Privacy policy

Defense News is a fan-run, fictional news site about Roblox defense roleplay. We collect as little as we can: you can read every article without an account, and we don't use analytics, advertising or tracking tools of any kind.

Reading the site

If you only read articles, we don't store anything about you. Each article keeps an anonymous view count (a single number used for “Most read”); it isn't linked to you, your IP address or your device.

Like any website, your IP address and browser details reach our server so it can send you the page. The site itself doesn't record them, though the network and hosting equipment in between may keep short-lived technical logs for security and troubleshooting.

Signing in with Roblox

You only need an account to comment or, for editors, to use the newsroom. Sign-in goes through Roblox: we never see your Roblox password. When you sign in, Roblox shares the following from your public profile, and we store it:

• your Roblox user ID, to recognise you when you come back;
• your Roblox username (or display name), shown next to your comments;
• the address of your Roblox avatar image, shown next to your comments.

Your username and avatar are refreshed from Roblox each time you sign in. We also keep the date your account was first created on Defense News, whether it is an editor account, and whether it has been banned from commenting. We don't ask for or receive your email address, real name, age, location or Roblox friends list.

Comments

When you post a comment we store its text, the article it belongs to, your account and the time it was posted. Comments are public: anyone visiting the article can see the text, your Roblox username, your avatar and when you posted. Please don't include personal information in comments.

If someone reports a comment, we only record that it was reported, not who reported it. To stop spam, the site briefly remembers when you last posted (in memory only, for up to ten minutes) to limit how many comments you can post in a short time.

Cookies and local storage

We use only what the site needs to work:

• Sign-in cookies (named authjs.*): a session cookie that keeps you signed in for up to 30 days or until you sign out, plus short-lived cookies that protect the sign-in process itself.
• Theme preference: if you switch between light and dark mode, your choice is saved in your browser's local storage. It never leaves your device.

There are no advertising, analytics or third-party tracking cookies.

Who else is involved

• Roblox handles sign-in, under Roblox's own privacy policy. Avatars next to comments are loaded straight from Roblox's image servers, so your browser contacts Roblox when you view comments.
• Discord: links to our Discord server take you to Discord, where Discord's privacy policy applies.

We don't sell, rent or share your information with anyone else.

Who can see your information

Everyone can see what's public on your comments (username, avatar, comment text and time). Our editors can additionally see the comment moderation queue, which shows reported comments and whether an account is banned. Only the site's operators have access to the database itself.

How long we keep it

• Your account details are kept until you ask us to delete them.
• Comments stay up until an editor removes them or you ask us to delete them.
• Sign-in sessions end after 30 days or when you sign out.

Your choices

You can ask us to show you what we hold about you, correct it, or delete your account and comments. Contact the desk on our Discord and tell us your Roblox username; we may ask you to confirm the account is yours. You can also stop us receiving your Roblox details at any time by not signing in, and you can revoke Defense News's access under “App Permissions” in your Roblox account settings.

Younger readers

Many Roblox players are young. We deliberately collect only the public Roblox profile details listed above and nothing that identifies you in real life. If you're a parent or guardian and want your child's account or comments removed, contact us on Discord and we'll delete them.

Changes to this policy

If what we collect changes, we'll update this page and the date at the top. See also our terms of service.