PRIVACY POLICY
I’m committed to respecting your right to privacy when you visit my website. Below, you’ll find my very long privacy policy for the US and other parts of the world. I don’t think that privacy policy language is always easily understood. So here is a summary in plain language of the information I collect and how it’s used:
I use performance cookies, which help me see what content users engage with, how long they spend on my site, and what pages they visit. This allows me to improve my site so it’s more helpful to users.
Sometimes, I receive outside funding to produce free content (like With Love, From Tahoe) and need to know if they are being downloaded. So, I track this. If my digital books are being downloaded, the odds are greater that I can secure funding for future projects. This is essential information for me to have.
None of the cookies I use can directly identify a specific visitor. I do not use cookies to target people with ads. I do not sell or share anyone’s data.
If you sign up for my newsletter, I have your email address so I can send you my newsletter. I do not sell or share it with anyone.
If you email me, I have your email in my email program so I can communicate with you. I do not sell or share it with anyone.
This summary provides key points from my privacy policy:
What personal information do I process? When you visit, use, or navigate my website, I may process (process means collect, store, use, and/or share. I do not share.) personal information depending on how you interact with me, my services, your choices, and the products and features you use. For instance, I count the number of downloaded files from this website to apply for grants. I also count the number of visitors to my website and how long they stay to determine the effectiveness of my content.
Do I process any sensitive personal information? I do not process sensitive personal information. (Process means collect, store, use, and/or share. I do not share.)
Do I receive any information from third parties? Non-personally identifying information is gathered through Google Analytics, such as the number of page visits I get and the country people are visiting from.
How do I process your information? I process your information to provide, improve, and administer my services, communicate with you for security and fraud prevention, and comply with the law. I may also process your information for other purposes with your consent. I process your data only when I have a valid legal reason and consent.
In what situations and with which parties do I share personal information? When you sign up for my newsletter, your email address is stored in my email list. It is not shared or sold to anyone. When you email me, your email address is stored in my email program so I can respond to your email.
How do I keep your information safe? I take the protection of your information seriously. I have organizational and technical processes and procedures in place to protect your personal information. However, no electronic transmission over the internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so I cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals, or other unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat my security and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information.
What are your rights? Depending on where you are located geographically, the applicable privacy law may mean you have certain rights regarding your personal information.
How do you exercise your rights? The easiest way is to submit a data subject access request or contact me. I will consider and act upon any request in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
FULL privacy policy
Last updated April 3, 2024
This privacy notice for Kristen Schwartz (“I,” “me”) describes how and why I might collect, store, use, and/or share ("process") your information when you use my services ("Services"), such as when you:
• Visit my website at https://kristenschwartz.com.
• Engage with me in other related ways, including any sales, Services, or events.
Questions or concerns? Reading this privacy notice will help you understand your privacy rights and choices. Please do not use my Services if you disagree with my policies and practices. If you still have questions or concerns, please contact me at privacy@kristenschwartz.com.
This privacy policy explains my online information practices, including how I collect and use your personal information. It covers information collected on this website only. It does not apply to other sites you reach through my site. I encourage you to read the privacy policies of those other sites to learn how they collect and use information about you.
Information stored and collected automatically
I use Google Analytics to collect a minimum amount of non-identifying data. This information measures the number of visitors to my website and identifies performance or problem areas. As a web designer, I use this information to analyze usage patterns and make my site more helpful to others. I do not share or sell visitor data for advertising, marketing, or other commercial purposes. This information is not used to associate search terms or patterns of site navigation with individual users. The information that is automatically collected and stored concerning your visit includes:
• The date, time, and length of your visit
• Imprecise location data such as country/city if that is activated on your device
• The pages you visit on kristenschwartz.com
• The address of the website you came from if it linked you directly to kristenschwartz.com
• The files you download from kristenschwartz.com
WHAT INFORMATION DO I COLLECT?
• Personal information you disclose to me directly that is pertinent to a job I'm doing for you.
• Personal information you provide me voluntarily, such as your email address when you sign up for my newsletter or express interest in obtaining information about me or my Services.
