Privacy policy

This policy covers theshore.ai, Timothy O’Brien’s author website, and the newsletter offered through this site. “We” refers to Timothy O’Brien and the operation of this website and newsletter.

You can read the site without subscribing. If you sign up, we use your email address to send the book updates and writing news described beside the form. Website measurement and newsletter subscriptions are explained separately below.

Newsletter subscriptions

The sign-up form asks for your email address. Kit, formerly ConvertKit, handles the subscription and email delivery. Its records can include your email address, subscription and confirmation status, sign-up time and source, and a label identifying a subscription made through this website.

We use a confirmation email: after submitting the form, you need to follow its confirmation link before receiving newsletter updates. Kit receives the address before confirmation so it can send that message and keep an unconfirmed subscription record. Providing an address is voluntary.

Kit can also process technical information associated with sign-up and email delivery, including IP addresses and browser or device information. Its email reports can include delivery failures, unsubscribes, measured opens, and link clicks. Open measurement uses a small tracking image; email software can load that image automatically, so an “open” does not necessarily mean someone read the message.

We use subscription records to send the requested updates, manage the list, and respect unsubscribe requests. Email reports help us understand delivery and engagement. Kit describes its handling of newsletter subscriber information in its Data Processing Addendum; its Privacy Policy covers its own services and other interactions with Kit.

Messages and reader feedback

If you email us, we receive your address, the contents of your message, and any attachments you choose to send. We use that correspondence to reply, help with subscriptions or privacy requests, and understand reader feedback. Messages are stored in our email account and handled by our email service provider. We do not publish your private correspondence as a testimonial without asking you.

Website visits and third-party services

Loading a page sends technical information to the services that deliver and measure it. This can include your IP address, browser and device details, requested page, visit time, referring page or campaign, and cookie or browser identifiers.

• Firebase Hosting, provided by Google, serves the website. It processes request information, including IP addresses, to deliver pages, detect abuse, and measure service usage. See Firebase’s privacy information.
• Google Analytics measures visits and actions on the site, such as exploring The Tides and clicking an Amazon link. Reports can include visited pages, referring sources, approximate location, and browser or device information. Analytics uses cookies to distinguish browsers and sessions. Google states that Google Analytics 4 uses IP addresses to derive location and discards them before logging the data. See Google’s Analytics privacy explanation.
• Google Ads tags help measure advertising performance and attribute visits or actions to ads. They can use cookies and other advertising identifiers. Google’s use of this information depends on its services, account settings, and your Google privacy settings. See Google’s advertising explanation.
• Google Fonts supplies the site’s typefaces. Your browser requests font files from Google, which receives technical request information, including your IP address and browser information. See Google Fonts’ information and Google’s Privacy Policy.

These providers may use their own service providers and process information in the United States or other countries. Their published policies and terms describe their processing and international transfers. Google explains how it handles information from websites using its services in this notice for partner sites.

Cookies, browser storage, and tracking signals

Analytics and advertising tags currently load when a page loads. This site does not currently change those tags in response to a browser’s Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control signal. Google’s services may process identifiers across websites that use those services, as described in its linked policies.

The fictional office notices on the homepage and welcome packet also use browser session storage to avoid repeating a notice in the same session. That script keeps its timing and session markers in your browser; it does not transmit the fictional dwell-time notes to a server.

You can use your browser’s settings to block or delete cookies and restrict third-party requests. Deleting cookies alone does not stop future requests or prevent new cookies from being set. Google offers an Analytics opt-out browser add-on, which affects Analytics measurement, and My Ad Center for Google advertising preferences. These controls have different scopes; neither unsubscribes you from the newsletter.

Keeping and deleting information

Your subscription details remain in Kit while you subscribe. Unsubscribing stops newsletter messages but does not automatically delete your profile or email history. Kit keeps unsubscribed profiles in the account, including records that help avoid sending further messages. You can separately request deletion using the contact below.

Hosting and analytics records have their own service settings and retention policies, so there is no single retention period for all information described here. When responding to a deletion request, we consider records needed to honor an opt-out, resolve the request, maintain security, or meet a legal obligation. Provider backups and records controlled independently by a provider can have separate deletion schedules.

Your choices and requests

Use the unsubscribe link in any newsletter to stop future newsletter messages. You can also contact us to ask about the information associated with your subscription, correct your address, request a copy, or request deletion. Please write from the subscribed address where possible so we can verify that the request is yours.

Depending on where you live and the law that applies, you may have additional rights to access, correct, delete, or obtain your information; object to or restrict its use; withdraw consent; or complain to your local privacy regulator. Withdrawing newsletter consent does not affect earlier processing. Contact us about a request or a concern using the address below.

Book purchases and external links

Book purchases take place on Amazon or another external retailer, under that retailer’s privacy policy. This site does not take payment or collect payment-card details. An outbound click can be counted here, but the retailer handles the purchase and its customer information.

Changes to this policy

We will publish changes on this page and update the date above. If a change materially affects how newsletter information is used, we will also provide notice through the newsletter or beside the sign-up form, as appropriate.

Contact

For privacy questions, subscription help, or a data request, contact Timothy O’Brien at tobrien@discursive.com.