Privacy policy

The short version: I collect your email address if you ask for the newsletter, and I use site analytics to understand how people find and use these pages. No advertising pixels, no selling of data. This page is the long version, in plain language, because you should not need a lawyer to read a privacy policy.

Who I am

This site is run by Christopher White Consulting Pty Ltd (ABN 91 692 309 685), a solo consulting practice based in Melbourne, Australia. In this policy "I", "me" and "my" mean that business. You can reach me about anything on this page at hello@christopherwhite.com.au. I read my own email.

What I collect, and why

The Observatory (the newsletter). If you subscribe, I collect your email address. That is it. I use it to send you The Observatory and the occasional note when there is something worth your time. The basis is your consent: you typed your address into the form and asked for it.

The Glasshouse. If you use the Glasshouse and tick the consent box, I keep your email, the coarse profile you watched it build, your timezone, and a timestamp. Nothing is kept unless you opt in, and that data is stored separately from everything else.

Site analytics. To see which pages get read and which referrers send traffic (for example LinkedIn), the public site loads Google Analytics 4 and Vercel Web Analytics / Speed Insights. GA4 may set cookies and receive standard usage data such as page URL, referrer, approximate location from IP, device and browser type. IPs are anonymised in the GA4 config. This is first-party measurement for my own site, not an advertising pixel network. The client portal does not load these tags.

What I deliberately do not collect. No advertising or retargeting pixels. No device fingerprinting beyond what the analytics providers above receive as part of ordinary page measurement. No precise GPS location. Collecting the minimum needed to run the site and the newsletter is the point, not an oversight.

Where your data goes

I keep things lean, but a few trusted providers make the site and the newsletter work. They only ever get the minimum needed to do their job, and only so the thing you asked for can happen.

• Resend handles email delivery and stores the subscriber list. Resend is based in the United States, so your email address is stored and processed overseas. That is a cross-border disclosure under Australian Privacy Principle 8, and this line is your notice of it.
• Google Cloud (Firestore) stores the Glasshouse opt-in data, and only that. If you never use the Glasshouse, this never applies to you.
• Vercel hosts and serves the site, and provides cookieless Web Analytics and Speed Insights (page counts and Core Web Vitals).
• Google Analytics 4 receives page-view and related measurement events for the public site. Google processes that data in line with its own terms; this is a cross-border disclosure under Australian Privacy Principle 8.
• Google Fonts serves the typefaces. Your browser fetches them from Google, which means Google receives your IP address to deliver the fonts. Google states it does not use this to set cookies or to profile you.

I do not sell your data, and I do not share it with anyone beyond the providers above.

How long I keep it

Your newsletter subscription stays until you leave. When you unsubscribe, you are suppressed in Resend and I stop emailing you. Glasshouse opt-in data is kept as a record of your consent until you ask me to delete it.

Unsubscribing

Every newsletter has a one-click unsubscribe, and you can reply to any email and ask me to remove you. I action opt-outs promptly, well inside the five business days the Spam Act allows, and usually straight away.

Your rights

You can ask what I hold about you, ask me to correct it, or ask me to delete it. Email hello@christopherwhite.com.au and I will sort it out. If you think I have mishandled your information, tell me first so I can fix it. If you are still not satisfied, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.

Keeping it safe

I take reasonable steps to protect your information: reputable providers, access kept to what is necessary, and the simplest safeguard of all, which is not collecting data I do not need.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, I will update this page and the date at the top. If a change materially affects how I handle your information, I will say so.

Questions about any of this: hello@christopherwhite.com.au.