Privacy Policy

Modus Privacy Policy

Effective Date: August 18, 2026
Last Updated: August 18, 2026

Modus Media LLC ("Modus," "we," "us," or "our") publishes the Modus website at modus.news, the Modus newsletter, and related content, tools, and features (collectively, the "Services"). This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and share it, and the choices and rights you have.

We've tried to write this in plain language. Modus is a small, independent news company — not a data company — and this privacy policy should protect both Modus and its users.

Our Approach, in Brief

We collect the minimum personal information we need to run Modus and deliver the newsletter.
We do not sell your personal information, and we never have.
Advertising and sponsorships never determine what we report or how we report it, and they never give advertisers access to your personal information.
We keep personal information only for as long as we have a legitimate reason to.
We use as few cookies and third-party trackers as we reasonably can.
We will tell you plainly, including by email where appropriate, if something material about this Policy changes.

The rest of this Policy explains all of this in more detail.

Table of Contents

Who We Are and What This Policy Covers
Information We Collect
How We Use Your Information
Our Legal Bases for Processing (EU/UK/EEA Residents)
How We Share Information
Advertising and Sponsorships
Data Retention
Data Security
Your Privacy Choices
Your Rights Under GDPR and UK GDPR
Your Rights Under U.S. State Privacy Laws
Children's Privacy
International Users and Data Transfers
Third-Party Links and Services
Changes to This Policy
How to Contact Us

1) Who We Are and What This Policy Covers

Modus is an independent news publication covering family offices and the professionals who serve them, founded in 2024 and published by Modus Media LLC. Modus publishes a free weekly newsletter, articles, opinion essays, research (including our Family Office Tech Map and Family Office Allocation Index), and related content through modus.news and associated social media, email, and other channels.

This Policy applies to personal information we collect through the Services. It does not apply to information collected by any other company, including advertisers, sponsors, or third-party websites and services we link to, embed, or mention. Those third parties have their own privacy practices, and we encourage you to review them.

By using the Services, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this Policy. If you do not agree, please don't use the Services.

2) Information We Collect

We collect information in three ways: what you give us directly, what we collect automatically when you use the Services, and, occasionally, what we receive from other sources.

2.1) Information You Provide to Us

Newsletter and account information. To subscribe to the Modus newsletter or create an account, we ask for your email address. Depending on how you choose to sign in, we may also collect a password you set. Modus supports multiple ways to access your account — a magic link or one-time code sent to your email, or a traditional password — and which options are available may change over time. If you choose to tell us your name, job title, employer, or other professional details (for example, when you sign up, respond to a survey, or fill out a form to access a piece of research), we'll store what you share.
Correspondence and tips. If you email us, use a contact form, submit a story pitch, or send us a tip, we collect whatever you include in that communication, along with your contact information, so we can respond and, where relevant, follow up on the reporting.
Advertising and partnership inquiries and billing. If you inquire about advertising or sponsoring Modus, we (or a third-party form provider we use for this purpose, such as Google Forms) collect the information you submit, such as your name, company, and contact details, so we can respond with rates and availability. If you become an advertiser or sponsor, we collect the billing and contact information needed to invoice you and process payment, which is handled through Beehiiv and its payment processor, Stripe.
Content you submit for publication. If you pitch or contribute a piece, or otherwise submit content intended for publication, we collect the biographical and contact information necessary to credit, pay (if applicable), and communicate with you about that work.
Any other information you choose to give us. For example, if you respond to a reader survey or reply to one of our newsletters.

2.2) Information We Collect Automatically

When you visit modus.news or open our emails, we automatically collect certain technical information, including:

Usage data, such as which pages or articles you view, how you got there (e.g., a referring website or search engine), and how you interact with the site.
Device and log information, such as your browser type, operating system, and IP address.
Approximate location, which we may infer from your IP address at a country or city level — we do not track your precise, real-time location.
Email engagement data. Like most email newsletters, ours may include technology that tells us whether an email was opened and which links, if any, were clicked. We use this in aggregate to understand what readers find valuable and to keep our sender reputation healthy so our emails reach your inbox.

