Privacy Policy

Privacy is important, so here's what data we collect and how we treat it.

If you do not accept and agree with this Privacy Policy, you must stop using our website immediately. If you continue to use our website, it constitutes your acceptance of this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy is effective: October 21, 2018

TL;DR

We have 3 rules when it comes to privacy:

  1. Collect information 100% anonymously when possible.
  2. Only collect personal information from people that want to give it to us.
  3. Treat other people's personal information the same way we would treat our own.

It’s just common sense and common courtesy.

Yes, we use analytical software that tracks how you use my website, but the data collected in that process is minimal, collected anonymously, and you can easily opt out of it by enabling DNT in your browser.

What information do we collect?

Information you give us

When you enter information (e.g. your name, phone number, and/or email address) into a form on our website (e.g. a contact form or mailing list subscription form) and submit the form (e.g. by clicking a “send” button by the form) we collect the information that you entered into the form.

Your I.P. address

We use a software, called a “server”, to serve our website. In order to send you our website, our server needs to know your address on the internet, also known as your I.P. address. Your web browser gives our sever your I.P. address, and then our server sends you the latest version of our website.

Your personal information

We keep one or more of the following pieces of information from everybody that signs up for our mailing list:

  • first name,
  • last name,
  • email address,
  • mailing address,
  • phone number, and
  • birth date.

The only way for us to get this information is for you or someone else to personally give it to us. We do not buy, rent, steal, or otherwise obtain personal information from anybody, nor do we ever want to.

You can always unsubscribe from our mailing list by clicking the “unsubscribe” link that is located at the bottom of all the automated emails we send. Doing so will also remove you from our database.

Why do we collect your information?

So that we can serve you better.

We believe in science. We like to base our decisions on (or back them with) cold, hard data. In order to base decisions on data... we need data. And in order to get data... we need to collect it. That’s why we collect data.

With the data we collect we can:

  • serve you more personally (e.g. call you by name, send you a special "happy birthday" email),
  • contact you directly (e.g. because you asked for our help),
  • maintain and improve our services (e.g. update popular articles with new information),
  • measure (and therefore improve) the performance of our website,
  • improve the way that users use our website,
  • create new services, and
  • probably many other things that we can’t think of right now.

How do we collect your information?

With server software

Our website is hosted and maintained by Webflow. Webflow may log the I.P. addresses and other information of users that visit our website.

For up-to-date information on what exactly what information Webflow collects and what it does with it, please read their privacy policy.

With analytical software

We use Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics and Hotjar to analyze how users view our website. We do not collect any data that can personally identify you through these services.

With our email marketing provider

We store the email address of everybody that signs up for our mailing list with MailChimp.

Who do we share your information with?

We don't.

We don't believe in pimping out our loyal followers.

We recommend things (products, services, people, organizations, etc.) to our followers, but we never give our followers’ information to those people or organizations without those peoples' permission.

We also store some of your data with third-party providers (mentioned in “How do we collect your information?”), but we personally don't give away your information for any reason, unless we get your permission first.

If an extreme case arises and we believe that disclosing your information is vital to:

  • preserve somebody’s immediate safety,
  • prevent illegal activities from occurring, or
  • the law requires us to,

then we will do so. In a situation like this, anything else we have said in this Privacy Policy does not apply. But seriously: somebody’s life has to be on the line in order for us to give out your information without asking you first. And if that does happen, we will notify you about it (I mean, unless it’s the CIA that asked for it and they’ll kill us if we do).

How can you limit the information we collect?

By enabling DNT.

We respect the “Do Not Track” (DNT) HTTP header. If you enable DNT in your browser(s), we will not track your actions using any analytical software. Click on this link to learn more about DNT and how to enable it.

By using a VPN.

A virtual private network (VPN) can effectively anonymize your internet traffic by making you appear as though you are have a different I.P. address than you really do. The easiest way to use a VPN is to sign up for a VPN service (we recommend Mullvad VPN or ProtonVPN).

By disabling JavaScript.

We’re just including this information for completeness. We don't recommend disabling JavaScript in your web browser unless know what the exact implications of doing so are.
Anyway... the analytical software we use to collect user data works exclusively when JavaScript is enabled in your browser, so disabling JavaScript would effectively keep us from analyzing how you use our website.

By not sending us any information.

If you don't want us to know something, then don't tell us about it (e.g. don't send us an email with your credit card details if you don't want us to buy a lifetime supply of HERSHEY’S Chocolate Syrup (just kidding, we would never do that, even if you did send us your credit card details (we prefer Nesquik))).

By not visiting our website.

Hey, if you don't like the way we do things: just don't visit us. No hard feelings.

None of these things will prevent us from collecting information that you send directly to us (e.g. through an email or subscription to our mailing list).

How do we secure your information?

  • Generally speaking, we adhere to well-known industry best practices for security when it comes to maintaining our systems.
  • Only our own employees and partners we trust are allowed to access the personal information that we store, and only if and when they need it. Anyone with this access is contractually obligated to maintain confidentiality and will be terminated if they fail to meet our standards (they obviously should never have been hired in the first place).

A perfect security system does not exist. No matter how hard we try, it is possible that some skilled hacker(s) can steal data from us. If we find out about a data breach, we will immediately (within 24 hours), publicly (e.g. via blog post) and personally (e.g. via email) notify everybody who may be affected by it.

How can you view or delete your information?

Just ask.

Your information is yours. If you would like to view, edit, or delete any of it, please write to us at: support@jacobmarciniec.com with your request.

About this policy

We will change this Privacy Policy every once in a while. When we do so, we will update this page with the new policy and effective date and if the changes affect you: we will notify you about the new policy and allow you agree to the changes.

How to get help

Want to know something in more detail? No problem, we’re here to help. Just reach out to us: support@jacobmarciniec.com.

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