Privacy Policy

Effective date: October 28, 2026

This policy describes what information is handled when you read fallingdust.com, how the operator uses it and what choices you have. The operator is the person or organisation running this blog about alternate reality games, mystery puzzles and science fiction. Where the text says we, it refers to that operator.

Visit logs

The servers that deliver Fallingdust keep ordinary logs. A record may hold your IP address, the moment you arrived, the article you opened, the kind of browser or device you used, and the site that linked you here. We use these records to keep the site online, to spot faults and abusive traffic, and to see in broad terms which puzzle guides and genre essays are being read.

Cookies and similar technology

Fallingdust may use cookies or comparable browser storage. Some make pages load correctly. Others, where switched on, count audiences, remember a display choice, support advertising, or record that a reader arrived at a bookseller or game shop through one of our links so that affiliate credit can be assigned. A cookie set by an advertiser or analytics provider is that provider’s responsibility, so check its notice if you want to know what it keeps.

Browser controls and opt-out signals

You can refuse or delete cookies in your browser, browse privately, or add tools that limit tracking. A do-not-track or global privacy signal from your browser will be treated as a request to opt out of tracking, as far as our analytics and advertising tools can respect it. Blocking some storage may change how certain features behave.

What you send us

If you email [email protected], we receive your address and whatever you write. Your message is used to reply, to fix a mistake in a guide where you found one, and to keep a short record of the conversation. A reader who shares a theory about a puzzle or a hunt will not see it published under their name unless they agree first. We do not sell messages.

Newsletters and forms

If Fallingdust offers a newsletter or a form, the details you type in are used only for that purpose, such as sending the updates you asked for. Each mailing explains how to unsubscribe, and you can also ask by email to be removed.

Outside services

A blog like this relies on other providers. They may include hosting and content delivery, audience measurement, advertising and affiliate networks, and embedded material such as video trailers, audio clips or discussion widgets from game communities. These providers may receive technical details about your visit so their part of the page works, and they handle that data under their own notices.

How long information is kept

Logs are held for a limited time and then deleted or reduced to anonymous totals. Emails are kept while they help us reply, fix an article or meet a legal duty, and are then removed.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may be able to ask what personal information we hold about you, have it corrected or erased, object to some uses, or withdraw consent given earlier. To make a request, write to [email protected] and say what you want. Because we will not hand data to the wrong person, we may ask you to prove the request comes from the address in question, and we will answer inside the legal deadline that applies to you.

Children

Fallingdust is written for a general audience and is not aimed at children under 13. We do not knowingly gather personal information from them. A parent who finds that a child has emailed us can ask for the message to be erased, and we will do so.

Security

Fallingdust uses encrypted connections where available and keeps the contact inbox open to the operator only. No system connected to the internet is perfectly safe, so we cannot guarantee complete protection.

International transfers

Providers behind this site may process data in other countries, where the rules may differ from those where you live. By continuing to read Fallingdust you accept that your information may travel this way.

Changes to this policy

When our practices around analytics, advertising or newsletters change, this page will be edited to match. The date at the top marks the current version, and reading Fallingdust after that date means the updated text applies to you.