Privacy Policy

Introduction

This policy explains what happens to information when you visit kingsleyabebe.org, the personal website of Kingsley Abebe. It is written to be read, not to be survived.

The short version: the only information you actively give me is what you type into the contact form, or your email address if you choose to hear about new writing. The tools on this site process your files entirely inside your own browser and never upload them. There are no accounts, no newsletter, no comments, and no advertising.

This policy covers this website only. Client engagements and RF testing campaigns are governed by their own agreements.

What I Collect

When you send a message

The contact form asks for three things, and they are used only to reply to you.

• Your name, so I know who I am writing back to.

• Your email address, so I can reply.

• Your message, so I know what you are asking about.

The form also carries a hidden field that people never see and automated scripts fill in. If it is filled, the message is discarded. That is the only anti-spam measure and it collects nothing about you.

When you ask to hear about new writing

The box at the foot of the writing page asks for one thing, and it is used for one thing.

• Your email address, so I can tell you when a new piece goes up. Nothing else is sent to it, ever.

• No name is asked for, because a greeting is not worth asking a stranger for something.

• It is stored with the date you subscribed and a random token that belongs only to your unsubscribe link.

Every email carries a one click unsubscribe link, and leaving takes effect immediately. Your address is never sold, never shared, and never used for anything except that note. You can also ask me to delete the record entirely rather than just switch it off.

Automatically, when you browse

Four things are recorded for each page you open, and this is the complete list.

• The page address, so I know which writing and which pages people actually read.

• Where you arrived from, if your browser sends it, recorded as the site name and nothing more.

• Whether you are on a desktop, a phone or a tablet. Not your browser, not your operating system, not your screen size.

• A random session identifier, so that four pages read one after another can be counted as one visit rather than four. It is generated in your browser, it is not derived from anything about you, and it is discarded when you close the tab.

Your location is not recorded, not even at country level. Your IP address is not stored.

Google Analytics is currently switched on for this site and records its own usage data under its own privacy policy. It can be blocked by any standard content blocker, and blocking it does not break anything here.

What the tools do NOT collect

This matters more than the rest of this page, so it is stated plainly. The free tools run entirely in your browser.

• Your resume, your spreadsheet and your financial figures are never uploaded, never transmitted, and never reach my database or anyone else's.

• Nothing you type into them is stored on a server. What is saved is saved on your own device, described below.

• No account is needed, because there is nothing to attach an account to.

• Only a count of how many times each tool was opened is recorded. Never what you put into it.

Embedded players and cover images

The media page shows what I am listening to, reading and watching. The players are embedded from the services that host them, and the cover images are loaded from the services that publish them.

• Players come from Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. For YouTube I use its no-cookie address, which does not set tracking cookies unless you press play.

• Cover images are loaded from the publishers and catalogues that host them.

When a page containing one of these loads, your browser requests that content directly from the company concerned. That request tells them your IP address and which page you are on, exactly as if you had visited them, and they may set their own cookies. That is outside my control and governed by their policies, not mine. No other page on this site embeds third party content.

Stored in your browser

These are saved on your own device and never sent to me.

• Your theme choice, so the site opens the way you left it.

• The session identifier described above, which lives only until you close the tab.

• Your resume draft, if you use the Resume Builder, so that a refresh does not lose your work. It stays on your device and I never see it.

• A copy of the site's own settings, so pages open without waiting for them.

• Small flags recording that an animation has played, so it does not repeat while you are reading.

Clearing your browser data removes all of it, with no other effect than losing a resume draft you have not exported.

Why I Use It

• To reply to you. Messages are used for correspondence and nothing else.

• To understand what is read. Page counts tell me what to write more of.

• To keep the site working and secure. Rate limiting and abuse prevention.

Where the UK and EU GDPR applies, my lawful bases are your consent when you choose to send a message, and legitimate interest in running and improving a small personal website.

What I Never Do

• I do not sell your information. There is no arrangement under which I could.

• I do not share it for advertising, and this site carries no advertising.

• I do not send marketing email. The only email you can ask for is a short note when a new piece of writing goes up, and only if you type your address into the box at the foot of the writing page.

• I do not build profiles about you or use your data to train anything.

Who Else Handles It

Running a website means a few companies carry data on my behalf or receive it directly from your browser.

• Vercel, which hosts the site and serves every page.

• Supabase, which stores contact messages, the page counts, and the content of the site itself.

• Google, for the email that delivers your message to my inbox, and for Google Analytics.

• Spotify, Apple and YouTube, only on the media page, and only because your browser fetches the player from them directly.

• The publishers and catalogues that host cover images, again only on the media page and only as an image request.

That is the complete list.

How Long It Is Kept

• Contact messages are kept while the conversation is useful and reviewed periodically. Ask and I will delete yours.

• Page records are single rows, one per page opened, carrying the four items listed above. They are retained for up to twenty four months.

• Browser storage lasts until you clear it, except the session identifier, which goes when the tab closes.

Your Rights

Wherever you are, you can ask me to show you what I hold, correct it, or delete it. One email is enough, and I will not ask you to prove anything unreasonable.

If you are in the UK or the EU, you also have the right to object to processing, to request a copy of your data in a portable form, and to complain to your data protection authority. If you are in California or another US state with a privacy statute, you have the equivalent rights of access and deletion, and the right not to be discriminated against for using them.

There is no fee, and I aim to respond within thirty days.

Cookies

This site sets no cookies of its own for tracking. Preferences and drafts are kept in browser storage rather than cookies. Google Analytics sets its own, and the embedded players on the media page may set theirs. Any browser or content blocker can refuse all of them without affecting how this site works.

Children

This site is not directed at children under sixteen, and I do not knowingly collect their information. If you believe a child has sent me something, tell me and I will delete it.

Security

Data in transit is encrypted. The admin area behind this site is protected by authentication, is never indexed or cached, and new accounts cannot be created. No system is perfect, and I will not pretend otherwise, but there is very little held here to lose.

Changes

If this policy changes, the date at the top changes with it. Material changes will be obvious rather than buried.

Contact

Questions, corrections, or a deletion request: email me. It reaches me directly.