Privacy Policy

When visiting this site, the following information is collected through the following services:

• Analytics Data
  • Google Analytics
    • When a user first enters the site as a new visitor, a banner will be shown to let them know about their rights regarding their information.
    • This service will remain disabled by default unless the user explicitly decides to opt-in. If we detect a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal from your browser, we will automatically honor it as a request to opt-out of tracking.
    • May collect usage-related information such as approximate geographic region, interaction events, session activity, and general website traffic metrics.
  • Vercel Analytics
    • This service is disabled by default and will only initialize if you explicitly grant permission through our Cookie Settings panel or through the banner when first visiting the Site. When enabled, it processes strictly aggregated and de-identified data used solely to measure and improve the Site's metrics and performance. If you opt-out, no data scripts are delivered to your browser session.
• Advertising Data
  • Google Ads
    • This site runs Google Ads campaigns geo-targeted to Texas residents only. These campaigns use Google Ads conversion tracking and remarketing tags to measure ad performance and, where enabled, to show ads to prior visitors on other sites ("remarketing").
    • This is disabled by default for visitors who arrive via an ad click or who browse the site, unless you opt out as described below. Google Ads may collect or process information such as approximate location, device and browser characteristics, pages visited, actions taken on site (e.g. submitting on the contact form), and a cookie or advertising identifier used to associate your browsing activity across sites for remarketing purposes.
    • Data collected through Google Ads is processed by Google for its own advertising purposes, in addition to the conversion measurement described here. If we detect a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal from your browser, remarketing and cross-site tracking via Google Ads will be disabled for that session; basic, non-cross-site conversion measurement (e.g. "did a form get submitted") may still occur when it is not tied to cross-site tracking.
• Performance Data
  • Vercel Speed Insights
    • Website performance monitoring tools are utilized to help evaluate stability, responsiveness, and overall user experience across different devices and network conditions. These services are configured with the intention of limiting the collection of directly identifiable information whenever reasonably feasible. Performance-related data may include:
    • Page Route Performance
    • Performance Metrics
    • User Interactions
    • User Engagement
• Blog Analytics
  • View Counter (ra_view_id): This site sets a first-party cookie to count unique views on blog articles without relying on IP addresses. A separate, short-lived record is also kept in the site's rate-limiting system to prevent duplicate counts from the same visitor within a short window. Neither record is shared with any third party, used for advertising or profiling, or requires opt-in consent, as both are limited to basic, first-party functionality.
  • Reading Engagement (Article Scroll Depth & Time): To understand how readers engage with individual articles, this site records, per visit, how far a reader scrolled and roughly how long they actively spent reading, which is tied to the same first-party cookie used for the view counter. This data is aggregate, is not linked to any other personal information collected through this site, is not shared with any third party, and is not used for advertising or profiling.
• Communications & Interaction
  • Formspree
    • When you use the contact form, any personal information you provide (e.g. name, email address, and message) is collected and processed by Formspree (a third-party service that handles form submissions) to deliver your requests to me.
  • AI Chatbot ("Benny", Beta)
    • The AI chatbot processes submitted prompts in order to generate contextual responses. To do this, your input may be processed by the following sub-processors:
      • Anthropic: used to interpret and extract structured information from your messages
      • Groq (running Llama models): used to generate conversational answers
      • Pinecone: used for vector search to retrieve relevant context for answers
    • Certain interactions may be temporarily retained in secured storage systems for debugging, service reliability, quality assurance, or improvement of chatbot-related functionality.
    • Reasonable safeguards and measures are implemented in an effort to reduce the storage of sensitive or directly identifiable information submitted through the chatbot. Users are strongly encouraged not to submit confidential, financial, medical, or otherwise sensitive personal data while interacting with AI-powered features.
  • Security Logs (Redis)
    • To prevent spam and abuse of form submissions, this site limits how many requests are sent in a given time period. When you submit the form, your IP address is processed and hashed. This helps achieve two goals: identifying repeat submissions from the same source, and protecting the privacy of the individual who made the submission.
• Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

  For visitors in the European Economic Area (EEA), UK, or Switzerland, processing is carried out on the following bases:

  Service	Legal Basis
  Google Analytics	Consent (opt-in)
  Google Ads (conversion tracking / remarketing)	Consent (opt-in) / Legitimate Interest for basic, non-cross-site conversion measurement
  Vercel Analytics & Speed Insights	Legitimate Interest (de-identified, aggregated performance data)
  Formspree (contact form)	Contract / Legitimate Interest (responding to your inquiry)
  AI Chatbot	Consent (by voluntarily submitting a message)
  Redis security logs	Legitimate Interest (fraud and abuse prevention)
  Blog View Counter (ra_view_id)	Legitimate Interest (essential, first-party site functionality)
  Reading Engagement Tracking (ra_view_id)	Legitimate Interest (essential, first-party site functionality)