Google Analytics Cookies:
Device Data. I collect device data such as information about your computer, phone, tablet, or other device you use to access the Services. Depending on the device used, I may collect device data that includes country, city, browser type, hardware model, operating system, and screen size.
Location Data. I collect imprecise location data, such as country/city, if you have that information enabled on your device. You can opt out of allowing me to collect this information by refusing access to it or by turning off the location setting on your device. No personal identifying information is attached to the data.
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) does not log or store individual IP addresses. Analytics does provide coarse geo-location data by deriving the following metadata from IP addresses: City, Continent, Country, Region, and Subcontinent. IP-address data is used solely for geo-location data derivation before being immediately discarded for EU-based traffic. It is not logged, accessible, or used for additional use cases.
Here are the specific cookies I collect through GA4:
I do not collect sensitive information or personally identifying data through Google Analytics.
HOW DO I PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION?
I process your information to provide, improve, and administer my Services, communicate with you for security and fraud prevention, and comply with the law. I may also process your information for other purposes with your consent.
I process your personal information for a variety of reasons, depending on how you interact with my Services, including:
To identify usage trends, I may process information about how you use my Services to understand better how they are used so I can improve them.
To determine the engagement and effectiveness of the content on my website.
California Residents
California Civil Code Section 1798.83, also known as the "Shine The Light" law, permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of personal information (if any) I disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared personal information in the immediately preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request to privacy@kristenschwartz.com.
If you are under 18, reside in California, and have a registered account with the Services, you have the right to request the removal of unwanted data that you publicly post on the Services. To request the removal of such data, please contact me and include the email address associated with your account and a statement that you reside in California.
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Privacy Notice
This section applies only to California residents. You have the rights listed below under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
The California Code of Regulations defines a "resident" as:
(1) every individual who is in the State of California for other than a temporary or transitory purpose and
(2) every individual who is domiciled in the State of California who is outside the State of California for a temporary or transitory purpose
All other individuals are defined as "non-residents."
If this definition of "resident" applies to you, I must adhere to certain rights and obligations regarding your personal information and your rights concerning your personal data
Right to request deletion of the data — Request to delete
You can ask for the deletion of your personal information. If you ask me to delete your personal information, I will respect your request and delete it, subject to certain exceptions provided by law, such as (but not limited to) the exercise by another consumer of their right to free speech, our compliance requirements resulting from a legal obligation, or any processing that may be required to protect against illegal activities.
Right to be informed — Request to know
Depending on the circumstances, you have a right to know whether I collect and use your personal information; the categories of personal information that I collect; the purposes for which the collected personal information is used; whether I sell or share personal information to third parties; the categories of personal information that I sold, shared, or disclosed for a business purpose; the categories of third parties to whom the personal information was sold, shared, or disclosed for a business purpose; the business or commercial purpose for collecting, selling, or sharing personal information; and the specific pieces of personal information I collected about you.
In accordance with applicable law, I am not obligated to provide or delete consumer information that is de-identified in response to a consumer request or to re-identify individual data to verify a consumer request.
Right to Non-Discrimination for the Exercise of a Consumer’s Privacy Rights
I will not discriminate against you if you exercise your privacy rights.
Right to Limit Use and Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information
I do not process consumer's sensitive personal information.
Verification process
Upon receiving your request, I will need to verify your identity to determine you are the same person with whom I have the information in my system. These verification efforts require me to ask you to provide information so that I can match it with the information you have previously provided me. For instance, depending on the type of request you submit, I may ask you to provide certain information so that I can match the information you provide with the information I already have on file, or I may contact you through a communication method (e.g., phone or email) that you have previously provided to me. I may also use other verification methods as the circumstances dictate.
I will only use personal information provided in your request to verify your identity or authority to make the request. To the best of my ability, I will avoid requesting additional information from you for verification purposes. However, if I cannot verify your identity from the information I maintained, I may request that you provide additional information to verify your identity and for security or fraud prevention purposes. I will delete such additional information as soon as I finish verifying you.
Other privacy rights
You may object to the processing of your personal information.
