For purposes of this Privacy Policy, "Firewatch Productions LLC" (also referred to as "we," "us," or "our") operates the podcast History of the Marine Corps, the primary site at historyofthemarinecorps.com, and its subdomains, including bloodline.historyofthemarinecorps.com.
This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and disclose information through our websites, mobile applications, and other online services and products that link to or post this Privacy Policy, and when you access our podcasts (whether through our services or third-party services), collectively referred to hereafter as "Services".
For purposes of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and similar laws, Firewatch Productions LLC is the data controller for Personal Information collected through the Services.
By using the Services, you consent to the terms of this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service.
We collect information you provide directly through the Services, including:
Some of this information constitutes Personal Information — information that can be used to identify you directly or indirectly.
We do not collect: phone numbers, postal mailing addresses, payment information, demographic information (age, gender, etc.), biometric data, government identifiers, or health, financial, racial, ethnic, religious, sexual orientation, immigration status, or other Sensitive Personal Information.
When you use the Services, we automatically collect certain technical and usage information, including: IP address, country/region/city (derived from IP via Cloudflare), browser type and version, operating system, device type, screen resolution, page paths and links clicked, time spent on pages, map style preferences, filter and search interactions, episode play events, error events, referrer information, cookies, and banner acknowledgment events.
We may receive limited information from Cloudflare (geographic and device data), Google Analytics (aggregated traffic data), and podcast platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Libsyn.
We use strictly necessary, functional, and analytics cookies. No advertising cookies are currently used. You can manage cookies through your browser settings. For EU/UK users, a consent banner is displayed before non-essential cookies are set.
When you interact with Bloodline Scribe, we collect and store the question text, answer text, timestamp, IP address, and browser fingerprint for quality assurance and abuse detection. Your questions are not used to train the underlying AI model. Stored questions may be reviewed by staff for quality assurance.
We use the information we collect for the following purposes, each tied to a legal basis under the EU GDPR:
| Purpose | Information Used | Legal Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Send newsletter and on-this-day emails | Email address, communications preference | Consent |
| Respond to your inquiries and feedback | Email, message content | Legitimate interest (responding to communications) |
| Operate the Bloodline interactive map | Usage Information, IP address (for geo-data) | Legitimate interest (providing the Services) |
| Operate the Bloodline Scribe AI assistant | Question text, IP address, browser fingerprint | Legitimate interest (providing the Services) |
| Analyze how the Services are used to improve them | Usage Information, page views, clicks | Legitimate interest (improving and securing the Services) |
| Detect and prevent abuse, fraud, and security incidents | IP address, browser fingerprint, request logs | Legitimate interest (protecting our Services) |
| Comply with legal obligations | All information as required | Legal obligation |
| Respond to data subject rights requests | Email, request details | Legal obligation |
| Maintain audit trails of administrative actions | Action logs, timestamps | Legitimate interest (security and accountability) |
We do not use your information to sell to third parties, make automated decisions with legal effects, train AI models on your content, engage in behavioral advertising, or build profiles beyond improving the Services.
| Vendor | Purpose | Data Shared |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Web Services (AWS) | Server hosting | All Services data (encrypted in transit and at rest) |
| Cloudflare | Network security, DNS, CDN, CAPTCHA (Turnstile) | IP addresses, request metadata, geographic data |
| OpenAI | AI processing for Bloodline Scribe | Question text submitted to Scribe. OpenAI does not use this to train models per our agreement. |
| Google (Google Analytics) | Website traffic analytics | Usage Information, IP address |
| Squarespace | Hosting for historyofthemarinecorps.com main site | Information submitted via the main site |
Our podcast episodes are distributed through Libsyn and made available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other platforms, each of which has its own privacy policy.
We may disclose information to comply with applicable laws, protect safety, enforce our Terms of Service, prevent fraud, or respond to lawful government requests.
In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale, information may be transferred to the successor entity.
