Summary
The rest of this page lays out the specifics for GDPR, CCPA, and general good-neighbour transparency.
Who we are
This site (skillsandservers.com, the "Site") is operated by Skills and Servers ("we", "us", "our"). For any privacy question or request, contact us at privacy@skillsandservers.com. For DMCA and legal notices see our DMCA Policy.
What personal data we collect
We collect the following categories of data:
| Category | What it contains | Why we collect it |
|---|---|---|
| Server logs | IP address, request URL, user-agent string, timestamp, referring URL | Security, abuse prevention, error debugging |
| Analytics data | Pages viewed, session duration, device type, approximate location (country/region), referral source | Understand what content is useful, improve the Site |
| Newsletter data | Email address, subscription date, open/click behaviour (via Beehiiv) | Deliver the newsletter you asked for |
| Contact form data | Name, email, topic, message content | Reply to your message |
| Comment data (if enabled) | GitHub username + avatar (via Giscus) | Attribute your comment to your GitHub account |
| Ad-network data | Standard ad-tech identifiers (cookies, mobile ad IDs) collected by our ad network partners | Fund the site through display advertising |
Our legal basis (GDPR)
Under the EU General Data Protection Regulation and UK GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases:
- Consent — for non-essential cookies, newsletter subscription, and behavioural ad targeting. You can withdraw consent at any time.
- Legitimate interests — for security logging, aggregate analytics, and running a functional website. We have balanced these interests against your privacy rights.
- Contract — where we need to process data to deliver a service you requested (e.g. sending the newsletter).
- Legal obligation — where we must retain records to comply with tax, accounting, or regulatory rules.
Third parties who process data on our behalf
| Provider | Purpose | Data shared |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare | CDN, DDoS protection, DNS | IP address, request metadata |
| Google Analytics 4 | Site analytics | Anonymized page views, device, region |
| Google Search Console | Indexation monitoring | Aggregate query data (Google side only) |
| Beehiiv | Newsletter delivery | Email, subscription events, open/click data |
| Ezoic / Mediavine (as adopted) | Display advertising | Ad-tech identifiers per their own privacy notices |
| Sentry | Site error monitoring | Error stack traces, browser info |
| Giscus (GitHub) | Comments | GitHub profile if you comment |
| Formspree / Basin (form handler) | Contact form delivery | Form submission contents |
Each third party operates under its own privacy policy. When we transfer data outside your region we rely on Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent safeguards where required.
Cookies
We use a small set of first-party cookies plus third-party cookies from analytics and (later) ad partners. See our full Cookie Policy for the specific list and durations.
Your rights
Depending on where you live you have some or all of the following rights over your personal data:
- Access — request a copy of the data we hold about you.
- Correction — ask us to fix inaccurate data.
- Deletion — ask us to delete your data (the "right to be forgotten").
- Portability — receive your data in a machine-readable format.
- Restriction / objection — limit how we process your data.
- Withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent.
- Complaint — lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
California residents (CCPA/CPRA) additionally have the right to know what personal information we collect, to delete personal information, to correct inaccurate information, to opt out of any "sale" or "sharing" of personal information (we do not sell), and to non-discrimination for exercising these rights.
To exercise any right, email privacy@skillsandservers.com. We will respond within 30 days.
How long we keep data
- Server logs — 30 days.
- Analytics data — 14 months (GA4 default).
- Newsletter data — until you unsubscribe, then 12 months for suppression list.
- Contact form messages — 2 years.
- Comment data — indefinitely (attached to your GitHub account via Giscus).
Children's privacy
The Site is intended for developers and technical professionals. It is not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has provided us data, email privacy@skillsandservers.com and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
We update this policy when practices change. Material changes will be announced in the newsletter and posted to this page. The "Last updated" date at the top always reflects the current version.