Architect View Master

Introduction

Welcome to Architect View Master, a personal blog run by Oscar van der Leij. This privacy policy explains what information the site collects, why, and who else handles it. Please read it carefully. If you do not agree with it, please do not use the site.

The short version: this site runs no analytics, sets no advertising or tracking cookies, and asks for your email address only if you choose to subscribe or download the guide.

Information We Collect

Information You Give Us

You can read everything on this site without giving us anything. We collect personal information only when you choose to provide it, which is when you:

Subscribe to the newsletter, from any of the signup forms on the site
Request the free architecture guide from the guide page
Send a tip through our Kit-hosted tips page

This is normally your first name and email address. Newsletter and guide signups are handled entirely by Kit, and tips are handled entirely by Kit Commerce and its payment processor, so the details go to them rather than to a server we run. See Third-Party Services below.

Each signup form on the site is a separate form in Kit, so we can tell which placement a subscriber came through. We use that to understand which content earns subscribers, not to build a profile of you.

Automatically Collected Data

This site is a set of static files with no application server of our own. When you visit, our hosting provider may automatically collect certain information about your device, including your web browser, IP address, and time zone, as part of standard server logs.

Analytics and Advertising

We do not run any analytics product on this site, and we do not set advertising or tracking cookies. There is no cross-site tracking, no advertising network, and no profiling. Aggregate figures about how the site performs in search come from Google Search Console, which reports on our own pages and does not identify individual visitors to us.

Browser Storage

We use your browser's own storage for a small number of preferences. This data stays on your device and is never transmitted to us:

Your theme preference, so the site stays in light or dark mode between visits
Whether you have already seen or dismissed the newsletter popup, so it is not shown to you again for another 30 days, and at most once per browsing session

Clearing your browser storage removes these. The only consequence is that the site forgets your theme choice and may show the newsletter popup again.

Our search feature runs entirely in your browser against a prebuilt index. What you type into the search box is not sent to us or to anyone else.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

Send you the newsletter, if you have subscribed
Deliver the free architecture guide, if you requested it
Respond to you when you get in touch
Understand which posts and which signup placements work, in aggregate
Keep the signup forms free of spam and automated abuse

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing.

Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party service providers to help us operate our website and deliver services to you:

Netlify

Our website is hosted on Netlify, which provides hosting, content delivery, and image optimization services. When you visit our website, Netlify may collect standard server logs including your IP address, browser type, and pages visited. Netlify Privacy Policy

Kit (formerly ConvertKit)

We use Kit for newsletter subscriptions, delivery of the free guide, and email sending. The signup forms on this site are served by Kit and submit directly to Kit, so when you subscribe or request the guide, your name and email address are stored and processed by Kit. Kit also records email activity such as whether a message was opened and which links were clicked, which is what tells us which topics readers find useful. Kit Privacy Policy

Tips and Payments

The "Support my work" link in our footer leads to a tips page hosted by Kit. If you choose to send a tip, the entire transaction happens on Kit's own pages, and payment details are handled by Kit and its payment processor. We never see or store your card details. We receive only the information Kit shows us about a completed tip, such as a name and email address and the amount. Kit Privacy Policy

Google reCAPTCHA

The Kit signup forms on this site, including the one on the guide page and the one in the newsletter popup, are protected by Google reCAPTCHA to prevent spam and abuse. reCAPTCHA collects hardware and software information, such as device and application data, and sends it to Google for analysis. It loads only when a signup form comes into view, so pages you read without reaching a form do not load it at all. Your use of reCAPTCHA is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

Event Registration

For event registration, we provide links to external platforms. When you click these links and register for an event, you leave our website and your information is collected and processed by those third-party platforms according to their own privacy policies. We do not collect or store your event registration data on our website.

Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information. However, please be aware that no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure.

How Long We Keep Your Information

We keep your subscription details in Kit for as long as you stay subscribed. If you unsubscribe, Kit retains a record so that we do not email you again by mistake, and you can ask us to delete that record entirely. Records of tips are kept for as long as needed for accounting purposes. Hosting logs are kept by our hosting provider for a short period under their own retention schedule.

Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information, including:

The right to access the personal information we hold about you
The right to request correction of inaccurate information
The right to request deletion of your personal information
The right to unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time
The right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent

The quickest way to exercise most of these is directly: every email we send carries an unsubscribe link, which takes effect immediately and needs no explanation. For access, correction, or full deletion, see Contact below.

Children's Privacy

This site is written for working software professionals and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Contact

This site is run by Oscar van der Leij from the Netherlands. To ask a question about this policy, or to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your information, reply to any email you have received from the newsletter. Replies reach us directly, and they are the best route because they already identify the subscription in question.

If you are not a subscriber, you can reach us through any of the profiles linked in the site footer.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new privacy policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this policy.