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Privacy policy

Last updated 11 October 2026

What we collect when you use zap.ms and Message Center Archive, why, and what you can do about it. Written to be read.

Who we are

zap.ms and Message Center Archive (mc.merill.net) are run by Merill Fernando as a Jozra service, from Australia. "We" in this policy means that.

Message Center Archive uses zap.ms for sign-in and for likes, comments and replies, so this one policy covers both sites.

What we collect

  • Your account: your email address, your name and the username you choose. If you sign in with LinkedIn, Microsoft, Google or GitHub we receive the name and profile photo on that account and an identifier for it. Your name starts as that one, and if you have no photo here we keep one small copy of that photo; you can change either on your profile. We do not receive your password.
  • What you post: posts, comments, votes, likes and dislikes, flags and saved items. Posts, comments, your name, your photo and your username are public. Your email address is not shown to other people.
  • Sign-in sessions: when you sign in we record the time, your IP address and your browser type against that session.
  • Abuse and counting signals: when you vote, and when you open an article through zap.ms, we store a scrambled value derived from your IP address so that one person counts once. The article value changes every day and is removed after about two days.
  • Tenant contributions on Message Center Archive: if you connect a tenant, the email address and tenant ID you give are handled as described on that site's About page.

Cookies and storage in your browser

We use only the cookies the sites need to work: one that keeps you signed in, one that protects forms from being submitted by another site, and short-lived ones used while you sign in. There are no advertising or tracking cookies.

Your browser also keeps a few things for your own convenience that are never sent to us: unsent comments, your light or dark choice, and your editor preference.

What we do not do

  • We do not sell your information or share it with advertisers.
  • We do not run advertising or third-party analytics scripts on either site.
  • We do not use your posts or your account details to build profiles for anyone else.

Who else handles your information

  • Cloudflare hosts zap.ms, stores its database, delivers both sites, sends the sign-in code emails and runs the "are you human" check on the sign-in page. Cloudflare sees your IP address and requests as part of doing that, and a small sample of requests is logged to help us find faults.
  • GitHub hosts the Message Center Archive pages.
  • LinkedIn, Microsoft, Google or GitHub, if you choose to sign in with them. They tell us who you are; we do not get access to your account with them.

These providers may process information outside Australia.

How long we keep it

  • Your account details are kept while your account exists. When you delete your account they are erased straight away: your name, username, photo, email address, profile text, sign-in methods, sessions, badges and saved posts.
  • Your posts and comments stay after your account is deleted, shown as from “Deleted user” with nothing that identifies you, so the discussions they belong to still make sense. Your votes stay counted, not linked to you.
  • Deleting a post or comment hides it from the site straight away. We keep a copy so a moderator can restore it or review a dispute. Ask us if you want it erased.
  • Sign-in sessions expire after 30 days without use.

Your choices

You can delete your account yourself at any time from your profile, under Account. You can change your name and profile text there too.

You can ask for a copy of your information, ask us to correct it, or ask us to erase a particular post or comment, including after your account is deleted, for example because it says something that identifies you. Email hello@zap.ms, from the address on your account if you still have one. We aim to reply within 30 days.

If you are not happy with how we handled a request, tell us first. In Australia you can also complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

Children

These sites are for people who work with Microsoft technology. They are not intended for anyone under 16.

Changes

If this policy changes in a way that matters, we will update the date at the top and say so on the site.

Questions? Email hello@zap.ms.