Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 23, 2026
Effective date: August 23, 2026

1. Who We Are

The Reading Room is published by the Institute for Primary Facts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Institute for Primary Facts
600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001
EIN: 41-2928557
Contact: info@primary-facts.org

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide: email address (when you subscribe), name (optional), and payment information if you purchase a paid subscription - processed by Stripe; we do not store card details.

Information collected automatically: basic analytics about how posts and emails are opened and clicked, provided by Substack.

We do not run advertising. We do not sell your data.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your email address to send dispatches from The Reading Room, transactional emails related to your subscription, and occasional notifications about archive tour events. We use aggregate, anonymized analytics to understand which content is most useful to readers.

4. Third-Party Services

This publication runs on Substack, which processes subscriber data on our behalf (substack.com/privacy). Paid subscriptions are processed by Stripe (stripe.com/privacy).

5. Your Rights

You may unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of any email. To request deletion of your data, email privacy@primary-facts.org. If you are in the EEA or UK, you have additional rights under GDPR - contact us to exercise them.

6. Data Retention

We retain subscriber data for as long as you are subscribed. Unsubscribers are suppressed from future sends. Full deletion is available on request.

7. Security

We rely on Substack’s infrastructure for data security and do not store personal data outside of Substack and Stripe.

8. Children

This publication is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

9. Changes

Material changes will be communicated by email and reflected in the date above.

10. Contact

privacy@primary-facts.org