Privacy Policy

Effective Date: March 29, 2026  |  Last Updated: March 29, 2026

1. Who I Am

This website, zachariahdornisch.com, is a personal portfolio and blog operated by Zach Dornisch ("I," "me," or "my") based in Nebraska, USA. For the purposes of applicable data protection laws — including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the UK GDPR, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), and India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act) — I am the data controller responsible for your personal data.

If you have questions about this policy or your data, you can reach me through the contact page on this website.

2. What Information I Collect

Information You Provide Directly

When you use the contact form on this website, I collect the information you voluntarily submit: your name, email address, subject line, and message content. This data is processed through Formspree, a third-party form handling service, and delivered to me via email.

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit this website, certain information is collected automatically through Google Analytics (Google Analytics 4). This includes your IP address (which Google anonymizes), browser type and version, operating system, referring website, pages visited and time spent on each page, general geographic location (city/region level, not precise), and device type (desktop, mobile, tablet). This data is collected using cookies and similar technologies. I use this information solely to understand how visitors interact with my site so I can improve its content and experience.

Information I Do Not Collect

I do not collect financial information, government-issued identification, health data, or any special categories of personal data. I do not use advertising cookies, social media tracking pixels, or any behavioral advertising technologies.

3. How I Use Your Information

I use the information I collect for the following purposes:

Contact form submissions are used to respond to your inquiries, discuss potential collaborations or opportunities, and maintain correspondence you initiate.

Analytics data is used to understand which pages and content are most useful, improve site navigation and user experience, and monitor site performance and identify technical issues.

I do not use your information for automated decision-making, profiling, targeted advertising, or any purpose beyond what is described above.

4. Legal Bases for Processing

Depending on where you are located, I rely on the following legal bases for processing your personal data:

Consent: When you submit the contact form or when your browser accepts analytics cookies, you provide consent for that specific processing. Under the GDPR, the UK GDPR, and India's DPDP Act, consent is the primary basis for collecting this data.

Legitimate interest: Under GDPR and UK GDPR, I also rely on legitimate interest for basic site analytics — specifically, the interest in understanding how visitors use my site to maintain and improve it, balanced against the minimal impact on your privacy.

5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

This site uses cookies placed by Google Analytics to collect aggregated, anonymized usage data. The specific cookies include _ga (used to distinguish unique users, expires after 2 years) and _ga_[ID] (used to maintain session state, expires after 2 years). These are first-party cookies set under this website's domain.

I have not enabled Google Analytics Advertising Features, remarketing, or any interest-based advertising. No third-party advertising cookies are placed by this website.

Managing cookies: You can disable cookies through your browser settings at any time. Most browsers allow you to refuse new cookies, receive alerts when new cookies are set, or disable cookies entirely. Please note that disabling cookies will not affect the core functionality of this website. You can also opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

6. Third-Party Services

This website uses the following third-party services that may process your data:

Google Analytics (Google LLC, USA) collects anonymized usage and traffic data. Google's privacy policy is available at policies.google.com/privacy.

Formspree (Formspree Inc., USA) processes contact form submissions. Their privacy policy is available at formspree.io/legal/privacy-policy.

Google Fonts (Google LLC, USA) serves web fonts. When you load a page, your browser connects to Google's servers to retrieve font files, which may transmit your IP address. Google's privacy policy applies.

I do not sell, rent, trade, or otherwise share your personal data with any other third parties. Data is only shared with the service providers listed above, and only as necessary for the operation of this website.

7. International Data Transfers

This website is hosted and operated from the United States. If you are visiting from the European Union, the United Kingdom, India, or elsewhere outside the US, please be aware that your data will be transferred to and processed in the United States. By using this website and submitting information through the contact form, you acknowledge this transfer.

Where required by applicable law (such as GDPR), transfers to the US are supported by the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and Standard Contractual Clauses as implemented by the third-party services listed above.

8. Data Retention

Contact form data: I retain your name, email address, and message content for as long as necessary to respond to your inquiry and maintain our correspondence. If there is no ongoing relationship, I will delete this data within 12 months of our last exchange.

Analytics data: Google Analytics data is retained for 14 months from the date of collection, after which it is automatically deleted.

9. Your Rights

Depending on where you are located, you have specific rights regarding your personal data. I am committed to honoring these rights regardless of your location, to the extent they are applicable.

For All Visitors

You may request access to the personal data I hold about you, ask me to correct inaccurate data, request deletion of your personal data, or withdraw consent at any time (for example, by opting out of analytics or asking me to delete your contact form data).

Additional Rights Under GDPR (EU) and UK GDPR

If you are located in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you also have the right to request restriction of processing, to data portability (receiving your data in a structured, machine-readable format), to object to processing based on legitimate interest, and to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. For EU residents, a list of supervisory authorities is available at edpb.europa.eu. For UK residents, you may contact the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.

Additional Rights Under CCPA/CPRA (California)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to know what personal information I collect and how it is used, to request deletion of your personal information, and to not be discriminated against for exercising your privacy rights. I do not sell personal information and have not done so in the preceding 12 months. I do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. Because I do not sell or share data as defined by the CCPA/CPRA, a "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link is not required, but I honor all opt-out requests.

Additional Rights Under India's DPDP Act

If you are located in India, you have the right (as a "Data Principal") to access information about your personal data being processed, to correction and erasure of your personal data, to grievance redressal (you may contact me to raise a concern, and I will respond within a reasonable timeframe), and to nominate another person to exercise your rights on your behalf. If your concern is not resolved satisfactorily, you may submit a complaint to the Data Protection Board of India once it is established.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact me through the contact page. I will respond to verified requests within 30 days (or sooner where required by applicable law).

10. Children's Privacy

This website is not directed at children under the age of 16 (or the applicable age of consent in your jurisdiction). I do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If I become aware that I have inadvertently collected data from a child, I will promptly delete it.

11. Data Security

I take reasonable precautions to protect the information collected through this website. The site is served over HTTPS, ensuring data transmitted between your browser and the server is encrypted. The third-party services I use (Google Analytics and Formspree) maintain their own security practices and comply with industry standards. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, and I cannot guarantee absolute security.

12. Changes to This Policy

I may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in my practices, technologies, or legal requirements. When I make changes, I will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. For significant changes, I will make reasonable efforts to provide prominent notice. I encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how I protect your data.

13. How to Contact Me

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this privacy policy or the handling of your personal data, please reach out through my contact page. I aim to respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 30 days.

This privacy policy was prepared to provide transparency about data practices on this website. It is not a substitute for professional legal advice. As this website grows, I recommend having this policy reviewed by a qualified attorney to ensure full compliance with all applicable laws.