The Autodidacts

Exploring the universe from the inside out

Privacy Policy

Last updated November 9th 2022

Introduction

This Policy outlines the principles and practices we will follow in collection, storage, and protection of visitors’ personal information. We do our best to ensure the accuracy, confidentiality, and security of our visitors personal information, and to allow allow our visitors to request access to, and correction or removal of, their personal information.

Collection of Personal Information

We try to collect and store as little information as possible. (Also, we not only allow but encourage users to use Ad-blocking software and other privacy safeguards.)

Some information about visitors is automatically collected, including:

  • Access logs, including standard web server access logs from our web host (Fly.io) and website software (Ghost), collected in order to recognize and stop any misuse, and debug technical errors.
  • Usage data collected by Ghost (our blogging platform) and Matomo Analytics collected so that we can understand our users and improve the quality of our service. When you visit our site, we may store information such as: the website from which you visited us from, the parts of our site you visit, the date and duration of your visit, your IP address, information from the device (device type, operating system, screen resolution, language, country you are located in, and web browser type) you used during your visit. We have Matomo Analytics set to honor the user’s browser “do not track” preference. We only use functional cookies that are required for the website to function; we configured Matomo NOT to use tracking cookies.

We have also configured our Matomo installation to allow users to opt-out of Matomo Analytics usage data collection:

Information you may choose to provide us with:

  • Name
  • Email Addresses
  • Payment Information (processed by Stripe)
  • Any other information you give us in the course of using our site, including comments, messages sent through the contact form, etc.

By visiting this site, you grant us the right to collect and process data that is neccessary for the website to function. By opting in to our newsletter or purchasing a membership, you grant us the right to store and process the personal information required to provide you with the services you have requested.

As a visitor, you are granted to right to request a copy of any information we have stored about you. You are also granted the right to request us to delete this information from our system. To exercise these rights, contact us with your request. (Email: "info" AT "autodidacts" DOT "io").

Third party services

We use a selected number of trusted third party service providers for certain technical data processing and/or service offerings. These service providers are carefully selected and meet high data protection and security standards. By using this site you grant us the right to share your personal information with these third parties as neccessary, and grant them the right to store and process that information in accordance with their respective terms & privacy policies. Third parties used include:

Retention of data

We will retain your information as long as necessary to provide you with the services or as otherwise set forth in this Policy. We will also retain and use this information as necessary for the purposes set out in this Policy and to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce our agreements and protect our legal rights.

We also collect and maintain usage data (as outlined above) which we may retain indefinitely.

Limitation of Liability

We make our best effort to ensure the accuracy and quality of the information on this website. It is, however, offered on an “as-is and as-available basis”, for use at your own risk, and with absolutely no warranty.

Privacy Policy Changes

We may update this Policy at any time. Changes to this Policy take effect immediately. The date this policy was last changed is available at the top of this page.

Conclusion

Thank you for using this website. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.