Privacy // updated 7 Oct 2026
Privacy.
Short version: membership is optional and only needs your email. We never sell, rent or share your data, and there are no ad cookies unless you say yes.
Who we are
Politics is a political news site from The 808. Questions about this page go to contact@The808.org.
What stays on your device
If you're not signed in, the 8-bit characters you collect and your practice ballots and votes are kept in your own browser's storage. They never leave your device, and clearing your browser data removes them.
If you join
Membership is free and optional. To make an account we need your email address; a display name is optional. Comments you post are public and show your display name, never your email; you can delete any of them, and deleting your account deletes them all. We also store your newsletter and invite choices with the date and wording you agreed to (Canada's anti-spam law asks us to keep that proof), your Politics tokens, collectibles, draw entries, RSVPs and comments. Signing in uses a one-time link, so we never store a password. A sign-in cookie keeps you signed in on that device for up to 90 days; we keep only a scrambled copy of it.
We use your email to send sign-in links, plus the newsletter and invites only if you ticked those boxes. Every newsletter and invite has a one-click unsubscribe that takes effect right away. We do not sell, rent, trade or share member data with anyone, and member pages load no ad or analytics tags. The data lives in a database on our own web host. From your account page you can download everything we hold about you, or delete your account and all of it for good.
The Ballot Box
If you're signed in, we store which hidden ballots you've found and your vote on each 808 take, so the crowd results can be counted and you can change your vote. We only ever show totals, never who voted which way. Your ballots and votes are in your data download and deleted with your account.
Google Ads measurement
When we run ads on Google, this site loads Google's ad tag so we can count which ads bring readers here and whether they open the mailer. Until you choose Accept in the cookie banner, the tag runs without ad cookies. If you accept, Google may set cookies to measure ad results. You can change your choice any time with Cookie choices in the footer. How Google uses information from sites that use its services · Google's privacy policy
Server logs
Our web host keeps standard server logs, such as IP address, time and page requested, to keep the site running and secure.
Links out
Every story links to its source. Those sites have their own privacy policies.