Privacy Policy
This policy explains what Digital Matters collects when you read, subscribe, or get listed, how we use it, and the choices you have. We keep the data we hold to a minimum and never sell it.
Last updated June 28, 2026
Information We Collect
Most of Digital Matters is readable without giving us anything. You can browse our coverage of artificial intelligence, IT infrastructure, web design, marketing, SEO, and security without creating an account or submitting any personal details. When your browser requests a page, our hosting provider records standard server information such as your IP address, the page you asked for, your approximate region, and the type of browser and device you used. This is ordinary web-server activity and we use it for security and operational diagnostics, not to build a profile of you.
We only collect information you choose to give us. That includes the email address you enter to subscribe to The Brief, the name, email, and message you send through our contact form, the company details you supply when you apply to get listed or to write for us, and any account information if you sign in. We do not ask for more than a feature needs, and optional fields are clearly marked as optional.
How We Use It
We use the information you give us to do the specific thing you asked for: send the newsletter you subscribed to, reply to your message, review a listing or contributor application, or keep you signed in. Where you have opted into the newsletter, we may also send occasional updates about new explainers, analysis, and events that fit the topics you signed up for. Every email includes a one-click unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing takes effect immediately.
We use aggregate, de-identified analytics to understand which articles resonate, how readers navigate between our six verticals, and where pages can be faster or clearer. We never use your data to make automated decisions that affect you, and we do not sell, rent, or trade personal information to anyone.
Advertising & Sponsored Links
Digital Matters carries display advertising in standard IAB ad slots and occasionally publishes sponsored placements, directory listings, and partner content. Advertising helps fund our independent reporting. We label sponsored material clearly so you always know when something is paid, and editorial coverage is never sold.
Outbound links that are paid, affiliate, or part of a commercial arrangement carry the rel="sponsored" attribute, and partner-supplied or user-submitted links that we have not independently vetted may carry rel="nofollow". This disclosure keeps our coverage transparent to readers and to search engines. Some ad partners may set their own cookies when an ad renders; those are governed by the partner's own privacy policy, not this one.
Third Parties
We rely on a short list of trusted service providers to operate the site: our hosting and content-delivery platform, our email and newsletter provider, the analytics and tag-management services described above, and the ad and form-handling tools that power listings and contact submissions. These providers process data on our behalf, only to deliver their service to us, and are bound by their own data-processing terms.
We may disclose information if we are legally required to do so, to protect the security and integrity of the site, or to enforce our Terms of Service. We do not otherwise share your personal information with third parties for their own marketing.
Your Rights
You can ask us what personal information we hold about you, request a copy of it, ask us to correct anything inaccurate, or ask us to delete it. You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time using the link in any email, and you can adjust or withdraw your cookie and analytics choices through your browser or our consent controls.
Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under laws such as the GDPR or CCPA, including the right to object to certain processing and the right not to be discriminated against for exercising your rights. To make any of these requests, contact us using the details below and we will respond within the timeframe the applicable law requires.
Data Retention
We keep personal information only for as long as we need it for the purpose it was collected, then delete or anonymize it. Newsletter subscriptions are kept until you unsubscribe; contact-form and application messages are retained for a reasonable period to handle follow-up and record-keeping, then cleared. Server logs are rotated on a short cycle, and analytics data is held in aggregate under GA4's standard retention settings.
Where we are required to retain certain records for legal, accounting, or security reasons, we keep only what those obligations require and for no longer than necessary.
Contact
If you have questions about this policy, want to exercise any of the rights above, or believe we are holding information we should not, reach out and we will help. We aim to acknowledge privacy requests promptly.
Digital Matters · PrivacyEmail: privacy@digitalmatters.me
Web: digitalmatters.me/contact
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time as our services or the law change. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page, and material changes will be communicated through the site or by email where appropriate.