We use this information to operate, secure, and improve the Services, and to understand our readership at a general level — for example, roughly how many subscribers we have in a given industry or region. We do not use this information to build individual advertising profiles about you, and it is not shared with advertisers in a form that identifies you personally.

2.3) Cookies and Similar Technologies

Modus uses a limited number of cookies and similar technologies (such as local storage), primarily to:

Keep you signed in to your Modus account between visits;
Remember basic preferences; and
Understand, in aggregate, how our website is used, so we can improve it.

You can control cookies through your browser settings, including blocking or deleting them, though doing so may affect features like staying signed in. See Section 9 for more on your choices.

2.4) Information from Other Sources

Occasionally, we may receive information about you from other sources, such as:

Publicly available information relevant to our reporting or to a story you're involved in;
A colleague or employer who submits your contact information to us for a legitimate purpose (for example, to arrange an interview); or
Analytics, email delivery, or hosting providers we use to operate the Services (described in Section 5).

3) How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

Deliver the Services, including sending the newsletter, maintaining your account and verifying your identity when you sign in, and providing content you've requested.
Communicate with you, including responding to inquiries, tips, pitches, and support requests, and sending service-related messages (such as confirming a subscription).
Operate and improve Modus, including understanding readership trends, fixing bugs, and deciding what to cover and how to present it.
Protect Modus and our readers, including detecting fraud, abuse, and security issues, and enforcing our terms.
Sell and administer advertising and sponsorships on an aggregate, non-identifying basis, as described in Section 6.
Comply with legal obligations, such as responding to lawful requests, and to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

We do not use your personal information for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you.

4) Our Legal Bases for Processing (EU/UK/EEA Residents)

If you are located in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, data protection law requires us to identify the "legal basis" on which we process your personal information. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on:

Performance of a contract — for example, processing your email address to deliver the newsletter you signed up for.
Legitimate interests — for example, using aggregate analytics to understand and improve the Services, provided this doesn't override your privacy interests.
Consent — for example, where we ask for your permission to send certain communications, which you can withdraw at any time.
Legal obligation — for example, where we must retain or disclose information to comply with the law.

5) How We Share Information

We do not sell your personal information, and we never have. We share information only in the following limited circumstances:

Service providers. We use a small number of vendors to run Modus — for example, our publishing and email platform (Beehiiv); Stripe, which Beehiiv uses to process payments from advertisers and sponsors (and would use for reader payments if we offer paid subscriptions in the future); and form providers for inquiries (such as Google Forms). These vendors only receive the information they need to provide their service to us and are not permitted to use it for their own purposes.
Legal requirements. We may disclose information if required by law, regulation, legal process, or a governmental request — for example, a subpoena or court order. As a matter of editorial and civic principle, we scrutinize such requests, will resist ones we believe are legally deficient or overbroad, and, where legally permitted, will try to notify you before complying.
To protect rights and safety. We may disclose information where we believe in good faith it's necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Modus, our readers, or the public — for example, in cases of imminent harm.
Business transfers. If Modus is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We'll ensure it remains subject to a policy at least as protective as this one, and we'll notify you of any material change.
Aggregated or de-identified information. We may share information that has been aggregated or stripped of identifying details — for example, publishing that we have a certain number of subscribers — because it no longer identifies you.
With your direction or consent. For any other purpose, we'll only share your information with your consent.

6) Advertising and Sponsorships

Editorial independence. Advertisers and sponsors never influence what we cover or how we cover it, and all paid placements are clearly marked as such.
No sharing of personal data with advertisers. We do not give advertisers or sponsors access to your name, email address, or other information that identifies you personally. We may share aggregate, non-identifying information about our readership (for example, general industry breakdowns or audience size) to help sell advertising, but this is not tied to you individually.

When an advertiser or sponsor pays for a placement, that transaction is processed through Beehiiv and its payment processor, Stripe, which receives the billing information necessary to process the payment (such as name, business contact details, and payment method). Modus does not receive or store full payment card numbers.

Modus does not currently use third-party behavioral advertising networks that track you across other websites. If that ever changes, we will update this Policy and provide an appropriate opt-out.

