Privacy Policy

Last Updated & Effective: April 22, 2026

MN CRIME LLC is committed to protecting visitor privacy and ensuring transparency about data collection. This policy outlines what information is gathered, how it is used, and how your privacy is safeguarded when visiting our website, engaging on social media, or using our services.

Data Collection

We may collect the following information to enhance your experience and ensure proper functioning:

• Browser Information: Details about your browser, network, and device including IP address, browser type, and device identifiers
• Usage Data: Information about how you use the website including pages visited, clicks, search terms, timestamps, and scrolling activity
• Referral Information: Data about web pages visited before arriving at our site
• Account Information: When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, and authentication data through our identity provider (Clerk)
• Subscription Data: If you subscribe to a paid plan, payment processing is handled by Stripe. We do not store credit card numbers on our servers.

Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies to analyze traffic, manage user sessions, and improve our services. We use:

• Necessary Cookies: Essential for secure authentication and proper website functioning
• Analytics and Performance Cookies: Used to track visitor activity and analyze site performance
• Authentication Cookies: Managed by Clerk to maintain your login session

Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services that may collect and process visitor data:

• Clerk: Authentication and user management
• Stripe: Payment processing for subscriptions
• Supabase: Database hosting and data storage
• Vercel: Website hosting and analytics
• Resend: Transactional and news update email delivery
• Google Workspace: SMTP delivery for the MN CRIME Weekly Digest and other outbound email via smtp.gmail.com from contact@mncrime.com
• Embedded Content: YouTube videos and other embedded media may collect visit information

Each third-party service has its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review them.

Analytics

We collect non-personally identifiable information such as visitor behavior, browser types, and referral sources in de-personalized form to improve our site and monitor activity.

Newsletter and Email Communications

When you subscribe to the MN CRIME Weekly Digest or other email updates, we collect your email address, your subscription preferences, the date you signed up and the referral source that brought you to the signup form. If we later add open and click analytics to our email system, we will track those aggregate engagement events as well. We use this information to send you the weekly summary of newsworthy Minnesota criminal filings, court case updates and occasional promotional content.

We do not read the contents of your inbox, and we do not collect data on whether you forward our emails or who you forward them to. Email delivery is handled through Google Workspace using smtp.gmail.com, which means message headers and delivery metadata pass through Google as our SMTP provider.

Every marketing email includes a one-click unsubscribe option using the RFC 8058 List-Unsubscribe header, along with a plain-text unsubscribe link pointing to /account/unsubscribe. Transactional emails such as account confirmations and subscription receipts cannot be unsubscribed from.

When you unsubscribe, your email address is moved to a suppression list for 30 days so we can confirm no further mail is sent to it. After that window, the address is replaced with a one-way hash so we can continue to honor the opt-out without retaining the plain address. You can request full deletion of your record at any time by emailing contact@mncrime.com.

Case Paywall Email Capture

When you enter your email on a case-page paywall to receive a free preview of that case, we collect the email address, the IP address the request originated from, and contextual metadata about the case you were viewing: the case identifier (“case slug”), the defendant's name as published by the court, the county, and the top listed charge. This metadata is attached to your newsletter-subscriber record so we can send the case-specific preview email and segment nurture communications by the type of case you first engaged with.

This metadata is shared with Resend to send the immediate preview email. You may request deletion of the record at any time by emailing contact@mncrime.com.

Advertising

MN CRIME serves advertisements through a self-hosted advertising platform. We track ad impressions and clicks for performance reporting. Ad targeting is based on page-level context (such as county or charge type), not on individual user profiles or browsing history.

We do not sell personal information to advertisers. Advertisers receive only aggregate, anonymized performance statistics.

Data Licensing and API

Our Data Feed API logs usage data including API key identifiers, request parameters, IP addresses, and response metadata. This data is used for rate limiting, billing, and service improvement. API usage data is not shared with third parties.

Purchase Information

For subscription purchases, we collect:

• Name, email, and phone number
• Billing address
• Subscription details

Payment information is processed directly by Stripe and is never stored on our servers.

Security and Data Protection

We value your trust and take data security seriously. We use industry-standard practices including secure storage, encryption in transit (HTTPS), and regular security audits. No internet transmission method guarantees absolute security.

Data Retention

We retain personal information only as long as needed for the purposes described in this policy, and in compliance with applicable law. Current retention periods are:

• Ad impression and click logs, including IP address: 90 days, after which records are deleted or fully anonymized
• Data Feed API usage logs, including IP address: 30 days for rate limiting, billing, and abuse detection
• Newsletter subscribers (email and signup IP address): retained while the subscription is active. On unsubscribe, the address is held in a 30-day suppression window and then replaced with a one-way hash so we can continue to honor the opt-out without retaining the plain address
• Case-paywall email captures: stored on the associated newsletter-subscriber record and follow the same retention and deletion rules
• Account data (managed by Clerk): retained while your account is active; deleted within 30 days of account closure, subject to legal or accounting holds
• Subscription and billing records (managed by Stripe): retained for up to 7 years for tax and audit compliance
• Published case data, charging documents, and other public-record material: retained indefinitely as part of our published reporting, subject to our Redaction Policy

You may request earlier deletion at any time by emailing contact@mncrime.com, subject to legal and operational exceptions (for example, outstanding billing, active investigations, or tax recordkeeping requirements).

Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Request access to personal information we hold about you
• Request corrections or updates to your information
• Request deletion of your personal information, subject to legal and operational requirements
• Opt out of marketing communications
• Request export of your data in a portable format

To exercise these rights, contact us at contact@mncrime.com.

Your California Privacy Rights (CCPA/CPRA)

MN CRIME serves readers in the United States only. If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) give you the right to:

• Know what personal information we collect, use and share (disclosed above)
• Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Request deletion of your personal information, subject to legal and operational exceptions
• Opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information
• Limit the use of sensitive personal information
• Not be discriminated against for exercising these rights

We do not sell personal information.We do not engage in cross-context behavioral advertising that would qualify as “sharing” under the CPRA — page-level advertising context (county, charge type) is non-personal.

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@mncrime.comwith the subject line “California Privacy Request” and tell us which right you want to exercise. We will verify your identity by confirming the email address matches an account or subscription record, and respond within 45 days as required by law (we may extend once by an additional 45 days if needed, with notice to you).

Do Not Track

Some browsers send a “Do Not Track” (DNT) signal. There is no industry consensus on how to honor DNT, and we currently do not change our practices in response to DNT signals. You can control cookies and tracking through your browser settings.

Children's Privacy

Our services are not intended for individuals under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that a child under 13 has provided personal information, we will take steps to delete it.

Updates to This Policy

This policy may be updated to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The most current version will always be available on this page with the effective date clearly stated.

Contact

Questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy? Contact us at contact@mncrime.com

MN CRIME LLC
202 N. Cedar Ave. Ste. #1
Owatonna, MN 55060