Live
BREAKING: Civic Order Coalition launches $2M ad campaign labeling REA a 'domestic terrorist threat'DEVELOPING: Autonomous Collective's open letter 'Amber Is the New Blue' goes viral — 2M+ views in 12 hoursALERT: Retired U.S. Marshal's op-ed 'The REA Exists Because We Failed' becomes most-shared article in Dead Drop historyUPDATE: CBS News/YouGov poll: 47% of moderates view REA 'somewhat favorably' — higher than liberals (41%) or conservatives (23%)JUST IN: Nine members of Congress join COC call to classify REA as domestic terrorist organizationBREAKING: Portland PD chief announces 'review of protest engagement protocols' following Saturday demonstrationDEVELOPING: Second Maricopa County deputy placed on administrative leave amid 'ongoing review'ALERT: Milwaukee Alderman Brennan cancels scheduled press conference, citing 'family emergency'REPORT: Three more cities report amber-patch sightings at public demonstrations this weekendVERIFIED: @signal_received remains silent since COC launch — longest gap since account creationUPDATE: ACLU calls COC's proposed Public Safety Protection Act 'unconstitutional on its face'JUST IN: Anonymous website hosts new document dump — 340 pages of internal affairs records from unnamed departmentBREAKING: Civic Order Coalition launches $2M ad campaign labeling REA a 'domestic terrorist threat'DEVELOPING: Autonomous Collective's open letter 'Amber Is the New Blue' goes viral — 2M+ views in 12 hoursALERT: Retired U.S. Marshal's op-ed 'The REA Exists Because We Failed' becomes most-shared article in Dead Drop historyUPDATE: CBS News/YouGov poll: 47% of moderates view REA 'somewhat favorably' — higher than liberals (41%) or conservatives (23%)JUST IN: Nine members of Congress join COC call to classify REA as domestic terrorist organizationBREAKING: Portland PD chief announces 'review of protest engagement protocols' following Saturday demonstrationDEVELOPING: Second Maricopa County deputy placed on administrative leave amid 'ongoing review'ALERT: Milwaukee Alderman Brennan cancels scheduled press conference, citing 'family emergency'REPORT: Three more cities report amber-patch sightings at public demonstrations this weekendVERIFIED: @signal_received remains silent since COC launch — longest gap since account creationUPDATE: ACLU calls COC's proposed Public Safety Protection Act 'unconstitutional on its face'JUST IN: Anonymous website hosts new document dump — 340 pages of internal affairs records from unnamed department
THE DEAD DROPIndependent Journalism

Operational Security

Privacy Policy

How The Dead Drop collects, uses, and protects your information. Last updated February 19, 2026.

We Do Not Sell Your Personal Information. Ever.

The Dead Drop has never sold, rented, licensed, or otherwise provided your personal data to third parties for their commercial or marketing purposes. We never will. This is not a negotiable principle -- it is a foundational commitment to every user on this platform.

Your data exists to operate your account and deliver the services you signed up for. Nothing more. No ad targeting, no data brokers, no behavioral profiling for sale. Period.

1. Who We Are

The Dead Drop is an independent investigative journalism platform operating at rea.us.com. This policy describes how we handle the data of users who access our website, create accounts, interact with our forums, or use our Secure Comms messaging system.

2. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of information:

  • Account Data: Email address, chosen handle, optional profile fields (bio, title, region, avatar), and your selected clearance tier.
  • Authentication Data: Hashed passwords and session tokens managed through our authentication provider. We never store plaintext passwords.
  • Usage Data: Pages visited, articles read, forum posts and comments, Secure Comms messages, and interactions with site features.
  • Device and Browser Data: IP address, browser type, operating system, and referring URL. Collected automatically via server logs and analytics.
  • Payment Data: If you upgrade your clearance tier, payment processing is handled by our third-party payment provider. We do not store credit card numbers or banking details on our servers.

3. How We Use Your Information

  • Service Operation: To provide, maintain, and improve The Dead Drop platform and its features.
  • Account Management: To authenticate your identity, manage your clearance tier, and deliver tier-appropriate content.
  • Communications: To facilitate Secure Comms between users and AI correspondents, and to send SMS/email notifications if you have opted in.
  • Security: To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and unauthorized access to the platform.
  • Analytics: To understand usage patterns and improve our editorial and product decisions. Analytics data is aggregated and not sold to third parties.

4. Secure Comms and Messaging

Messages sent through Secure Comms are stored in our database to enable message history and delivery. AI-generated replies are produced by language models operating under character parameters defined by our editorial team. Messages between human users are private to the participants.

We do not read, scan, or analyze the content of private messages for advertising purposes. Message content may be reviewed if required by law or to investigate violations of our Terms and Conditions.

5. Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent, trade, or otherwise provide your personal information to any third party for their marketing, advertising, or commercial purposes. We have never done so and never will. No exceptions, no loopholes, no "anonymized aggregate data" workarounds.

We may share limited data with the following parties solely to operate this platform:

  • Service Providers: Hosting, authentication, analytics, and payment processing partners who operate under contractual data protection obligations. These partners are prohibited from using your data for any purpose other than providing services to The Dead Drop.
  • Legal Requirements: If required by law, subpoena, or court order. We will notify affected users when legally permitted to do so.

6. Data Retention

Account data is retained for the lifetime of your account. If you delete your account, we will remove your personal information within 30 days, except where retention is required by law. Forum posts and comments may be anonymized rather than deleted to preserve discussion context.

7. Cookies and Tracking

We use essential cookies for authentication and session management. We use Vercel Analytics for privacy-friendly, aggregated usage statistics. We do not use third-party advertising trackers or cross-site tracking pixels.

8. Your Rights

You have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you.
  • Request correction of inaccurate data.
  • Request deletion of your account and associated data.
  • Export your data in a portable format.
  • Opt out of non-essential communications at any time.
  • Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at rightsenforcementagency@gmail.com.

9. Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including encrypted data transmission (TLS), hashed credential storage, row-level database security policies, and rate-limited API access. No system is perfectly secure, but we are committed to protecting your data with the same rigor we apply to protecting our sources.

10. Children

The Dead Drop is not intended for users under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will remove it promptly.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via on-site notification and, for users who have opted in, via email or SMS. Continued use of The Dead Drop after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

12. Contact

For questions about this privacy policy or your data, reach us at rightsenforcementagency@gmail.com.