You may request correction of your data if it is incorrect or no longer relevant or ask to restrict the processing of the information.
You can designate an authorized agent to request the CCPA on your behalf. I may deny a request from an authorized agent who does not submit proof that they have been validly authorized to act on your behalf in accordance with the CCPA.
You may request to opt out from future selling or sharing of your personal information to third parties. Upon receiving an opt-out request, I will act upon the request as soon as feasibly possible, by fifteen (15) days from the request submission date.
To exercise these rights, you can contact us by submitting a data subject access request or by email at privacy@kristenschwartz.com.
If you are a resident of California, you are granted specific rights regarding access to your personal information:
What categories of personal information do I collect? In the past twelve (12) months, this is what I have and have not collected from the following categories:
A. Identifiers: Email addresses for those who signed up for my newsletter. Name if the name was shared with me in a direct email sent to me. -YES
B. Personal information as defined in the California Customer Records statute: Name, contact information, education, employment, employment history, and financial information. -NO
C. Protected classification characteristics under state or federal law Gender and date of birth -NO
D. Commercial information: transaction information, purchase history, financial details, and payment information -NO
E. Biometric information: Fingerprints and voiceprints -NO
F. Internet or other similar network activity: Interactions with my website and how a person got to my website (direct link, search, etc.). -YES
G. Geolocation Data: Imprecise device location such as country/city if allowed by device -YES
H. Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information: Images and audio, video, or call recordings created in connection with my business activities -NO
I. Professional or employment-related information: Business contact details in order to provide Services at a business level or job title, work history, and professional qualifications if you apply for a job with me -NO
J. Education Information: Student records and directory information -NO
K. Inferences drawn from collected personal information: Inferences drawn from any of the collected personal information listed above to create a profile or summary about, for example, an individual’s preferences and characteristics -NO
L. Sensitive Personal Information -NO
I will use and retain the collected personal information as needed to provide the Services or for Category A as long as the user has an account with me.
I may also collect other personal information outside of these categories through instances where you interact with me in person, online, or by phone or email in the context of receiving help through my customer support channels, participation in customer surveys or contests, and facilitating the delivery of my services and responding to your inquiries.
How do I use and share your personal information? Will your information be shared with anyone else?
I do not share your information with anyone without your consent.
I have never disclosed, sold, or shared personal information to third parties for business or commercial purposes. In the future, I will not sell or share personal information belonging to website visitors, users, and other consumers.
This section applies to you if you are in the EU or UK
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK GDPR require me to explain the valid legal bases I rely on to process your personal information. As such, I may rely on the following legal bases to process your personal information:
Consent. I may process your information if you have given me permission (i.e., consent) to use your personal information for a specific purpose—such as signing up for my email list. You can withdraw your consent at any time at privacy@kristenschwartz.com
Legitimate Interests. I may process your information when I believe it is reasonably necessary to achieve legitimate business interests and those interests do not outweigh your interests and fundamental rights and freedoms. For example, I may process your personal information for some of the purposes described to analyze how my Services are used so I can improve them to engage and retain users.
Legal Obligations. I may process your information where I believe it is necessary for complying with my legal obligations, such as cooperating with a law enforcement body or regulatory agency, exercising or defending our legal rights, or disclosing your information as evidence in litigation in which I am involved.
Vital Interests. I may process your information where I believe it is necessary to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of a third party, such as in situations involving potential threats to the safety of any person.
If you are located in Canada, this section applies to you
I may process your information if you have given me specific permission (i.e., express consent) to use your personal information for a specific purpose or in situations where your permission can be inferred (i.e., implied consent). You can withdraw your consent at any time at privacy@kristenschwartz.com.
In some exceptional cases, I may be legally permitted under applicable law to process your information without your consent, including, for example:
• If collection is clearly in the interests of an individual and consent cannot be obtained promptly.
• For investigations, fraud detection, and prevention.
• For business transactions, provided certain conditions are met.
• If it is contained in a witness statement and the collection is necessary to assess, process, or settle an insurance claim.
