Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 12, 2025

This Privacy Policy explains how "Connecting is Learning," a self-hosted Ghost website for learning, communication, digital technology and personal reflections, collects, uses, shares, and protects your personal data. The policy complies with the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act, and the EU General Data Protection Regulation. By using our site, you agree to these practices.

1. Who We Are

Connecting is Learning, operated by Mark Corbett Wilson, is the data controller. Contact me at admin@connectingislearning.com.

2. Data We Collect

We collect the following data:
Newsletter: Email address and optional name from sign-up forms.
Donations: Name, email, and payment details through Stripe or Buy Me a Coffee.
Contact: Information you provide via email or social media.
Technical: IP address, browser type, device type, and aggregated usage data from cookies or analytics.
Content: Comments you post publicly.
We do not collect sensitive data like government IDs or medical records.

3. How We Use Data

We use your data to:
Send newsletters via Mailgun, based on your consent or to provide services.
Process donations through Stripe or Buy Me a Coffee to fulfill payment agreements or provide services.
Operate and improve our site using analytics, based on our legitimate interests or to provide services.
Respond to your inquiries, based on your consent, our legitimate interests, or to provide services.
Comply with legal obligations, such as tax reporting.

We share data only as needed:
Mailgun: For newsletter delivery. See their Privacy Policy.
Stripe and Buy Me a Coffee: For donation processing. See Stripe Privacy and Buy Me a Coffee Privacy.
Legal: To comply with laws or during business transfers like mergers.
Analytics: Anonymized data for site improvement.
We do not sell or share data for marketing.

5. Cookies

Cookies collect technical data for site functionality and analytics. Manage preferences in your browser.

6. Data Retention

We keep data only as long as necessary:
Newsletters: Until you unsubscribe.
Donations: Seven years for tax records.
Technical: One year, then anonymized.
Contact: Until resolved or deleted.
We delete data within 90 days of a request, except for legal backups.

7. Your Rights

You have the right to:
Access, correct, or delete your data.
Opt out of newsletters or cookies. We do not sell data.
Restrict or object to processing under GDPR.
Request data portability under GDPR.
Avoid discrimination for exercising rights under CCPA.
Email admin@connectingislearning.com to exercise rights. We respond within 30 days for GDPR or 45 days for CCPA. For GDPR complaints, contact your EU Data Protection Authority or admin@connectingislearning.com.

8. Data Transfers

Data is hosted in the USA. For EU data, we use Mailgun and Stripe’s EU-US Data Privacy Framework certifications and Standard Contractual Clauses, with encryption.

9. Security

We use encryption and secure hosting. Public comments and emails are not fully private, so avoid sharing sensitive data publicly.

10. Changes

Policy updates take effect 30 days after posting. We notify significant changes via email or site notice.

11. Contact

Email admin@connectingislearning.com for questions or rights requests.