Privacy Policy
This policy covers The Fat Monk Media Network — 32 community websites (calgaryrodeo.com, calgarynewsletter.com, calgarydogs.com, and all other calgary*.com ring sites), The Calgary Roundup weekly newsletter, and The Calgary Roundup iOS app. The "Service" means all of those together. The operator is Fat Monk Media Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
If you use any part of the Service, you agree to this policy. Questions: jordan@jordandefazio.com.
The short version
- We collect your email, first name (optional), and what you do in the Service so we can personalize Monk's chat and send the Friday Roundup if you opt in.
- We don't sell your data. We don't use it for advertising. We don't share it except with the infrastructure providers listed below.
- You can delete your account and all data any time by emailing jordan@jordandefazio.com.
- We respond to data requests within 30 days.
What we collect
When you create an account
- Email address
- First name (optional; can be "anonymous")
- Password (stored hashed, never visible to us)
- Account creation timestamp
When you chat with Monk
- Your message text
- Monk's response
- The ring site you were on
- A session identifier
- Timestamps
When you use the cross-site search
- Your search queries
- Which results you opened
- A session identifier (not tied to your account unless you're signed in)
When you submit a story
- The story text
- Your name as you entered it (or "Anonymous")
- Your email (if provided)
- Timestamp and which ring site it was submitted from
When you subscribe to the newsletter
- Your email
- Your first name
- Which ring site you signed up from
Diagnostics and errors
- Anonymous device type and OS version (e.g. "iPhone 15, iOS 18.2")
- App crashes or errors — no personally identifiable information
We do NOT collect
- Location data (unless you explicitly grant it, and we don't currently use it)
- Contacts, photos, or files from your device
- Advertising identifiers
- Browsing history outside the Service
Why we collect it
- To operate the Service — you can't have a chat history with Monk without storing the chat history.
- To personalize — Monk remembers past conversations if you're signed in, so he can reference them naturally ("last time you asked about vegan dining…").
- To send the newsletter — we use your email to send The Calgary Roundup every Friday morning, only if you opt in.
- To improve the Service — we look at aggregate search queries and click-throughs to understand what Calgarians want to find, so we can add more listings and stories.
Who we share it with
We use the following third-party infrastructure providers. Each has their own privacy practices, linked below:
- Supabase (backend, authentication, database) — supabase.com/privacy
- Beehiiv (newsletter delivery) — beehiiv.com/privacy
- Anthropic (powers Monk's AI responses) — anthropic.com/legal/privacy
- OpenAI (content moderation only) — openai.com/policies/privacy-policy
- Voyage AI (story embeddings) — voyageai.com/privacy
- ElevenLabs (optional voice synthesis) — elevenlabs.io/privacy
- Hostinger (website hosting) — hostinger.com/privacy-policy
- Cloudflare (content delivery) — cloudflare.com/privacypolicy
- Make.com (automation pipelines) — make.com/en/privacy-notice
We do not share your data with advertisers, data brokers, or analytics services beyond the operational uses above.
Your rights
You can:
- Access your data — email us and we'll send you everything we have on you within 30 days.
- Correct your data — update your name, email, or preferences by signing into the Service.
- Delete your account and all data — email jordan@jordandefazio.com with the subject "Delete my account" and we'll permanently delete everything within 30 days.
- Unsubscribe from the newsletter — one click from any email we send, or email us.
- Port your data — we'll send you a JSON export of everything we have on you on request.
Residents of California (CCPA), Canada (PIPEDA), the EU (GDPR), and the UK (UK GDPR) have these rights under law. We extend them to everyone.
How long we keep data
| Data | Retention |
|---|---|
| Your account | Until you delete it |
| Chat history with Monk | Up to the last 100 turns per member; older turns auto-expire |
| Newsletter subscription | Until you unsubscribe |
| Anonymous search queries and widget analytics | 180 days |
| Submitted stories | Indefinitely (published content — contact us to delete) |
| Error logs and diagnostics | 30 days |
Children
The Service is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you believe a child has signed up, contact us and we'll delete the account.
Security
- All data in transit is encrypted with TLS 1.2+.
- Passwords are hashed using bcrypt.
- Infrastructure providers (Supabase, Hostinger, Cloudflare) provide encryption at rest.
- All user-submitted stories pass through a 3-layer moderation pipeline (pattern filter, OpenAI moderation, Claude classifier) before publication.
- If we discover a breach, we'll notify affected users within 72 hours.
Cookies and local storage
The websites and mobile app use local storage to:
- Remember your login session (so you don't have to sign in every time)
- Store session IDs for search analytics
- Remember the "you've seen the welcome page" flag
- Cache Monk's response style for faster reloads
No third-party cookies are used in the mobile app.
International data transfers
Data is primarily stored in Canada (Supabase ca-central-1 region). Some processing occurs in the United States (Anthropic, OpenAI, Voyage AI, Beehiiv). By using the Service, you consent to this cross-border processing.
Changes to this policy
We'll post updates here with the "Last updated" date bumped. For material changes (like selling data, which we won't do), we'll email you.
Contact
Jordan DeFazio
Fat Monk Media Ltd.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
jordan@jordandefazio.com
For privacy-specific requests, use the subject line "Privacy request" so we route it correctly.