• For identifying injured, ill, or deceased persons and communicating with next of kin.
• If I have reasonable grounds to believe an individual has been, is, or may be the victim of financial abuse.
• If it is reasonable to expect collection and use with consent would compromise the availability or the accuracy of the information and the collection is reasonable for purposes related to investigating a breach of an agreement or an infringement of the laws of Canada or a province.
• If disclosure is required to comply with a subpoena, warrant, court order, or rules of the court relating to the production of records
• If it was produced by an individual in the course of their employment, business, or profession, and the collection is consistent with the purposes for which the information was produced.
• If the collection is solely for journalistic, artistic, or literary purposes
• If the information is publicly available and is specified by the regulations
Conclusion for all locations
Do I Use Cookies? I use cookies to collect and store your non-identifying information.
My Cookie Notice sets out specific information about how I use such technologies and how you can refuse certain cookies. You can access your cookie settings through my cookie banner or icon located on every page of my website.
How Long Do I Keep Your Information? I keep your information as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this privacy notice unless otherwise required by law.
I will only keep your personal information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this privacy notice unless a more extended retention period is required or permitted by law (such as tax, accounting, or other legal requirements).
When I have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal information, I will either delete or anonymize such information, or, if this is not possible (for example, because your personal data has been stored in backup archives), then I will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible. (All the data I collect except your email address when you sign up for my newsletter and information for current communication with each other is already anonymous.)
How Do I Keep Your Information Safe? I protect your personal information through organizational and technical security measures.
I have implemented appropriate and reasonable technical and organizational security measures designed to protect the security of any personal information I process. However, despite my safeguards and efforts to secure your information, no electronic transmission over the Internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so I cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals, or other unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat my security and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information. Although I will do my best to protect your personal information, the transmission of personal information to and from my Services is at your own risk. You should only access the Services within a secure environment.
Do I Collect Information From Minors? I do not knowingly collect data from children under 18 years. By using the Services, you represent that you are at least 18 or the parent or guardian of such a minor and consent to such minor dependent’s use of the Services. If I learn that personal information from users less than 18 years of age has been collected, I will deactivate the account and take reasonable measures to delete such data from my records promptly. If you are aware of any data I may have collected from children under 18, please contact me at privacy@kristenschwartz.com.
What Are Your Privacy Rights? You have certain rights under applicable data protection laws in some regions (like the EEA, UK, Switzerland, and Canada). These may include the right (i) to request access and obtain a copy of your personal information, (ii) to request rectification or erasure; (iii) to restrict the processing of your personal information; (iv) if applicable, to data portability; and (v) not to be subject to automated decision-making. In certain circumstances, you may also have the right to object to the processing of your personal information. You can make such a request by contacting me - privacy@kristenschwartz.com.
I will consider and act upon any request in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
If you are located in the EEA or UK and believe I am unlawfully processing your personal information, you also have the right to complain to your Member State data protection authority or UK data protection authority.
If you are located in Switzerland, you may contact the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.
Withdrawing your consent: If I am relying on your consent to process your personal information, which may be express and/or implied consent, depending on the applicable law, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. You can withdraw your consent anytime by contacting me - privacy@kristenschwartz.com.
However, please note that this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before its withdrawal, nor when applicable law allows, will it affect the processing of your personal information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.
Cookies and similar technologies: Most Web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. However, if you prefer, you can usually choose to set your browser to remove cookies or to reject cookies. Removing or rejecting cookies could affect certain website features or services.
If you have questions or comments about your privacy rights, email me at privacy@kristenschwartz.com.
Do I Make Updates To This Notice? Yes, I will update this notice to stay compliant with relevant laws.
How Can You Contact Me About This Notice? If you have questions or comments about this notice, email me at privacy@kristenschwartz.com.
How Can You Review, Update, or Delete the Data I Collect From You? Based on the applicable laws of your country, you may have the right to request access to the personal information I collect from you, change that information, or delete it. To request to review, update, or delete your personal information, please contact - privacy@kristenschwartz.com.
Phew, you read it all!
©2007-2024 KRISTEN SCHWARTZ 
