# Privacy & Terms

1,072 words
ORIGINAL: https://brennan.day/privacy/

This Privacy Policy explains how I, Brennan Kenneth Brown, operating this personal website (brennan.day), collect, use, and disclose personal information, and what rights you have under Canadian law. This site is a personal blog, not a commercial enterprise, and is hosted in Canada.

Where applicable, I have voluntarily chosen to follow the standards set out in the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ("PIPEDA"), even though an individual's personal, non-commercial collection of information: and organizations acting "solely for journalistic, artistic or literary purposes": are generally exempt from PIPEDA under section 4(2). See the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada's ("OPC") summary of PIPEDA requirements for background on the Act and its scope.

## 1. Information I Collect

Information you provide directly:

• Contact form (/contact/): name, email address, and message content
• Guestbook (/guestbook/): name, email (kept private), optional website, and message (displayed publicly)
• Comments: name, optional website, and comment text (displayed publicly)

Information collected automatically:

• Analytics: I use Umami, a privacy-focused, cookie-free analytics platform that does not use persistent identifiers to track individuals across sites. See Umami's privacy policy for details on what it collects (aggregated, anonymized page-view data).
• Server logs: My hosting provider, Netlify, may log IP addresses and request metadata for security and operational purposes, in accordance with Netlify's privacy policy. I do not have routine access to these logs.
• Security protection: This site is protected by Deflect.ca, a DDoS protection service that may set a deflect_session cookie for security purposes. This cookie is HttpOnly (inaccessible to JavaScript), session-based (expires after 1 hour), and used solely for DDoS mitigation and security. See Deflect's documentation for details.
• Third-party embeds and scripts: This site loads scripts from the following third-party services for their stated purposes; each operates under its own privacy policy and may set cookies or collect data independently:
  • neatstats.net: visitor statistics
  • status.lol: status update widget
  • webring.fun: webring navigation widget
  • silly.possiblyaxolotl.com: webring integration
  • cdn.jsdelivr.net: webring scripts (journalring, iine)
  • mirrors.creativecommons.org: Creative Commons license icons

Information I do not collect: I do not collect payment information. If you choose to support my work through Ko-fi, Patreon, GitHub Sponsors, Buy Me a Coffee, Gumroad, or PayPal, your payment details are collected and processed entirely by that third party under its own privacy policy. I only receive your name/handle and the amount contributed.

## 2. Purpose and Consent

In line with PIPEDA's Schedule 1 principles (Identifying Purposes, Consent, and Limiting Use), I collect personal information only for the purpose for which it is provided:

• Contact form: to respond to your message
• Guestbook and comments: to publish your submission publicly, as you intend
• Analytics: to understand aggregate readership trends, not to identify individuals
• Security: for DDoS protection and attack mitigation via Deflect.ca

By submitting information through these forms, you consent to its use for the stated purpose. You may withdraw consent at any time (see Section 5).

## 3. Disclosure to Third Parties

I do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. Information is disclosed only to:

• The service providers named above (Netlify, Umami, Deflect, and the payment processors you choose), each acting under their own privacy policy
• Law enforcement or a court of competent jurisdiction, where legally compelled to do so. This has not occurred to date

## 4. Data Retention and Security

Contact form and guestbook submissions are retained only as long as needed to serve their purpose, or until you request deletion. I take reasonable steps, consistent with PIPEDA's Safeguards principle, to protect personal information against loss, unauthorized access, and disclosure. In the unlikely event of a breach of security safeguards creating a real risk of significant harm, I will notify affected individuals and the OPC in accordance with PIPEDA section 10.1 and the Breach of Security Safeguards Regulations.

## 5. Your Rights

Consistent with PIPEDA's Access and Challenging Compliance principles, you may:

• Request access to any personal information I hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Withdraw consent and request deletion of your information, subject to legal or contractual restrictions
• Ask questions about how your information is handled

To exercise any of these rights, email mail@brennanbrown.ca. I aim to respond within a reasonable time.

If you believe I have not adequately addressed your concern, you may file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada via their Report a Concern process.

## 6. Electronic Communications (CASL)

If a newsletter or other opt-in mailing list is offered on this site, it operates on an express-consent basis in accordance with Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation ("CASL"). Every message will identify me as the sender, include my contact information, and provide a functional unsubscribe mechanism, as required by CASL section 6. I do not send unsolicited commercial electronic messages.

## 7. Jurisdiction

This site is operated from Canada, and this policy is governed by the laws of Canada and the Province of Alberta. If you are accessing this site from outside Canada, your information will be processed in Canada, which may not offer equivalent protections to the privacy laws of your home jurisdiction.

## 8. Changes to This Policy

I may update this policy to reflect changes in practice or law. The "Last updated" date above reflects the most recent revision. Material changes will be noted in the site's changelog.

## 9. Contact

Questions, requests, or complaints regarding this policy can be sent to mail@brennanbrown.ca.

# Terms of Use

By using this site, you agree to:

• Use it in a manner consistent with applicable law and the rights of others
• Not use its content for commercial purposes without permission (see the license page for terms)
• Not send unsolicited bulk or commercial email ("SEO pitches," mass "collaboration" requests, etc.) to the contact address

Permitted uses:

• Reading and sharing this content, with attribution
• Leaving comments and guestbook entries in good faith
• Quoting this work in your own writing, with proper credit
• Studying and building on the openly licensed code that powers this site

Prohibited uses:

• Reproducing this work as your own
• Commercial use of this content without a licensing agreement
• Attempting to gain unauthorized access to this site's infrastructure

This page is a plain-language summary intended to be useful, not a substitute for legal advice. If you have a legal dispute, please contact me directly at mail@brennanbrown.ca.