Privacy Policy — How We Handle Your Data

Effective Date: February 20, 2026 Last Updated: February 21, 2026

The Epstein Files Archive ("we," "us," or "our") operates the website at epsteinislands.com (the "Site"). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your choices regarding that information.

We are committed to transparency — the same principle that drives our editorial mission applies to how we handle your data.

Information We Collect

Analytics Data (Automatically Collected)

When you visit the Site, we collect anonymized usage data through two analytics services:

Google Analytics (Measurement ID: G-5YJD9PHKNG): Collects data about page views, session duration, approximate geographic location (country/region level), device type, browser type, and referring URLs. Google Analytics uses first-party cookies (_ga, _gat, _gid) to distinguish unique visitors and track sessions. This data is aggregated and does not personally identify you.
Vercel Analytics: Our hosting provider, Vercel, collects performance metrics including page load times, web vitals, and aggregate visitor counts. Vercel Analytics is privacy-focused and does not use cookies for tracking.

Advertising Data

We display advertisements on the Site through our advertising partner, Adsterra. Adsterra uses popunder advertisements, which open a new browser tab or window when you interact with the Site. Adsterra and its advertising partners may collect data to deliver, measure, and improve advertisements, including:

Device and browser information: Browser type, operating system, screen resolution, and language preferences.
Cookies and tracking technologies: Adsterra may set cookies or use similar technologies (such as web beacons and pixel tags) to identify your browser, track ad impressions, and measure ad performance.
IP address: Used for approximate geographic targeting and fraud prevention.
Interaction data: Whether an ad was displayed, clicked, or resulted in a conversion.

This data is collected and processed by Adsterra according to their own privacy practices. We do not have access to the personal data Adsterra collects through its advertising technology. For more information, see the Adsterra Privacy Policy.

Information You Voluntarily Provide

Our contact form (when active) collects the name, email address, inquiry type, subject, and message you choose to submit. This information is used solely to respond to your inquiry. We do not add you to any mailing list or share this data with third parties.

Information We Do Not Collect

We do not require user accounts or registration.
We do not collect payment or financial information.
We do not collect sensitive personal information.
We do not enable comments or user-generated content.
We do not use retargeting pixels. Advertising is delivered through Adsterra as described above.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

Site Improvement: Analytics data helps us understand which content is most useful, identify technical issues, and improve navigation.
Editorial Decisions: Aggregate page-view data informs which topics, documents, and timeline events we prioritize for future coverage.
Advertising: We use Adsterra to display advertisements that help fund the ongoing operation and maintenance of this archive. Ad-related data is used by Adsterra to deliver relevant advertisements and measure performance.
Communication: If you contact us through the contact form or email, we use your information solely to respond to your inquiry.
Technical Operations: Server logs maintained by Vercel may temporarily record IP addresses for security, rate-limiting, and abuse prevention.

We do not sell, rent, or trade any visitor data to third parties.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Cookies We Use

| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Duration | |--------|----------|---------|----------| | _ga | Google Analytics | Distinguishes unique visitors | 2 years | | _gat | Google Analytics | Throttles request rate | 1 minute | | _gid | Google Analytics | Distinguishes unique visitors | 24 hours | | Various | Adsterra | Ad delivery, frequency capping, performance measurement | Varies |

Managing Cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies. Please note that disabling cookies does not affect your ability to access any content on the Site — all articles, documents, timelines, and topics remain fully accessible without cookies.

You can also opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-On.

Third-Party Services

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

Vercel (hosting and analytics) — Vercel Privacy Policy
Google Analytics (usage analytics) — Google Privacy Policy
Adsterra (advertising) — Adsterra Privacy Policy
Google Fonts (typography via Geist font family) — Fonts are self-hosted through Next.js and do not make requests to Google servers.

We link to external sources including the U.S. Department of Justice, FBI Vault, CourtListener, PACER, and major news outlets. When you follow an external link, you leave our Site and are subject to that site's privacy practices. We are not responsible for the privacy policies of external websites.

Data Retention

Analytics Data: Google Analytics data is retained according to Google's standard retention settings. We do not configure extended retention periods.
Contact Submissions: Messages received through email or the contact form are retained only as long as necessary to address your inquiry and for our records.
Server Logs: Vercel server logs are retained according to Vercel's standard log retention policy, typically 30 days.

Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights:

Access: Request information about data we hold related to your visit.
Deletion: Request that we delete any personal data associated with you.
Opt-Out: Disable cookies or use the Google Analytics opt-out tool described above.
Do Not Track: We respect Do Not Track browser signals where technically supported by our analytics tools.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the email address on our contact page.

Children's Privacy

The Site contains content about criminal cases and legal proceedings. It is not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will take steps to remove that information.

Data Security

We use industry-standard security measures provided by our hosting platform (Vercel) including HTTPS encryption for all connections, DDoS protection, and secure infrastructure. However, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

International Visitors

The Site is hosted in the United States through Vercel's global edge network. If you are visiting from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States. By using the Site, you consent to this transfer.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please reach out through our contact page or email us at:

contact [at] epsteinislands [dot] com