The Short Version
- The only personal information we ask for is your email address — and only if you choose to subscribe.
- We don't use analytics, advertising trackers, or tracking cookies on this site.
- We never sell or rent your information.
- You can unsubscribe from every email in one click, and ask us to delete your data at any time.
On this page
Who We Are
Preserve Smarter ("we," "us") publishes independent guides on food preservation and freeze drying at preservesmarter.com. This policy explains what personal information we handle, why, and what control you have over it.
What We Collect
We only collect personal information you choose to give us:
- Your email address, if you subscribe to our newsletter. That's the only field on our signup form.
Reading the site, using the payback calculator, and following links does not require you to give us anything. The payback calculator runs entirely in your browser — the numbers you enter are never sent to us or anyone else.
Our Newsletter (Kit)
Our newsletter is run through Kit (Kit, Inc., formerly ConvertKit), an email service based in the United States. When you subscribe:
- Your email address is sent directly to Kit and stored on its systems in the United States.
- You'll receive a confirmation email first. Nothing else is sent until you confirm — this is called double opt-in.
- We use your email only to send the newsletter and occasional updates about new guides. We never sell, rent, or share it for anyone else's marketing.
- Kit's emails may include standard open and click tracking, which tells us whether an email was opened and which links were clicked. We use this only to judge which guides are useful.
- Every email includes an unsubscribe link. Unsubscribing takes effect right away.
Kit handles your data under its own privacy policy: kit.com/privacy (opens in a new tab).
Why we're allowed to do this: your consent, given when you subscribe and confirm. You can withdraw it at any time by unsubscribing.
How long we keep it: until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it. After you unsubscribe, Kit may keep a record of the address on a suppression list so you aren't emailed again by mistake.
What We Don't Collect
- No analytics tools (such as Google Analytics)
- No advertising networks, tracking pixels, or social media trackers on the site
- No tracking cookies
- No third-party scripts — our fonts and icons are hosted on our own site, so loading a page doesn't contact Google or any other outside service
If this ever changes — for example, if we add analytics — we'll update this policy first and ask for your consent where the law requires it.
Browser Storage
If you switch between light and dark mode, your browser remembers that choice using local storage, under the name ps-theme. It stores only the word "light" or "dark," never leaves your device, and isn't used to identify or track you. You can clear it any time through your browser settings.
Hosting and Technical Data
This site is hosted on GitHub Pages. Like any web host, GitHub and any network or security services in front of the site may automatically process technical information such as your IP address, browser type, and the pages requested, in order to deliver the site and protect it from abuse. We don't receive or use this information to identify you. These providers handle it under their own privacy policies.
Links to Other Sites
Our guides link to outside sites, including manufacturers, retailers, and research sources. Some links may be affiliate links (see our Affiliate Disclosure). Once you leave preservesmarter.com, the other site's privacy policy applies — retailers may set their own cookies, for example to track a referral.
Your Rights
Depending on where you live, privacy laws (such as the GDPR in the EU and UK, California's privacy laws, or Canada's privacy and anti-spam laws) may give you rights over your information. Whatever the law where you live, we'll honour these requests:
- Access: ask what information we hold about you
- Correction: fix an incorrect email address
- Deletion: have your email address removed from our list and from Kit
- Withdraw consent: unsubscribe at any time
- Complain: contact your local data protection authority if you're unhappy with how we've handled your data
We don't sell or share personal information for advertising, so there is nothing to opt out of in that sense.
Children
This site is written for adults. We don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has subscribed, contact us and we'll delete it.
Changes to This Policy
If we change how we handle personal information, we'll update this page and the effective date at the top. Significant changes will also be announced to subscribers by email.
Contact
For any privacy question or request, reply to any email you've received from us. We'll respond within 30 days.