We may share aggregated or de-identified data, or share information with your explicit consent. We do not sell Personal Information for monetary or other valuable consideration. We do not share Personal Information for cross-context behavioral advertising purposes.
We use strictly necessary, functional, and analytics cookies. We do not currently use advertising cookies. For EU/UK users, cookie consent is collected via a banner before non-essential cookies are set.
We use Google Analytics and our own analytics system. You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
We honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal as required by the California Privacy Rights Act.
Scribe uses retrieval-augmented generation (RAG): your question is embedded and used to search our historical database, relevant passages are retrieved, and your question and passages are sent to OpenAI's GPT model to generate an answer.
Sent to OpenAI: The text of your question and relevant historical passages.
Stored by Firewatch Productions LLC: Question text, answer text, IP address, browser fingerprint, timestamp, and any feedback you provide.
AI responses may be inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date. They are not a substitute for primary historical research or professional advice. If you discover an inaccurate response, please use the feedback feature or contact us.
We do not use AI or automated processing to make decisions with legal effects on you or to determine your access to the Services, score or profile you, or process Sensitive Personal Information.
When you dismiss the Bloodline beta/AI-warning banner, we record: the banner identifier, action taken, timestamp, IP address, country and region, browser user-agent, and the page URL. This data is retained for 12 months and processed under GDPR Article 6(1)(f) (legitimate interests) as legal evidence that the warning was displayed and acknowledged. You may request deletion through the data deletion form.
Our Services are intended for users 13 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under 13. For EU/UK users, the minimum age is 16 where required by law. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us information, contact us at contact@historyofthemarinecorps.com.
We retain Personal Information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law.
| Data Category | Retention Period | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Newsletter subscriber records | While subscribed + 1 year after unsubscribing | Re-subscription requests, dispute resolution |
| Newsletter suppression list | Indefinite | Prevent re-mailing to users who opted out |
| Bloodline Scribe questions and answers | 18 months from interaction | Quality assurance, abuse detection, AI improvement |
| Bloodline analytics events | 26 months from event | Aggregate trend analysis (matches Google Analytics default) |
| Reports and feedback | 3 years from submission | Pattern detection, audit trail for data integrity |
| Data deletion requests | Indefinite | Audit trail required by GDPR Article 5(2) |
| Server logs | 90 days | Security incident investigation, debugging |
| Email correspondence | 3 years from last interaction | Customer service history, dispute resolution |
| Records of consent | Duration of consent + 2 years | Demonstrate consent was given (GDPR Article 7) |
| Anonymized analytics data | Indefinite | No longer Personal Information once anonymized |
| Banner acknowledgment events | 12 months from event | Legal evidence of warning acknowledgment |
Personal Information removed from active systems may persist temporarily in routine backups for up to 30 days.
You may submit a deletion request through the form at bloodline.historyofthemarinecorps.com/delete-my-data. You will receive a verification email with a link valid for 72 hours. Unverified requests are not processed.
| Data Type | Action |
|---|---|
| Newsletter subscriber record | Permanently deleted |
| Reports submitted with your email address | Permanently deleted |
| Bloodline Scribe questions and answers linked to your IP | Permanently deleted |
| Analytics events linked to your IP address | Anonymized (IP address, geographic data, and fingerprint removed) |
| Banner acknowledgments linked to your IP | Permanently deleted |
We aim to process verified deletion requests within 30 days. If we decline a request, we will provide an explanation by email within 7 days.
