Lightning News collects only the information needed to run the site. The site does not show advertising and does not use analytics or tracking tools.
Information collected
Visitors may read the site without an account. The site's hosting provider keeps standard server logs, including IP addresses and request times, for security purposes.
Account holders provide a name, an email address and a password, and can add a profile photo if they want to. Passwords are stored in hashed form. Forum posts are stored with the account and the browser identifier (described below) that created them. Posts that their writers delete are removed from the site but remain visible to administrators, so that rule violations can still be addressed. Account holders can delete their account from the Account page; their forum posts are then removed the same way.
Cookies
The site uses two cookies. One keeps signed-in users signed in. The other holds a random identifier for the browser and is set when a user signs in, creates an account or posts. Administrators use it to address rule violations, such as one person using several accounts. A visitor's light or dark display setting is saved in the browser. None of this is used for advertising or shared with other services.
Some articles use typefaces from Google Fonts. When you open one, your browser downloads the typeface from Google's servers, which see your IP address. No cookies are involved.
Anonymous forum posts
Posts marked anonymous are shown to students and editors without the author's name. Administrators can see the author of every post in order to address rule violations or safety concerns, and may share this information with school staff when necessary.
Security
Signing in and posting are rate-limited. Staff actions are recorded in an activity log available to administrators.
Contact
Questions about this policy may be sent to [contact email].