• International Data Transfers
  • This site and its service providers (including Vercel, Formspree, Google, Anthropic, Groq, and Pinecone) are based in or process data in the United States. Where you are accessing this site from the EEA, UK, or another jurisdiction with data transfer restrictions, your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States.
  • Where required, such transfers rely on the relevant provider's Standard Contractual Clauses or other approved transfer mechanisms. You may contact us for more information about the safeguards in place for a specific provider.
• Data Retention
  • Google Analytics: Per CCPA and GDPR regulations, Google Analytics data will be retained up to 24 months unless the user requests in writing to delete their data before the specified period runs its course.
    • Furthermore, such requests will be processed within 30 days from the day it was sent.
    • After the 30 days have passed, the data is then permanently deleted, complying with privacy regulations unless otherwise permitted by law.
  • Google Ads: conversion and remarketing data is retained in accordance with Google's own retention settings for this account (currently up to 24 months), unless you opt out sooner as described below.
  • Vercel Analytics: As mentioned previously, Vercel Analytics & Vercel Speed Insights data is accrued and de-identified, preventing the storage of Personally Identifiable Information. This data is retained only as long as necessary for website performance and usage metrics unless the user specifies in writing to remove the data if any identifiable information is found.
  • Formspree / contact form data: Any form data that was submitted requesting services will be retained for as long as necessary to respond to your inquiry or as required for record-keeping services.
  • AI Chatbot: Data collected through the AI Chatbot and stored in the database will be retained for up to 24 months to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the model, unless a deletion request is submitted in writing. Local chat history will be purged immediately upon a page refresh.
  • Redis security logs: Hashed IP data is automatically purged from the system 60 seconds after submission and is not subject to a manual deletion request due to its short-lived, pseudonymized nature.
  • Blog View Counter (ra_view_id): A first-party, HTTP-only cookie is set on your first article view and lasts up to 12 months, after which it expires and a new identifier is issued on your next visit. A separate, short-lived record is kept in our rate-limiting system for up to 30 minutes per article to prevent duplicate view counts from the same visitor in that window. This data is anonymous, is not linked to any other personal information collected through this site, and is not shared with any third party.
  • Reading Engagement Tracking: Scroll-depth and active-time data collected per article for up to 12 months for the purpose of understanding content engagement, after which it is deleted. This data is anonymous, is not linked to any other personal information collected through this site, and is not shared with any third party.

Unless required by applicable law or a valid legal request, no data described above is retained longer than the periods stated. If law enforcement submits a valid legal request to retain data, the deletion process will be suspended until the matter is resolved, and we will provide a status update if this occurs during an active 30-day removal request.

Certain features and operational components of this website rely on third-party service providers. These providers may assist with analytics, hosting infrastructure, website performance monitoring, form processing, security, and related functionality necessary for operation of the site.

Users are encouraged to review the privacy policies of these third-party services independently for additional information regarding how their data is handled.

You have the right to opt-in or opt-out of having your data collected through the following:

• Google Analytics: Off by default. You can click on the Settings option (or the cog icon on the mobile version) in the navigation bar. A popup window will appear and it will give you the option to check or uncheck whether your data is being collected through the service. Once your choice is saved, including when it is set automatically via a Global Privacy Control signal, the same settings panel will display your current opt-out status so you can confirm it was honored.
  • You can also request in writing that your data be deleted, which will then be reviewed and processed within 30 days unless it is required to be retained by law enforcement or by a signed court order.
• Google Ads: You can opt out of Google's use of cookies for personalized advertising by visiting My Ad Center, or opt out of interest-based advertising more broadly via the Network Advertising Initiative, or Digital Advertising Alliance. A detected GPC signal will disable remarketing and cross-site tracking for your session automatically.
  • You can also request in writing that your data be deleted, which will then be reviewed and processed within 30 days unless it is required to be retained by law enforcement or by a signed court order.
• Global Privacy Control (GPC): This site automatically recognizes and respects GPC signals, treating them as a valid, immediate opt-out request for Google Analytics and for Google Ads remarketing/cross-site tracking.
• Vercel Analytics & Vercel Insights: Both servicesdisabled by default and will only initialize if you explicitly grant permission through our Cookie Settings panel or through the banner when first visiting the Site. When enabled, they process strictly aggregated and de-identified data used solely to measure and improve the Site's metrics and performance. If you opt-out, no data scripts are delivered to your browser session. Requests to delete your data may be made if any Personally Identifiable Information were to be found, with the process also taking up to 30 days unless explicitly stated by law.
• AI Chatbot (Beta): Interaction with the chatbot is completely voluntary. By entering a query into the chat interface, you consent to the processing and storage of that input. Reasonable efforts are made to reduce or remove Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from submitted inputs in order to help protect user privacy. If you do not wish for your queries to be processed, please refrain from using it.
• Reading Engagement Tracking: Collected on the same basis as the Blog View Counter above and is not subject to a separate opt-out, given its aggregate, non-advertising, first-party nature.
• Security & Fraud Prevention: Data collected for the purpose of limiting form submission requests via the use of pseudonymized hashes to prevent spam is processed on the basis of "Legitimate Interest". In other words, the collected data will be used to promote the site's security. Due to the pseudonymized nature of the data along with its expiration period after 60 seconds within submission, it will not be subject to manual opt-out.

