Effective Date: October 24, 2026

I take privacy, security, and data protection seriously. This website is operating under data minimization principles. I process only the minimum information necessary to keep the site secure, fast, and functional.

1. Who Controls Your Data

This website is managed independently by me as the Data Controller. If you have any questions regarding your privacy or data handling on this site, you can contact me directly:

2. What Data Is Collected and Why

A. Comments

When you leave a comment on the site, I collect the data shown in the comments form, along with your IP address and browser user agent string to assist with automated spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address (a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to check if you use it. The Gravatar privacy policy is available at automattic.com/privacy/. Upon approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

B. Media

If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included, as visitors can theoretically download and extract location data from public images.

C. Privacy-First Site Analytics

I use Independent Analytics, a self-hosted analytics solution running locally on my server.

  • It does not collect Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
  • It does not use persistent tracking cookies.
  • It does not transmit telemetry data to external third parties.

All aggregate metrics (such as page view counts, traffic sources, and country of origin) are processed locally on my own database to help me understand what content readers find useful.

D. Essential Server Logs

My web server (Apache on AWS EC2) logs standard technical network data (IP addresses, browser types, and requested URLs) to protect against brute-force attacks, DDoS attempts, and unauthorized access. These logs are processed under my legitimate interest in keeping the infrastructure secure (GDPR Art. 6(1)(f)).

3. Cookies

This site avoids unnecessary tracking or marketing cookies. Standard cookies are used strictly for essential functionality, such as saving your details when you leave a comment or managing administrative sessions.

For a complete breakdown of how cookies are handled, please review my Cookie Policy.

4. Embedded Content from Other Websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, or interactive widgets). Embedded content from third-party websites behaves in the exact same way as if you visited that external site directly.

These third-party websites may collect data about you, set cookies, or monitor your interaction with their embedded content under their own independent privacy policies.

5. Data Retention & Spam Processing

  • Comments: If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely so follow-up comments can be recognized and approved automatically.
  • Spam Detection: Visitor comments may be processed through an automated spam detection service (such as Akismet) to prevent site abuse.

6. Your Data Rights

Under applicable privacy regulations (including GDPR and CPRA), you have rights regarding your personal data:

  • You can request an exported file of any personal data I hold about you (such as past comments).
  • You can request that I erase any personal data held about you.

This does not include any data I am legally or securely obligated to retain for administrative, legal, or infrastructure security purposes. To exercise these rights, please contact me at the email address listed above.