This policy explains what Parkonomics collects when you read, subscribe, play or sign in at parkonomics.co, why, and what you can do about it. We keep it short because nobody reads these. (Parking signs either.)
Who we are
Parkonomics is an independent publication about parking, mobility and how cities move, published by Gateway Parking Services, 11101 Resort Rd #181, Ellicott City, MD 21042, United States. Questions or requests about your data: [email protected].
The short version
- You can read everything on the site without giving us anything.
- We collect your email only if you subscribe to the newsletter or Daily Queue alerts, and we confirm it with you first.
- Leaderboards and carpools use LinkedIn sign-in. We show your first name, last initial and LinkedIn photo. Nothing else from your profile is displayed.
- We do not sell your data, and we do not share it with advertisers or sponsors. If we ever offer a sponsored download that would pass your details to a sponsor, the form will say so and ask you first.
Newsletter and Daily Queue alerts
When you subscribe to the Parkonomics newsletter or the weekday Daily Queue alert, we collect your email address. Sign-ups use double opt-in: nothing is sent until you click the confirmation link. Our email provider, Inbox (useinbox.com), stores the list and sends the email, and records basic delivery, open and click statistics so we can tell what is useful. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing stops all mail from that list.
Games, leaderboards and LinkedIn sign-in
You can play The Meter games, including The Daily Queue, without signing in. Your stats, streaks and game progress are kept in your own browser (local storage) and are not sent to us.
If you choose to post a score, you sign in with LinkedIn. LinkedIn sends us your LinkedIn member ID, first and last name, profile photo and email address. We store your member ID, names and photo link. We store your email address only if you tick the box asking for the newsletter, and then only to sign you up. We never post to LinkedIn on your behalf; share and brag buttons open LinkedIn with a draft you can edit or discard.
For each posted score we keep the score, the game details needed to check it (for The Daily Queue, the order of cards on each try), the play time and the date. Public boards show your first name, last initial, LinkedIn photo and score.
To keep the boards honest we use a one-way hashed version of your IP address for rate limits. It cannot be turned back into your address. Unposted game records are deleted after two days.
Carpools
A carpool is a private group on The Daily Queue. When you start or join one, we store the carpool name, who is in it, when they joined and the taunt each member picks from our list. Anyone with a carpool’s invite link can see its board: the carpool name, members’ first names, last initials, photos, titles, taunts and points. Invite links also show a preview image with the current top five when shared on social media. The person who starts a carpool can rename it or remove members, and anyone can leave at any time. We can remove carpools that misuse the feature.
Cookies and similar technology
- Leaderboard sign-in: a cookie named pk_lb keeps you signed in for up to 90 days. A short-lived cookie (15 minutes) protects the LinkedIn sign-in step.
- Your browser’s local storage: game stats, streaks, alert sign-up status and similar conveniences. You can clear these in your browser settings.
- Analytics: we use Google Analytics and Ahrefs Web Analytics to understand which pages and features people use. These services may set their own cookies and receive information such as pages viewed, referrer, device and approximate location. Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses.
Other services we rely on
The site runs on WordPress. Fonts load from Google Fonts. Some articles include audio players or embedded media from other services; those embeds behave as if you visited the other site and are covered by its own policy.
Your choices
- Remove yourself from the boards: use “Remove me from the board” on a game leaderboard, or email us. This deletes your player record, your scores in every game and your carpool memberships.
- Leave a carpool: use “Leave this carpool” on the carpool board.
- Unsubscribe: use the link in any email.
- Access, correction, deletion or a copy of your data: email [email protected] and we will help within 30 days. You can also ask us to stop or limit how we use your data, and we will send you a copy of it in a common, machine-readable format if you ask. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under laws such as Canada’s PIPEDA, the California Consumer Privacy Act or the GDPR, and we will honor them. You can also complain to your local privacy regulator.
Why we use your data
We send email because you asked for it and confirmed it (consent), and you can withdraw that at any time by unsubscribing. We run leaderboards and carpools because you chose to sign in and take part. We use analytics and the anti-cheating checks described above because we have a legitimate interest in keeping the site useful, fair and secure.
Retention and security
We keep leaderboard and carpool data while you use them and delete it when you remove yourself. Email subscriber data is kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it. Data is stored with our hosting and email providers in the United States and protected with encrypted connections and access limited to the people who run the site. If you read from outside the United States, including Canada, your data is processed in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from yours. Our providers (including Google, Inbox and our hosting company) handle these transfers under their own contractual data protection safeguards.
Children
Parkonomics is written for adults working in and around parking and transportation. It is not directed to children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect their information.
Changes
If we change this policy we will update the effective date below. Significant changes will be noted on this page.
Effective October 28, 2026.