Privacy Policy

Effective: July 19, 2026  ·  Governing Law: State of Colorado

This Privacy Policy describes how The Southern Colorado Obscura ("the Archive," "we," "us") collects, uses, and protects information in connection with your use of thesoutherncoloradoobscura.com. By using the Archive, you agree to the practices described below.

1. Information We Collect

Public visitors: We do not require registration to access the Archive's editorial content. When you visit, standard web server logs may record your IP address, browser type, referring page, and pages visited. This information is used solely for site administration and security purposes.

Correspondent accounts: If you register a free Correspondent account, we collect your email address and a hashed password (or authenticate via Google OAuth). We also store the interactive data you generate: collectible discoveries, puzzle progress, inventory items earned, dispatch log entries, virtual-coin transactions, and any profile information you choose to provide, including a display name, avatar address, or mailing address. Payment card and PayPal account details are handled by Stripe or PayPal rather than stored by the Archive; we retain provider customer, subscription, order, or checkout identifiers needed to confirm purchases, prevent duplicate grants, and manage access.

2. Cookies and Session Data

The Archive uses an HTTP-only session cookie to maintain your login state if you are a registered Correspondent. This cookie is not accessible to JavaScript and is cleared when you log out or your session expires. We do not use tracking cookies for logged-in members on members-only pages.

On eligible public editorial pages, advertising cookies or similar storage may be used by Google and its advertising partners only when advertising is enabled and the applicable consent requirements have been satisfied. See Section 4 below.

3. How We Use Your Information

Information collected is used to: operate and improve the Archive; maintain your Correspondent account and interactive features; respond to your correspondence; and display contextually relevant advertising on public pages via Google AdSense. We do not use account information for our own direct marketing, and we do not sell personal data. We disclose limited data to service providers when necessary to operate authentication, payments, hosting, security, and advertising as described in this policy.

4. Google AdSense and Third-Party Advertising

The Archive may display advertisements through Google AdSense on a conservative allowlist of substantial public editorial pages. Advertising is excluded from account, admin, subscription, legal, contact, game, casino, puzzle, classified, obituary, crime, investigation, navigation-only, and low-value pages. Google and its partners may use cookies, device identifiers, IP addresses, and browsing information to deliver, measure, protect, and, where permitted, personalize advertisements.

For visitors in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland, advertising will remain disabled until the Archive has enabled a Google-certified consent management platform integrated with the IAB Transparency and Consent Framework. When advertising is active, that consent notice must provide choices and a way to review or withdraw them. You may also manage personalized advertising through Google's Ad Settings or by visiting aboutads.info. Learn how Google uses information from sites that use its services.

5. Privacy Choices

If the Google-certified consent notice is active, use its privacy-choices control to review or withdraw advertising consent. You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your Archive account data by emailing the Editorial Desk. Advertising remains technically disabled until the certified consent setup is confirmed by the site owner.

6. Members Section Disclosure

Portions of the Archive are accessible only to registered Correspondents. These members-only areas include the Correspondent profile, inventory system, collectibles, puzzle progress tracking, and the Dispatch Log. Data associated with these features is stored on our servers. It is not included in advertising requests. No advertising is displayed on members-only pages.

7. Data Retention and Deletion

Account data is retained for as long as your Correspondent account is active. If you wish to have your account and associated data deleted, contact us at the address below. Security, payment, and transaction records may be retained where reasonably necessary to prevent fraud, resolve disputes, meet legal obligations, or preserve financial records. OAuth authorization state expires after ten minutes; login sessions expire automatically.

8. Children's Privacy

The Archive is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy at any time. The effective date above reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the Archive following any update constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.

10. Contact

Privacy inquiries may be directed to the Editorial Desk at [email protected].