Privacy Policy
What we collect, why, and your rights.
Last updated: 2026. This policy is a plain-language description of how The Vital Record handles personal data. If anything here conflicts with applicable law in your jurisdiction, the law governs.
Who we are
The Vital Record (“we”) is a daily, free-to-read publication of medicine and biotechnology, governed by Armando Cuesta, MD. For privacy questions or requests, contact [email protected].
What we collect
We deliberately collect as little as possible.
- Newsletter subscription. If you subscribe, we store the email address you provide, the date/time you subscribed, the page you subscribed from, and the IP address of the request (used only to prevent abuse). We use a confirmed opt-in: you must click a confirmation link before we send you anything.
- Server logs. Our web server keeps standard access logs (IP address, request path, user agent, timestamp) for security and reliability. These rotate and are not used to profile you.
- Privacy-first analytics. We count pageviews with our own first-party beacon. We do not use cookies, do not store your IP address, and do not track you across days or sites. We keep the page visited, the referring website’s domain, and a daily-rotating, irreversible hash used only to estimate how many distinct visitors a page had that day. This is why you don’t see a cookie banner.
- No advertising trackers. We do not embed third-party advertising or social-media tracking pixels. We do not sell or rent personal data — ever.
How we use it
- To send you the edition and subscription-related messages you asked for.
- To operate, secure, and debug the site.
- To comply with legal obligations.
We rely on your consent (newsletter) and our legitimate interest in running a secure service (logs) as the legal bases for processing under the GDPR.
Who we share it with
- Email delivery provider. When email is enabled, we use a transactional email service (Resend) solely to deliver messages you requested. They process your address on our behalf under their data-processing terms.
- We do not share your data with anyone else except where required by law.
How long we keep it
We keep your subscription data until you unsubscribe, after which we remove your address from the active list. Server logs are retained for a limited period and then deleted.
Your rights
You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any edition email, or by writing to [email protected]. Depending on where you live (e.g. the EU/EEA under the GDPR), you may also have the right to access, correct, delete, or export your data, and to object to processing. We honor these requests.
Where data is processed
The site and subscriber data are hosted on servers operated by our infrastructure providers. Data may be processed in the United States and the European Union.
Children
The Vital Record is not directed to children and we do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 16.
Changes
We may update this policy; the “last updated” date will change accordingly. Material changes affecting subscribers will be noted in an edition or by email.