Terms and privacy

Last updated: August 3, 2026.

This document combines the terms governing your use of Effort with our privacy notice. Please read both parts. By using the site, you have read and agree to this document.

Subscriptions

Effort offers optional monthly, annual, and lifetime support tiers through Stripe at the prices displayed on the subscription page. Monthly and annual subscriptions renew at their stated intervals until canceled under the terms presented at Stripe checkout. Lifetime tiers are charged once.

Part I — Terms and conditions

1. Agreement and scope

These terms apply to this website, its articles, graphics, newsletters, subscription features, and any other digital service that links to them (together, the “Services”). “Effort,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to the publication and, once identified here, its operator. If you do not agree to these terms, do not use the Services.

Services may contain additional terms. If additional terms conflict with this document, the more specific terms govern that feature.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 to use the Services. To purchase a subscription, you must also be old enough to enter a binding contract where you live, or act with the consent of a parent or legal guardian. Keep access to the email address supplied at checkout so Stripe can send receipts and billing notices.

3. Payment and refunds

The checkout page will disclose the price, applicable taxes, and material restrictions before you order. Those offer-specific disclosures form part of these terms. Recurring tiers renew at their stated intervals until canceled; lifetime tiers are one-time charges.

Payment. Stripe receives and processes complete payment-card details. Effort receives the customer identifier, contact information, selected plan, billing status, receipts, and limited transaction metadata needed to administer subscriptions.

Refunds. Send refund requests to support@effort.news. Effort reviews requests individually and provides refunds required by law.

4. Content and permitted use

The Services and their original reporting, text, layout, graphics, photographs, code, branding, and other protected material belong to us or our licensors. Public records and other third-party material retain their existing legal status. We grant you a personal, limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access the Services for lawful, non-commercial reading and research. You may link to our public pages and quote limited portions as permitted by copyright law. Without our written permission, you may not republish substantial portions, remove attribution or rights notices, sell or sublicense access, create a substitute publication or database, or systematically extract content.

5. Correspondence and submissions

You retain any rights you hold in material sent to Effort. You represent that you have the right to send it and that doing so does not violate another person’s rights or the law. You permit us to copy, review, preserve, verify, and use the material as reasonably necessary to respond, operate the Services, protect our legal interests, or comply with law.

Email is not a secure tip channel, and sending a message does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship, confidential-source agreement, or promise of publication. Never send confidential records via email. Any express written source-protection agreement or submission-specific terms override this paragraph.

6. Acceptable use

You may not:

• use the Services unlawfully, fraudulently, or to violate another person’s rights;
• impersonate a person or misrepresent your affiliation;
• introduce malicious code, probe for vulnerabilities, or disrupt the Services;
• circumvent rate limits or security measures;
• use bots or automated requests in a way that burdens or interferes with the Services; or
• collect personal information from the Services for harassment, profiling, or abuse.

7. Journalism, corrections, and third-party material

Our journalism is provided for general information and is not legal, medical, financial, tax, or other professional advice. Reporting can evolve as records emerge. We may update, correct, annotate, archive, or remove material and do not promise that every item will remain available. Links, embeds, quoted material, and third-party tools do not imply endorsement. Their operators are responsible for their own services and policies.

8. Enforcement and termination

We may restrict or end access, remove material submitted through the Services, or take reasonable protective measures if we believe an account violates these terms, creates security or legal risk, or harms other users. You may stop using the Services at any time; subscription refunds are governed by Section 3.

9. Disclaimers and limits of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Services are provided “as is” and “as available.” We do not guarantee uninterrupted access, perfect security, or that every item is complete, current, or error-free. We disclaim implied warranties to the extent they may lawfully be disclaimed. Nothing here excludes a warranty or consumer right that cannot legally be excluded.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we and our suppliers will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, data, goodwill, or opportunities arising from the Services. Our aggregate liability for a claim relating to the Services will not exceed the greater of the amount you paid us for the Services during the preceding 12 months or US$100. These limits do not apply where prohibited, including liability that cannot be limited for fraud, willful misconduct, death, or personal injury.

