Updated 3 November 2026
Rooted News (rooted.news) is made by Crust News and run by Dominick Skinner. Questions, requests and complaints: hello@rooted.news. Under the EU General Data Protection Regulation, Rooted News is the controller of the personal data described here.
Rooted News lists headlines, summaries, pictures and links from independent news outlets, and points readers to the outlets themselves. Reading needs no account. An account lets you follow topics and outlets, amplify, save, vote and comment.
Our web server logs each request with your IP address, browser type, the page requested and the time. Logs are kept for 35 days for security and to count how many readers each outlet receives, then deleted. A random cookie named rooted_c is set when you click through to an outlet, so the same reader is counted once a day; it holds no personal data. We also count page views ourselves, with no outside analytics service: for each page we keep the page, the time, the site that sent you, your time zone setting and the kind of device, together with a code made from your IP address, browser and a key that changes every day. That code lets us count a reader once a day but cannot be linked across days, and the key is deleted after two days. Page views are kept for 90 days. Your look, mark and local edition choices are kept in your browser only. The site loads fonts from Google Fonts, which means Google receives your IP address when the fonts load.
Your email address, a handle, an optional name, bio and photo, and a password hash if you set a password. We also keep what you do on the site: topics, outlets, readers and stories you follow, outlets and topics you block, pieces you amplify, save or hide, your votes, your comments, your notifications, and your digest and local edition settings. When you are signed in, the pages you view on Rooted News and when you were last active are stored with your account, so we can see how members use the site; page views are kept for 90 days. A session cookie named rooted_s keeps you signed in for 90 days. Outlet managers also give us the outlet details they enter.
To run the service you asked for: show your feeds, deliver notifications and digests you turned on, let outlets see how many readers each piece sends them, and keep the site safe. We do not sell data, run advertising, or use third-party analytics or tracking pixels. Comments and amplifies are public under your handle, as the site shows.
We send sign-in links, the digests you choose, story alerts you follow, and messages about your account or outlet. Emails go out through Amazon Web Services (Simple Email Service) from hello@rooted.news. Every digest has an unsubscribe link, and digests can be switched off on your You page.
Running your account and the features you turn on: performance of a contract (GDPR article 6(1)(b)). Server logs, abuse prevention and the click cookie: our legitimate interest in keeping the site working and honest (article 6(1)(f)). Anything else: your consent, which you can withdraw at any time.
Hosting is on a server we rent in the European Union. Email delivery uses Amazon Web Services. Google receives your IP address when fonts load. Nobody else receives your data unless the law requires it. Outlets see aggregate counts, never your identity, unless you comment or amplify publicly.
Server logs: 35 days. Page views: 90 days. Sign-in links: until used or expired, then deleted nightly. Sessions: until they expire or you sign out. Notifications: 90 days. Your account and everything in it: until you delete it.
You can see, correct, export or delete your data. Deleting your account from the You page removes your profile, follows, votes, amplifies, saves and settings at once and replaces your comments with a placeholder. Email hello@rooted.news for anything else, including a copy of your data. You can complain to the data protection authority where you live.
Rooted News is not aimed at children under 16. If you believe a child has made an account, email hello@rooted.news and we will remove it.
When this policy changes, the date at the top changes and the new version is published here.
See also the outlet terms.