7) Data Retention

We keep personal information for as long as we have a legitimate reason to — for example, for as long as your subscription is active, to respond to a tip or inquiry, or to meet legal, accounting, or dispute-resolution obligations. When we no longer have a legitimate need to retain information, we delete it or de-identify it. If you unsubscribe or ask us to delete your account information, we will do so except where we're permitted or required to retain certain records (for example, to comply with the law or resolve disputes).

8) Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction — for example, encrypting data in transit (look for "https" and a lock icon in your browser), limiting who can access personal information to what's needed to run Modus, and, if you set a password, storing it in hashed (not plain-text) form. That said, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security. If we experience a data breach that affects you, we will notify you and relevant authorities as required by law.

9) Your Privacy Choices

Regardless of where you live, you have the following choices:

Unsubscribe. You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time using the link at the bottom of every email, or through your account settings. You may still receive essential service-related messages (for example, confirming a change to your account) unless you also close your account.
Access or update your information. You can review or update the information tied to your account by contacting us or, where available, through your account settings.
Delete your account. You can ask us to delete your account and associated personal information at any time by emailing us.
Control cookies. You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings. Doing so may limit some features, like staying signed in.
Do Not Track / Global Privacy Control. Our website does not currently respond to browser "Do Not Track" signals. Because we do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, this generally doesn't change how we handle your data — but where legally required, we will honor recognized opt-out preference signals such as Global Privacy Control.

10) Your Rights Under GDPR and UK GDPR

If you are located in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you have the following rights regarding your personal information, subject to certain exceptions provided by law:

The right to be informed about how we collect and use your personal information (which this Policy does).
The right of access to the personal information we hold about you.
The right to rectification of inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
The right to erasure of your personal information in certain circumstances.
The right to restrict our processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
The right to data portability, allowing you to obtain and reuse your personal information for your own purposes.
The right to object to our processing of your personal information, including where we rely on legitimate interests.
The right to withdraw consent at any time, where our processing is based on consent.
The right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the information in Section 16. We may need to verify your identity before responding, and we will respond within the timeframes required by law.

Modus has not appointed a representative in the EU or UK because we do not, at this time, systematically or extensively target or monitor individuals located there. If that changes, we will update this Policy accordingly.

11) Your Rights Under U.S. State Privacy Laws

Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under state privacy laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act), and similar laws in states including Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, and others. Where these laws apply, you generally have the right to:

Know what categories of personal information we've collected about you, the sources of that information, and the purposes for collecting it;
Access the specific pieces of personal information we hold about you;
Correct inaccurate personal information;
Delete personal information we hold about you, subject to certain exceptions;
Opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information — though, as noted above, we don't sell your personal information and don't share it for cross-context behavioral advertising; and
Not be discriminated against for exercising any of these rights.

In the past twelve months, depending on how you've used the Services, we may have collected the following categories of personal information: identifiers (such as your name and email address); commercial information (such as billing and payment-method details, for advertisers and sponsors); professional information you've chosen to share with us (such as your job title or employer); internet or network activity (such as usage and email-engagement data described in Section 2.2); and geolocation information (approximate, as described in Section 2.2). We collect these categories for the purposes described in Section 3, and we obtain them directly from you and, to a limited extent, automatically or from service providers, as described in Section 2.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the information in Section 16. You may also designate an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf; we may still ask you to verify your identity directly.

12) Children's Privacy

Modus is intended for a professional, adult audience and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 13 (or the applicable age of digital consent in your jurisdiction). If we learn that we've inadvertently collected personal information from a child, we will delete it promptly. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us.

13) International Users and Data Transfers

Modus is based in, and operates primarily from, the United States, and we process and store personal information on servers located in the United States. If you access the Services from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from those in your country. By using the Services, you understand that your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States as described in this Policy.

14) Third-Party Links and Services

The Services may contain links to, or embed content from, third-party websites and services (for example, social media posts or embedded videos). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties, and this Policy doesn't apply to them. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any third-party site or service before providing it with your information.

15) Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal, operational, or regulatory reasons. If we make material changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date above and, where appropriate, notify you directly (for example, by email) or through a prominent notice on our website before the change takes effect. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.

16) How to Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Policy or your personal information, contact us at:

Modus Media LLC Email: [email protected] Attn: Michael Thrasher, Publisher

We'll do our best to respond promptly, and in any event within the timeframe required by applicable law.