy Policy

Newsletter subscribers. Your email address, when you subscribed or unsubscribed, and your subscription status.

Writer applicants. The information you submit through the application form: your name, email address, portfolio link, writing sample link, and pitch.

Contributors. If you have a contributor account, your email address, name, byline title, sign-in credentials (managed by our authentication provider; we never see your password), and the drafts and articles you write.

Correspondence. Anything you send us by email, such as tips, corrections, or questions.

Technical information. Like most websites, our hosting provider automatically records basic request data, such as IP address, browser type, and pages requested, to operate and secure the site.

• To send the newsletter you signed up for, and a welcome email when you subscribe.
• To review writer applications and contact applicants about them.
• To run contributor accounts: signing in, editing, reviewing, and publishing articles under your byline, and notifying you when your work is published.
• To respond to messages you send us.
• To keep the site secure, prevent abuse, and fix problems.

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

We may disclose information if required by law, or to protect the rights and safety of our readers, contributors, or Blackstar Systems.

Readers are not tracked across the site. We use cookies only to keep contributors signed in. If you choose a light or dark appearance, that preference is saved in your browser's local storage and never sent to us.

Every newsletter includes an unsubscribe link, and you can unsubscribe at any time. You can also ask us to access, correct, or delete the personal information we hold about you by emailing ops@blackstar.systems. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under laws such as the GDPR or the California Consumer Privacy Act, and we will honor requests made under them.

We keep subscriber records while you are subscribed, and a minimal record after you unsubscribe so we can respect that choice. Writer applications are kept for as long as they are useful for reviewing contributors, and contributor information for as long as the account is active or your articles are published. You can ask us to delete your information at any time, subject to anything we are legally required to keep.

We use access controls and encryption in transit to protect your information. No system is perfectly secure, but we limit who can access personal information and collect only what we need.

The Operations Review is written for business owners and operators and is not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect information from them.

Our providers may process information in the United States and other countries. By using the site, you understand your information may be transferred to and processed in those countries.

If we change this policy, we will update the date at the top of this page, and we will notify subscribers of any material change. Questions can go to ops@blackstar.systems. See also our Terms of Use.