At The Charlotte Mercury, we believe your privacy is sacred — or at least too valuable to be traded for pennies on a programmatic ad exchange. Unlike most of the internet, we don’t stalk you, track you, or build dossiers about what you ate for lunch. Here’s how it works.
The Human-Friendly Version
1. What We Collect
Almost nothing.
- If you sign up for our newsletter, we’ll have your email.
- If you send us a news tip, we’ll see whatever you voluntarily provide.
That’s it. No secret dossiers, no behavioral profiles, no shadow accounts.
2. What We Don’t Collect
We don’t:
- Track your browsing across the web.
- Plant cookies to follow you around.
- Collect payment or donation info (we don’t take them).
- Store logins or passwords (there aren’t any).
3. How We Pay the Bills
We run on advertising — the old-fashioned kind.
- Our ads are designed to actually benefit our local partners.
- They are non-intrusive, non-tracking, and reader-friendly.
- In fact, we aim for ads that are additive to your experience, not something you scramble to block.
In short: ads fund our journalism, but not at the cost of your privacy.
4. Sharing Data
Since we don’t collect it, we can’t share it.
The only exception: if you email or subscribe, we’ll use your info for that purpose alone. We never sell or rent it.
5. Security
We safeguard what little information we do have (like email addresses for newsletters). We can’t be hacked for what we don’t store.
6. Your Rights
- Unsubscribe: You can opt out of emails anytime.
- Delete: You can ask us to delete your info (email us).
- Transparency: We’ll tell you what we have (which probably won’t take long).
7. Kids
This site is intended for readers 13 and older. If you’re younger, enjoy Charlotte’s Web instead of The Charlotte Mercury.
The Lawyer-Friendly Version
Scope
This Privacy Policy governs how Mercury Local, LLC (“we,” “us,” “our”) collects, uses, and protects information obtained from users of The Charlotte Mercury website.
Information We Collect
- Personal Information: Only what you voluntarily provide (e.g., email address for newsletters, information in news tips).
- Non-Personal Information: General server logs (e.g., IP addresses) automatically collected by any website for security and operational purposes.
We do not collect cookies, login data, payment details, or behavioral tracking information.
How We Use Information
- To deliver newsletters to subscribers.
- To respond to inquiries or tips.
- To maintain basic site operations and security.
We do not use personal information for behavioral advertising or profiling.
Advertising
The Charlotte Mercury is funded by advertising.
- Our ads are first-party and limited to our site.
- We do not use targeted ad networks, retargeting pixels, or programmatic exchanges.
- Ads are selected to be relevant to our local audience and designed to complement, not interrupt, the reader experience.
Data Sharing
We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information.
We may disclose limited information if required by law (e.g., subpoena, court order).
Data Security
We implement commercially reasonable safeguards for the minimal personal data we hold (e.g., email addresses). However, no system is entirely immune from unauthorized access, and you use the site at your own risk.
Data Retention
We retain personal information (e.g., emails) only as long as necessary to provide the service or comply with legal obligations, and then securely delete it.
Children’s Privacy
The site is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13. If we discover such data, we will delete it.
International Users
If you access this site outside the United States, note your data is processed in the U.S. By using the site, you consent to this.
Governing Law
This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina. Any disputes must be resolved in state or federal courts in Mecklenburg County, NC.
Contact Us
Mercury Local, LLC
520B North Poplar
Charlotte, NC 28202
📧 legal@cltmercury.com
Licensing
All original content on The Charlotte Mercury is licensed under:
Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0)
Full license text: CC BY-ND 4.0
Bottom line: We run on ads, but the kind that actually help our partners and don’t spy on you. Your trust is worth more than your data trail — and that’s the deal we’ll never break.