Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 26, 2026

1. Who we are

MarkTell (marktell.com) is a financial-fraud intelligence publication. The publisher is the business entity that owns this domain ("we," "us," "our"). The byline "Mark Tell" is a pen name; the publisher is the responsible party for data handling under this policy.

This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the rights you have over your information.

2. Information we collect

Newsletter subscription

When you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect your email address and the timestamp of your subscription. We use this solely to deliver the newsletter and occasional publication updates. We do not sell, rent, or share your email address with third parties for marketing purposes.

LinkedIn sign-in

If you sign in with LinkedIn, we receive your name, profile picture URL, email address, professional headline, and a stable LinkedIn member identifier through LinkedIn's OAuth service. We use this to personalize your experience, attribute your comments, and remember your preferences. We do not post to your LinkedIn account on your behalf and do not access your connections.

Comments and contributions

If you post a comment on a story, we store your comment text, the story it was posted on, the timestamp, your member identifier (if signed in), and a hashed IP fingerprint for abuse prevention. Comments are public by default once approved.

Tips and source material

If you send a tip to tips@marktell.com or any other editorial inbox, we receive whatever information you choose to send (your email, the message body, attachments). We protect tipster identities under our editorial source-protection practice. See Contact for details on how to reach us privately.

Analytics and cookies

We use Google Analytics (GA4) to understand how visitors use the site, which content performs, and how to improve the publication. GA4 collects pseudonymous device and behavior data: page views, time on page, approximate region, browser, and referrer. This data is aggregated and is not used to personally identify you. You can opt out using Google's opt-out browser add-on.

We use minimal first-party cookies for session state (sign-in, theme preference) and minimal third-party cookies for analytics.

Local storage

We store your theme preference (dark/light), bookmarked stories, and dismissed-prompt flags in your browser's local storage. This data stays on your device and is not transmitted to our servers.

Server logs

Our hosting infrastructure automatically records standard request logs: IP address, request URL, user agent, response code, and timestamp. These logs are used for security, abuse prevention, and operational diagnostics. They are retained for a limited period and not used for marketing.

3. How we use your information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Deliver the newsletter and editorial updates you have subscribed to.
  • Authenticate users who sign in with LinkedIn and personalize their experience.
  • Display and moderate comments.
  • Protect the site from abuse, fraud, and unauthorized access.
  • Improve the publication's content, design, and performance through aggregate analytics.
  • Comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests from authorities.

We do not use your information for targeted advertising, do not build advertising profiles on you, and do not sell your data.

4. Third-party services

We use a small number of third-party providers that may process your data on our behalf in accordance with their own privacy policies:

  • Google Analytics — aggregate site analytics.
  • LinkedIn — optional sign-in via OAuth.
  • SendGrid — transactional and newsletter email delivery on our behalf.
  • Cloudflare — DNS, content delivery, and DDoS protection.
  • Our hosting provider — server infrastructure and database storage.
  • AI tooling providers (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google) — used in our editorial production workflow. Reader-facing data is not sent to these providers.

These providers process data only as needed to deliver their service to us and are bound by their own privacy commitments. We encourage you to review their respective policies.

5. Email and CAN-SPAM compliance

All marketing emails from MarkTell include a clear unsubscribe link and identify the publisher. We honor unsubscribe requests promptly. We do not send commercial email to addresses we have not collected directly, and we do not send commercial email to addresses that have opted out.

To unsubscribe, use the link at the bottom of any newsletter or visit our unsubscribe page.

6. Data retention

Newsletter subscriber records are retained until you unsubscribe, after which the address is marked inactive and excluded from all future mailings. LinkedIn sign-in records are retained as long as your account is active and for a reasonable period thereafter for audit and abuse-prevention purposes. Comments remain on the site until removed by the commenter or by us. Server logs are retained for a limited operational window. You may request deletion of your data at any time as described below.

7. Your rights

You have the right to:

  • Access the personal information we hold about you.
  • Correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
  • Delete your data, subject to legal obligations that may require us to retain certain records.
  • Object to or restrict certain processing.
  • Portability — receive a copy of your data in a structured format.
  • Withdraw consent at any time where our processing is based on consent.

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@marktell.com from the address associated with your account or subscription. We will verify the request and respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

8. California residents (CCPA / CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to know what categories of personal information we collect, the sources we collect it from, the purposes for which we use it, and the categories of third parties we share it with. The information above describes those categories.

You have the right to request deletion of your personal information and the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. We do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. You also have the right to limit the use of sensitive personal information; we do not collect sensitive personal information as defined by the CCPA.

To exercise California rights, email privacy@marktell.com. You may designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf with a signed authorization.

9. European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland (GDPR)

If you are located in the EEA, the UK, or Switzerland, you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation and equivalent national laws, including the rights listed in Section 7. Our lawful bases for processing are: (a) your consent (newsletter, LinkedIn sign-in); (b) our legitimate interest in operating and securing the publication (analytics, abuse prevention, server logs); and (c) compliance with legal obligations.

You have the right to lodge a complaint with your national data protection authority. We do not transfer personal data outside the EEA except through providers that maintain appropriate safeguards (Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent).

10. International users

MarkTell is operated from the United States. By using the site, you understand that your information will be processed in the United States and other jurisdictions where our service providers operate. Data protection laws in those jurisdictions may differ from those in your country.

11. Children's privacy

MarkTell is intended for adult readers and is not directed at individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe a child under 16 has provided personal information to us, contact privacy@marktell.com and we will delete it.

12. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. No system is perfectly secure. In the event of a data breach affecting your personal information, we will notify affected users and the appropriate authorities as required by applicable law.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always available at this URL, with the revision date at the top. Material changes will be communicated by updating the revision date and, where appropriate, by notice in the newsletter or on the site.

14. Contact

Privacy questions and data requests: privacy@marktell.com. Other inquiries: Contact page.