Privacy & Cookies

Field Notes From Everywhere ("FNFE", "we", "us") runs this website, our email list and The Reading Room. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why, who we share it with, and the choices you have. If you have any questions, email us at hello@fieldnotesfromeverywhere.com.

The short version

• We collect your name and email address when you give them to us, for example to join our email list or subscribe to The Reading Room.
• We use Google Analytics to understand how people use our site, so we can make it better. If you're in the UK, the European Union or Switzerland, we only do this if you agree.
• We measure whether our emails are opened and which links are clicked, so we can make them more useful.
• You can unsubscribe from our emails at any time, using the link at the bottom of every email, and change your cookie choices at any time using "Cookie settings" at the bottom of every page.
• Payments for The Reading Room are handled by Paddle. We never see your card details.

What we collect and why

Our email list. When you join our list (at the bottom of any page) or ask us to email you a book list from an article, we collect your first name and email address. We use them to send you the list you asked for and our regular round-up of new reading lists, and to greet you by name. We rely on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time by unsubscribing.

Reading Room membership. If you subscribe, the checkout is run by Paddle, which collects your payment details and billing information directly. Paddle shares your name, email address and subscription status with us so we can deliver The Reading Room and know whether you're a member. We rely on this being necessary to provide the membership you've paid for.

How you use our site. We use Google Analytics, which uses cookies to collect information such as the pages you visit, how long you stay, how you found us (for example a search engine or a social media post), your type of device and browser, and your approximate location (country or city). We use this to see which reading lists people find useful and to improve the site. It doesn't tell us who you are. If you're in the UK, the European Union or Switzerland, Google Analytics only runs after you agree to it in our cookie banner. Elsewhere it runs by default, and you can switch it off at any time in "Cookie settings".

How you interact with our emails. Our emails contain a tiny image and trackable links, which tell us whether an email was opened and which links were clicked. We use this, based on our legitimate interest, to understand which emails and reading lists are most useful. You can avoid it by turning off automatic image loading in your email app, or by unsubscribing.

When you email us. If you write to us, we keep your email address and message so we can reply.

Technical information. Like every website, our hosting provider automatically records basic technical information when you visit, such as your IP address, browser type, the pages you request and when. This is used to keep the site running and secure, based on our legitimate interest in doing so.

Advertising and sponsorships

We don't show ads on our site or in our emails at the moment. We plan to work with advertising networks and sponsors in the future. Advertising networks may use cookies to show ads and measure how they perform. Before that happens, we'll update this policy to name them and explain what they collect, and, where the law requires it, we'll ask for your consent first. Sponsors don't receive your personal information from us.

Who we share it with

We use a small number of service providers to run FNFE. They process your information to provide their service to us:

• Google (United States): Google Analytics, which measures how our site is used. Google may also use this information as described in how Google uses information from sites that use its services.
• Resend (United States): sends our emails, stores our email list, and records email opens and clicks.
• Kit (United States): keeps the list of Reading Room members.
• Paddle (United Kingdom): runs the Reading Room checkout and billing as our reseller and merchant of record. Paddle handles your payment information under its own privacy policy.
• Vercel (United States): hosts the website.
• Sanity: stores our articles and serves the images in our pages and emails. It doesn't receive the information you type into our forms.

We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect our rights or the safety of others.

International transfers

Our service providers are based mainly in the United States and the United Kingdom, so your information may be processed outside the country where you live. Where the law requires it, we rely on safeguards such as the standard contractual clauses these providers offer.

How long we keep it

• Email list: until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it. After you unsubscribe, we keep your email address marked as unsubscribed, so that we don't email you again by mistake, unless you ask us to delete it completely.
• Reading Room members: for as long as you're a member, and afterwards only as long as needed for our records or as the law requires. Paddle keeps its own payment records under its own policies.
• Google Analytics: 14 months.
• Emails you send us: for as long as needed to deal with your message.
• Technical logs: for a short period, set by our hosting provider.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct it or delete it;
• object to or restrict how we use it;
• ask us to move it to another service;
• withdraw your consent at any time, for example by unsubscribing or changing your cookie settings.

To use any of these rights, email hello@fieldnotesfromeverywhere.com. We'll reply within one month. We won't treat you differently for exercising your rights.

If you're not happy with how we've handled your information, you can complain to a data protection regulator: the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, the Information Commissioner's Office if you're in the UK, or your local data protection authority if you're in the European Union. We'd appreciate the chance to put things right first.

If you live in the United States: some state laws give you the right to know what personal information we collect, to delete or correct it, and to opt out of its "sale" or "sharing" for targeted advertising. We don't currently sell or share personal information in that way. If that changes when we start working with advertising networks, we'll update this policy and give you a clear way to opt out.

Cookies

Cookies are small files a website stores in your browser. We use two kinds:

• Necessary cookies, which make things you ask for work. These remember your cookie choices, and, if you subscribe to The Reading Room, let Paddle's checkout process your payment and prevent fraud (see Paddle's privacy notice). Our editors also use a preview cookie, which only applies to people signed in to our content system.
• Analytics cookies, set by Google Analytics (named _ga and _ga_ followed by a code), which help us understand how the site is used. They last up to two years. If you're in the UK, the European Union or Switzerland, we only set them if you agree.

You can change your choice at any time using "Cookie settings" at the bottom of every page. You can also opt out of Google Analytics on every website with Google's opt-out browser add-on, and block or delete cookies in your browser settings. If you block the cookies Paddle needs, the checkout may not work.

Children

FNFE isn't aimed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their personal information. If you think a child has given us their details, email us and we'll delete them.

Security

Our site is served over a secure (HTTPS) connection, and we use established service providers that protect the information they hold. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable steps to keep your information safe.

Changes to this policy

We'll update this policy when what we collect or who we work with changes. The date at the top of this page shows when it last changed. If we make a significant change, we'll tell our email list.

Contact us

Questions or requests about your privacy: hello@fieldnotesfromeverywhere.com.