Story submission & privacy.
The Exchange welcomes stories from anyone. You do not need a Forum membership or account to submit, and no submission is published automatically.
What we collect
Your chosen public byline, private email address, the story title and text, country and category, and optional image link, description, and credit. Your email is used only for editorial correspondence and is not included in published stories. If you submit an external image URL, that host operates under its own privacy terms.
How review works
Pending submissions are visible only to authorized editorial staff in the private review system. Editors review authenticity, attribution, privacy, and the rights to publish. Approved work is copied to a separate public table that includes the chosen byline and approved story material but not your contact email or account information.
Your choices
Please do not include personal addresses, sensitive private information, or identifiable individuals without permission. Submit only original material you have the right to share. External image links may be visible to people who have the URL even before we approve your story. An editor can remove an approved story; publication is not guaranteed. Keep a copy of your submitted text.
Site protection and retention
We use Cloudflare Turnstile and a protected submission server to screen automated submissions; Cloudflare may process technical signals, such as the visitor’s IP address and browser characteristics, under its own privacy policies. Submission limits also apply. We do not currently offer a self-service submission-tracking account. Pending submissions and editorial contact details remain in our database until reviewed and removed by authorized staff; an automatic deletion schedule has not been implemented. Before a large public call for submissions, a dedicated editorial contact channel and clear deletion timeline should be established.