What we collect, what we do not, and what you can do about either.
Top of Columbus is an editorial publication. We are not in the business of harvesting data to sell or to retarget you across the internet. We collect the minimum needed to run the site, understand how readers use it, and deliver the newsletter to people who ask for it. Nothing more.
This policy covers what we collect, why, how long we keep it, who else touches it, and how to get it deleted. If you have questions after reading, email [email protected].
When you read the site: standard server logs (IP address, user agent, referrer, requested URL, timestamp) and aggregate analytics events (page views, time on page, referrer source). Analytics run through two tools: a self-hosted collector owned by Top Rated Network and Google Analytics 4. We do not use Meta Pixel or other advertising trackers.
When you subscribe to the newsletter: your email address, the time you subscribed, the source of the signup, and basic engagement data (opens, clicks).
When you submit a correction or contact form: whatever you write in the form, your name if you provide it, your email address.
We do not fingerprint your browser for cross-site tracking. We do not sell email lists. We do not build reader profiles of our own.
Our own house ads are contextual, based on the page you are reading, not who you are. Pages may also show ads from Google AdSense, which works differently; see Third Parties and Cookies.
Four third-party systems are involved in delivering the site. Our hosting provider serves the website and has access to server logs for operational purposes. Our email platform (Brevo) handles newsletter delivery; when you subscribe, your email is stored under a processing agreement that restricts its use to delivering our mail. Review platforms (Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google) supply the restaurant data we display, fetched through their official APIs and shown per their attribution terms.
Google AdSense may show ads on our pages; Google and its partners use cookies to serve ads based on your visits to this and other websites. See how Google uses information from sites that use its services.
We use a handful of first-party cookies: a session cookie for logged-in users, a consent cookie to remember your cookie preferences, and an analytics cookie used to deduplicate visits across pages in a single session. Pages that show Google AdSense ads also carry cookies set by Google and its advertising partners, used to serve ads based on your prior visits to this site and other sites. You can turn off personalized ads in Google Ads Settings, or opt out of some third-party vendors’ cookies at aboutads.info.
You can ask us what data we have about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. Most requests are processed within seven days. Email [email protected] from the address you want us to act on.
California, Colorado, Virginia, and EU residents have additional rights under state and regional privacy law. The above applies to all of them in practice.
Server logs are rotated out after 30 days. Newsletter subscriber data is kept until you unsubscribe; unsubscribed addresses are kept for another 30 days to prevent accidental re-enrollment, then deleted. Correction-form submissions are kept until the correction ships, plus 90 days for an audit trail.
If we change this policy, the updated date at the top changes, and substantive changes are noted in the next newsletter before they take effect.
The new opening, the sleeper the score just flagged, and the one room worth booking this week. Free.