Because this site is based in Texas and its advertising is geo-targeted to Texas residents, the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA) applies to how this site collects and processes your personal data, in addition to the CCPA and GDPR protections described elsewhere in this policy.

Under the TDPSA, Texas residents have the right to:

• Confirm whether their personal data is being processed and access that data
• Correct inaccuracies in their personal data
• Delete personal data provided by or obtained about them
• Obtain a copy of their personal data in a portable, readily usable format
• Opt out of the processing of their personal data for targeted advertising, the sale of personal data, or certain types of profiling
• Appeal a denied rights request, as described in the Your Rights section below

Consistent with these rights, this site honors Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals as a valid, immediate opt-out of both the sale of personal data and targeted advertising, as described in the Opt-In/Opt-Out section above.

The Texas Attorney General has exclusive authority to enforce the TDPSA. Complaints regarding this site's privacy practices may be directed to the Office of the Texas Attorney General.

Privacy is the number one priority when it comes to collecting information from users, which is used to measure metrics and improve performance. The user can request the following when it comes to their information in accordance with their jurisdiction's privacy regulations:

• Unless required by applicable law or a valid legal request, data will be retained for up to 24 months, during which it may be used for the aforementioned purposes.
• The user can request, in writing, that their data be deleted if they believe that the information collected contains Personally Identifiable Information. This applies to the services used for this website as specified in the Type Of Information Collected section.
• Once the request has been submitted, the process will take up to 30 days as is the standard for data removal requests implementing similar information collection strategies.
  • If anything happens within the 30 day period during the removal process, we will go ahead and provide you with a status update regarding your request.
  • Please keep in mind that should law enforcement request this data be retained via a valid legal request, the removal process will be suspended indefinitely until the issue is resolved.
• Right to Correct: The user can request, in writing, that any inaccurate personal information collected about them be corrected.
• Right to Data Portability: Where technically feasible, the user can request a copy of their personal data in a portable, readily usable format.
• Right to Appeal: If a request under this section is denied, the user has the right to appeal that decision by replying in writing to the same contact address used to submit the original request. If the appeal is denied, Texas residents may file a complaint with the Office of the Texas Attorney General.
• After the 30 day process is complete, the data is then permanently deleted unless the user decides to opt-in using Google Analytics, with Vercel Analytics and Vercel Speed Insights being left on by default as specified previously.
• Lastly, any data submitted from the form in the Services page or stored from the AI Chatbot will be retained only for as long as reasonably necessary in order to respond to your request for services, improve service accuracy, or as required for record-keeping purposes. Furthermore, any pseudonymized personally identifiable information, in this case the IP of the user is automatically purged from the system after 60 seconds.

Reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards are implemented to help protect collected information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or misuse.

These protections are continuously reviewed and updated where appropriate to maintain a secure environment for data handling and processing.

While strong safeguards are in place to protect information, it is important to understand that no digital system or online transmission can be considered completely immune to risk.

This website is intended for general audiences and is not designed for use by individuals under the age of 13. Information is not knowingly solicited from children, and reasonable steps will be taken to remove such data if it is discovered to have been submitted unintentionally.

If you believe that a child has submitted personal information through this site, please contact us so reasonable efforts can be made to remove the information as soon as possible.

For any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, your user rights, or to receive a status update regarding your data deletion request, you can contact me at the following email address:

• ruben.c.arevalo@gmail.com

All requests sent will be reviewed and processed in accordance with applicable privacy regulations.