Privacy & Cookie Policy

Your Privacy, Our Commitment

We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This page explains what data we collect, how we use it, your rights under GDPR and CCPA/CPRA, and how you can contact us with questions or requests.

Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 13, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information when you visit or interact with our website and related services. By using our website, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

1. Information We Collect

a. Log Files and Analytics

Like most websites, we use log files to record visitor activity. These logs may include:

• IP address
• Browser type and version
• Internet Service Provider (ISP)
• Date and time of visit
• Referring and exit pages
• Pages and resources accessed

We use this data to analyze trends, administer the site, track aggregate usage, and improve performance. IP addresses may be linked to other data you provide (such as account registration or comments).

We would rather name our analytics tools than describe them vaguely, so:

• Cloudflare Web Analytics — measures page views and general traffic patterns. It is cookieless: it sets no cookies, builds no cross-site profile of you, and does not fingerprint your device. It runs for every visitor precisely because it cannot identify anyone.
• Google Analytics (via Google Site Kit) — gives us more detailed data on how visitors move through the site, including device type, approximate location, and browsing behavior. This one does use cookies, and we only load it if you consent.
• Jetpack Stats (Automattic) — sends visit data, including your IP address, to Automattic’s servers.

b. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and web beacons to:

• Store visitor preferences
• Personalize content
• Improve usability
• Track aggregate usage and performance

You can review or change your cookie choices at any time using the “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” control in the bottom-left corner of any page. You may also disable cookies in your browser settings, but some features may not function properly.

c. User Accounts and Communications

When you create an account, subscribe to a mailing list, or contact us, we collect the information you provide — such as your name, email address, and preferences. We use this information to manage your account, send updates, and respond to inquiries.

d. Comments and Avatars

When you leave a comment, we store what you submit: your name, email address, comment text, IP address, and browser user agent. Comments and their metadata may be retained indefinitely so that conversation threads stay intact.

We display commenter avatars using Gravatar, a service operated by Automattic. That has a consequence worth spelling out, because most sites don’t:

• If you comment, an anonymized (hashed) version of your email address is sent to Gravatar so it can look up your avatar.
• If you merely read a page that has comments on it, your browser fetches those avatar images directly from Gravatar. Gravatar therefore receives your IP address and user agent — even if you have never commented here and never intend to.

You can avoid the first by commenting with an email address that has no Gravatar account. The second is a consequence of loading the images at all; blocking third-party requests to gravatar.com in your browser or an extension will prevent it. Automattic’s privacy policy is at automattic.com/privacy.

2. How We Use Your Information

We process personal data to:

• Operate and maintain our website
• Improve functionality and user experience
• Communicate with you (newsletters, support, updates)
• Display advertising and affiliate content
• Comply with legal obligations
• Prevent misuse, fraud, or security incidents

We do not exchange your personal information for money. Our use of personalized advertising may still qualify as a “sale” or “share” under some U.S. state privacy laws, and we would rather explain that than lean on a technicality — see Sale and Sharing of Personal Information below.

3. Advertising and Third-Party Services

We partner with third-party services to display ads and affiliate links. These partners may use cookies or tracking technologies to measure performance or personalize ads.

Our Advertising Partners

• Google AdSense — serves the ads on this site and may use cookies to personalize them based on your activity across websites. You can opt out directly with Google via My Ad Center (signed in) or Ad Settings (per browser, no sign-in needed). Google also documents how it uses cookies in advertising.
• Amazon Associates — some of our links to Amazon are affiliate links. Clicking one sets a cookie on Amazon’s side that credits us if you buy something. We earn a commission on qualifying purchases; it costs you nothing extra, and it does not change what we write.

We do not control third-party cookies or tracking technologies. Please review their respective privacy policies for details.

4. Sale and Sharing of Personal Information

We do not sell your personal information for money. We are wary of that sentence, though, because it is exactly the kind of thing a website says to make you stop reading. So here is the fuller version.

