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Hacks Vitae · the small print

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 19 October 2026

This page explains what information hacksvitae.com (“Hacks Vitae”, “we”, “us”) handles when you read it, why, and what you can do about it. It describes what the site actually does today. If that changes, this page changes first.

The short version

  • You can read every page without an account, a form or a sign-in. There are none.
  • The site sets no cookies of its own and runs no advertising.
  • Visits are counted by Cloudflare Web Analytics, which is cookieless and reports totals, not individuals.
  • We also run our own small visit counter. It uses no cookies, never saves your IP address, and deletes what it records after 180 days.
  • If you subscribe to the newsletter, Beehiiv holds your email address for us. You can unsubscribe at any time.
  • We do not sell or share your information for advertising.

Who is responsible

Hacks Vitae is responsible for the information described on this page (the “controller” in data-protection law). You can reach us at [email protected] about anything on this page, including any request or complaint about your data.

What we handle, and why

Hosting and security (Cloudflare). The site is a set of static pages served by Cloudflare Pages. Like any web server, Cloudflare receives the technical details your browser sends with each request, such as your IP address, browser type and the page asked for, in order to deliver the page and protect the site from abuse. We do not keep our own server logs. Cloudflare handles this data under its own privacy policy. If Cloudflare’s security checks are switched on, Cloudflare may set a strictly necessary security cookie (for example __cf_bm) to tell people from automated traffic. Our reason (the “legal basis” in the GDPR and UK GDPR) is our legitimate interest in keeping the site available and secure.

Visit counts (Cloudflare Web Analytics). We see aggregate figures, such as how many visits a page had, how quickly it loaded, and which countries, referring sites, browsers, operating systems and device types the visits came from. Cloudflare states that its Web Analytics does not use cookies or local storage and does not fingerprint individuals. We cannot see who you are from these figures. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in knowing which pages are read. If you would rather not be counted, you can object at any time: the counter is a small script loaded from static.cloudflareinsights.com, so a content blocker that blocks that address, or turning off JavaScript for this site, stops it, and the site works the same without it. You can also email us to object.

Our own visit counter. The site also loads a small script from its own address (/_a/t.js) that counts visits for our private dashboard. It uses no cookies and stores nothing on your device. For each visit it records the page you read and how long it was open; the site that sent you, and, if you came through one of our old web addresses, which one; the words you type into the site’s search box, after email addresses, links and phone numbers are removed; and your country, type of device and browser, worked out from the request. To tell one visit from another without saving your IP address, it mixes your IP address, browser details, the site, the date and a secret value into a one-way code. Only that code is saved, never the IP address, and it changes every day, so it cannot be used to follow you from one day to the next. The counter runs on Cloudflare, and what it records is stored in a Cloudflare database for 180 days, then deleted automatically. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in knowing which pages are read and how people find them. If you would rather not be counted, a content blocker that blocks www.hacksvitae.com/_a/, or turning off JavaScript for this site, stops it, and the site works the same without it. You can also email us to object.

The newsletter (Beehiiv). You subscribe on Beehiiv’s own page, not on this site. If you do, we receive your email address, and Beehiiv may record standard newsletter statistics, such as whether an email was opened and which links were clicked. We use the address only to send the newsletter. Legal basis: your consent, which you can withdraw at any time by using the unsubscribe link at the foot of every email, or by emailing us. Beehiiv processes this data for us; its own pages are covered by Beehiiv’s privacy policy.

Emails you send us. If you write to [email protected], we receive your address and whatever you put in the message, and use them only to reply and to deal with what you raised.

Your display settings. If you switch between light and dark, your browser stores that one choice (under the name hv-v5-theme) so the page looks the same next time. If you switch between the Classic and Mac styles, your browser stores that choice too (under the name hv-v5-skin). If you pick a text size for articles, your browser keeps that as well (under the name hv-v5-text). If you press Pause motion, your browser remembers that so pages stay still next time (under the name hv-motion). While a tab is open, it also notes that you have already seen the opening animation of the home page and of articles, so they do not replay as you move around (under the names hv-intro and hv-decode); those two disappear when you close the tab. All of these stay on your device and are never sent to us. You can remove them by clearing your browser’s data for this site.