| Category | Examples | Collected? |
|---|---|---|
| Identifiers | Name, email address, IP address, online identifier | Yes (email, IP, device fingerprint) |
| Cal. Civ. Code §1798.80(e) categories | Name, address, telephone number, etc. | No |
| Characteristics of protected classifications | Race, religion, age, etc. | No |
| Commercial information | Records of products/services purchased | No |
| Biometric information | Fingerprints, voiceprints, etc. | No |
| Internet/network activity | Browsing history, search history, interactions | Yes (Bloodline interactions, Scribe questions) |
| Geolocation data | Physical location | Yes (general geographic data from IP — country, region, city only) |
| Sensory data | Audio, video, etc. | No |
| Professional/employment | Job history, employer | No |
| Education information | Academic records | No |
| Inferences | Profile reflecting preferences | No |
| Sensitive Personal Information (CPRA) | SSN, driver's license, financial accounts, etc. | No |
We do not sell Personal Information. We do not share Personal Information for cross-context behavioral advertising. California residents have the right to know, delete, correct, opt-out, and non-discrimination. To exercise rights: deletion requests at bloodline.historyofthemarinecorps.com/delete-my-data; all other requests to contact@historyofthemarinecorps.com with "California Privacy Rights Request" in the subject. We honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal.
Firewatch Productions LLC, a Connecticut limited liability company. Contact: contact@historyofthemarinecorps.com. We have not appointed a Data Protection Officer as we are not required to do so under GDPR Article 37.
| Legal Basis | When We Rely On It |
|---|---|
| Consent | Newsletter subscriptions, optional cookies |
| Legitimate Interest | Operating the Services, security, abuse prevention, analytics |
| Legal Obligation | Responding to data subject rights requests, legal holds |
| Contractual Necessity | Not currently applicable |
| Vital Interests | Not currently applicable |
| Public Task | Not applicable |
Your GDPR rights include: access (Article 15), rectification (Article 16), erasure (Article 17), restriction (Article 18), portability (Article 20), object (Article 21), rights related to automated decision-making (Article 22), and withdrawal of consent (Article 7(3)). You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.
For deletion requests: bloodline.historyofthemarinecorps.com/delete-my-data. For all other requests: contact@historyofthemarinecorps.com with "GDPR Rights Request" in the subject. We will respond within 1 month of receipt.
Firewatch Productions LLC is based in the United States. Our servers are located in the United States. The United States is not currently designated as having an "adequate" level of data protection under EU/UK law. We have not registered under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.
If you are located in the EU, UK, or EEA and choose to use the Services, you acknowledge that your Personal Information will be transferred to and processed in the United States, that US privacy laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction, and that we do not currently maintain a formal cross-border transfer mechanism. If you are unable to accept these conditions, you should not use the Services.
We apply standard safeguards regardless: TLS encryption in transit, encryption at rest, access controls, and vendor due diligence.
We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures including: TLS encryption in transit, encryption at rest, access controls, API key authentication for admin endpoints, logging and monitoring, Cloudflare Turnstile CAPTCHA on forms, regular software updates, and vendor due diligence. No method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure.
We take reasonable steps to maintain accuracy. If you believe information we hold is inaccurate, contact us at contact@historyofthemarinecorps.com or submit a correction request.
We may update this Privacy Policy at any time. We will post the updated policy, update the effective date, and for material changes, provide notice through the Services. Continued use after changes constitutes acknowledgment of the new terms.
You may opt out of promotional emails at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email, emailing contact@historyofthemarinecorps.com with "Unsubscribe" in the subject, or submitting a request through our contact form.
Questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy:
Email: contact@historyofthemarinecorps.com
Online: Contact form
| Request Type | How to Submit |
|---|---|
| Data deletion (GDPR Article 17 / CCPA §1798.105) | bloodline.historyofthemarinecorps.com/delete-my-data |
| Access, correction, or other GDPR rights | Email with "GDPR Rights Request" in subject |
| CCPA/CPRA rights (other than deletion) | Email with "California Privacy Rights Request" in subject |
| Children's privacy concerns (parent/guardian) | Email with "Children's Privacy Concern" in subject |
| California Shine the Light request | Email with "California Shine the Light Request" in subject |
| Newsletter unsubscribe | Use unsubscribe link in any email |
| General privacy questions | Email or contact form |
We aim to acknowledge requests within 5 business days and provide a substantive response within the timelines required by applicable law.
This Privacy Policy was last updated on May 12, 2026. The Effective Date is May 12, 2026. Firewatch Productions LLC is committed to transparent privacy practices.
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