Part II — Privacy notice

1. Scope and responsibility

This notice explains how we handle personal information when you use the Services, subscribe, or contact us. It does not govern external services or websites outside of effort.news.

2. Information we collect

Depending on the features you use, we may collect:

• Information you provide, such as your name, email address, correspondence, survey responses, and material sent with a reporting lead.
• Subscription and transaction information, such as subscription status, plan, Stripe Customer identifier, billing history, and limited payment metadata. Stripe processes complete payment-card details.
• Technical and usage information, such as IP address, browser and device type, requested pages, referring page, approximate location inferred from IP, timestamps, and diagnostic or security events recorded in ordinary server logs.
• Information from service providers, such as Stripe checkout status, receipt, refund, dispute, or support record from a vendor helping us provide the Services.

We do not use advertising trackers or behavioral advertising technology.

3. How we use information

We use personal information as reasonably necessary to:

• provide articles, subscriptions, and requested support;
• process transactions and administer receipts, refunds, disputes, and records;
• respond to correspondence, corrections, and reporting leads;
• secure, debug, measure, and improve the Services;
• prevent fraud and abuse;
• comply with law and protect readers, sources, the public, and our legal rights; and
• carry out another purpose that we explain when collecting the information.

4. Cookies and local storage

We do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, and we do not use advertising cookies.

5. When we disclose information

We may disclose personal information:

• to vendors working under contract for hosting, security, email, support, analytics, and payment processing;
• to a person you direct us to or when you otherwise consent;
• when reasonably necessary to comply with law or legal process, protect rights and safety, investigate abuse, or defend legal claims; and
• as part of a merger, financing, reorganization, sale, or transfer of all or part of the publication, subject to appropriate confidentiality and notice where required.

Stripe processes checkout and billing information under its privacy notice and, where applicable, as a service provider to Effort. Other external services process information under their own notices.

6. Retention and security

We keep personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described above, including to provide subscriptions, preserve legitimate editorial or business records, meet legal obligations, resolve disputes, and prevent abuse.

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards appropriate to the nature of the information. No storage or transmission method is completely secure.

7. International processing

We and our providers may process information in countries other than the one where you live. Where required, we will use an approved transfer mechanism and supplementary safeguards. Mandatory protections in your home jurisdiction continue to apply.

8. Your choices and privacy rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to know or access personal information, correct it, delete it, receive a portable copy, restrict or object to processing, withdraw consent, and appeal a denied request. You may also have rights to opt out of sales, targeted advertising, or certain profiling. We do not currently engage in those activities. We will not discriminate against you for exercising a privacy right.

We may need to verify your identity and authority before acting on a request. An authorized agent may submit a request where the law allows.

9. Journalism and public records

Our reporting may contain information about people drawn from public records, interviews, events, and other newsworthy sources. Privacy laws in many jurisdictions recognize protections or exemptions for journalism, freedom of expression, archives, and matters of public interest. A request concerning published reporting will be reviewed under applicable law and our editorial standards; such a request may not require removal or alteration of an accurate public-interest record.

10. Children

The Services are intended for a general audience and are not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from a child under 13. If you believe a child has provided it, contact us.

11. Changes to this document

We may update this document to reflect changes in the Services, law, or our practices. We will post the revised version with a new effective date and provide additional notice when required. Material changes will apply prospectively unless law permits otherwise. Continued use after an update takes effect means the updated terms govern future use; any consent required for new processing will be requested separately.

Contact and operator details

For terms, subscription, or privacy questions, contact support@effort.news. Editorial pitches belong at pitches@effort.news. Non-sensitive tips may be sent to tips@effort.news. Email is not a secure reporting channel. Never send confidential or identifying information via email.

Severability, waiver, and assignment

If a provision of the terms is unenforceable, it will be enforced to the maximum extent permitted and the remaining provisions will continue. A failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not transfer your agreement with us without written consent; we may transfer it with the Services or publication, subject to applicable law. These terms and any feature-specific terms are the entire agreement about the Services.