My Library and My Feed. If you press Save on an article, pin a fact, a verdict or a quote, write a note, make a board, follow a topic or use the daily review, your browser keeps all of it in its own storage on your device, under the name hv-v5-lib. There is no account. It is never sent to us or to anyone else, and we cannot see it. My Feed works out what to show you inside your browser, using that same stored list and a plain file of our newest articles that every visitor gets. If you download your library, the file goes straight to your device; if you add a file back, it is read inside your browser and not uploaded. To delete it, use Clear everything on My Library, or clear your browser’s data for this site. If your browser blocks site storage (some private windows do), nothing is kept and the pages say so.

The free tools. The converters and calculators under /tools and the business card maker under /business-card-maker run entirely in your browser. Files you open in them, text you paste and card details you type are processed on your own device and are never uploaded to us or to anyone else. A few tools remember something in your browser’s storage so it is still there next time: the business card maker keeps your current card design (under the name bcg_design) until you reset it, and your light or dark choice (theme); the online notepad keeps what you typed (fcc_notepad); and the tools’ footer keeps a reduced-motion choice if you set it (chj-calm). The converter tools also keep a copy of their own pages and code in your browser (a “service worker” cache) so that a tool you have opened can work offline. None of this is sent to us. You can remove all of it by clearing your browser’s data for this site. The goal planner in the article From Big Goal to Today keeps your answers in your browser (under the name hv-goal-funnel) so they are there when you come back; they are never sent to us, and its “Clear my plan” button removes them. The stretch finder in the article Find Your Stretch Zone works the same way: your answers and weekly log stay in your browser (under the name hv-stretch-finder), are never sent to us, and its “Clear everything” button removes them.

What we do not do

  • We do not set advertising, tracking or social-media cookies.
  • Apart from the two small visit counters described above, we do not load third-party scripts, fonts or embedded players. Share buttons are plain links: nothing is sent to a social network until you click one, and then that network’s own privacy policy applies.
  • We do not sell your information, and we do not share it for advertising.
  • The site carries no ads today. If that ever changes, this page will be updated before it does.

How long we keep it

  • Newsletter: your email address is kept until you unsubscribe. Beehiiv may keep a record of an unsubscribed address so that it is not emailed again.
  • Emails you send us: kept only as long as needed to deal with them.
  • Hosting and analytics data: kept by Cloudflare according to its own policy. We do not hold a copy.
  • Our own visit counter: kept for 180 days, then deleted automatically.

Where the data is processed

Cloudflare and Beehiiv run their services in several countries, including the United States, so your information may be processed outside the country you live in. Each describes the safeguards it uses for international transfers in its own privacy policy, linked above.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, the law gives you rights over your personal information. In plain words:

  • EU and UK (GDPR and UK GDPR): you can ask for a copy of the information we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, object to or restrict how we use it, ask for it in a portable form, and withdraw consent at any time (for the newsletter, unsubscribing does this). You can also complain to your local data-protection authority, such as the Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK.
  • California (CCPA/CPRA): you can ask to know what personal information we hold, and ask us to correct or delete it. We do not sell or share personal information, and we will not treat you differently for using these rights.
  • India (Digital Personal Data Protection Act): you can ask for a summary of the personal data we process about you, ask for it to be corrected, completed, updated or erased, withdraw consent, and raise a grievance with us. If we do not resolve it, you can take it to the Data Protection Board of India.

To use any of these rights, email [email protected]. The same address is our contact for grievances. We may ask you to confirm that you control the email address a request is about. We will reply within the time the law allows; in the EU and UK that is one month.

Articles link to sources and to other websites. When you follow a link, the other site’s own privacy policy applies. We do not control what it collects.

Children

The site is written for a general adult audience and is not directed at children. The newsletter is not meant for anyone under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has subscribed, email us and we will remove the address.

Changes to this page

When what the site does changes, we update this page and the date at the top.

Contact

Hacks Vitae · [email protected]