We run Google AdSense. When ads are personalized, Google may use identifiers such as cookie IDs and your IP address to build a picture of your interests across the many sites it serves ads on. California’s CCPA, as amended by the CPRA, defines “sale” and “sharing” broadly enough that this likely counts — even though no money changes hands for your information. Laws in Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Texas, and other states treat targeted advertising much the same way.

Rather than hide behind the technicality: assume that if you leave advertising cookies switched on, your reading here contributes to the ads you see elsewhere. The categories involved are online identifiers (cookie IDs, IP address) and internet activity (pages viewed, referring pages). We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of anyone under 16.

You can opt out. Any of these work:

• Use the “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” control in the bottom-left corner of any page
• Opt out of ad personalization directly with Google
• Contact us and we will take care of it for you

Opting out does not remove the ads — this is a hobby blog, but the hosting bill is real. It makes them contextual rather than personalized. Nothing else about your experience here changes, and we will not treat you differently for doing it.

5. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

We process personal data under one or more of the following legal bases:

• Consent — you have given clear permission
• Contract — processing is necessary for a contract with you
• Legal obligation — required by law
• Legitimate interests — necessary for our business operations

6. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights:

• Access — request a copy of your personal data
• Correction — fix inaccurate or incomplete information
• Deletion — request removal of your data
• Restriction — limit how we process your data
• Portability — receive your data in a machine-readable format
• Opt-out — decline targeted advertising or withdraw consent

To exercise these rights, use our contact form. We may need to verify who you are before we act, we will not charge you for a reasonable request, and we will not treat you worse for making one.

7. Data Retention and Security

We retain personal data only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy or as required by law. We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information from unauthorized access, alteration, or disclosure.

8. International Data Transfers

Our servers are located in New York City, United States, and our service providers are primarily U.S.-based. If you visit from outside the U.S., your information is transferred to and processed in the United States, which may not offer the same level of data protection as your home country.

Where personal data leaves the EEA or UK, we rely on our providers’ safeguards — such as Standard Contractual Clauses or the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework — to keep those transfers lawful.

9. Children’s Privacy

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (or under 16 in the EU). If you believe we have collected such data, please contact us immediately and we will remove it.

10. Third-Party Links and Services

Our website may contain links to external sites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites. Please review their privacy policies before providing personal information.

11. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The latest version will always be available on this page.

Cookie Policy

Last updated: July 13, 2026

This Cookie Policy explains how we use cookies and similar technologies on our website, why we use them, and the choices you have regarding their use.

1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. They help websites function properly, remember your preferences, and understand how visitors interact with the site.

Cookies may be:

• Session cookies — deleted when you close your browser
• Persistent cookies — remain until they expire or are deleted
• First-party cookies — set by our website
• Third-party cookies — set by external services we use

2. Cookies We Use

Cloudflare Web Analytics sets no cookies at all. It is how we count page views without tracking you, and it runs for everyone because it cannot identify anyone.

Other embedded content — videos, social widgets, avatars — may also set cookies. See Comments and Avatars above for what Gravatar receives.

3. How to Manage or Disable Cookies

On this site. Use the “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” control in the bottom-left corner of any page to reopen the consent panel and change your choices at any time. Withdrawing consent is as easy as giving it, and takes effect immediately.

In your browser. Most browsers allow you to:

• Block cookies
• Delete existing cookies
• Receive alerts before cookies are stored

Disabling cookies may cause some features of our website to stop working properly.

With the advertisers directly. See the Google opt-out links in Advertising and Third-Party Services above.

4. Legal Basis for Using Cookies (GDPR)

We use cookies based on:

• Consent — for analytics, advertising, and non-essential cookies
• Legitimate interest — for essential and security cookies required to operate the site

Where required by law, we will request your consent before placing non-essential cookies.

5. Updates to This Cookie Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, legal requirements, or our practices.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or Cookie Policy, or if you wish to exercise your privacy rights, use our contact form.