Your information & choices

Privacy Policy

How I handle your information and respect your preferences.

Last updated: 25 October 2026

Megan V. Walker is the data controller for meganvwalker.com. For privacy questions or requests, email hello@meganvwalker.com.

About the website: Email subscriptions, Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity are used on this site. The sections below explain how those services are used. Optional website analytics will require your consent before they load.

1. Information you share with me

When you subscribe to blog updates, I collect:

  • Your name and email address.
  • The topics you choose and your subscription preferences.
  • Subscription records maintained by EmailOctopus.

I need your name and email address to manage your subscription and send updates. You can browse the blog without subscribing.

If you use the contact form, I receive your first name, last name, email address and message. Cloudflare Turnstile checks the submission for spam, and Amazon SES delivers it to my inbox. Turnstile processes technical information such as browser signals and IP addresses for security. If you contact me by email, I receive your email address, the information in your message and any attachments. Please avoid sending sensitive personal information unless it is necessary for your enquiry.

Comments and discussions

If you submit a comment, I collect your name, email address, comment and the article or comment you are replying to. Your name and comment become public only after approval; your email address is not published. Please do not include sensitive information in the comment itself. Comments are stored in Cloudflare D1 and screened using Cloudflare Turnstile. A short-lived, hashed network identifier is used to limit spam and repeated submissions.

I receive an email alert containing your name and comment through Amazon SES so that I can review it. I review comments before publication and may reject spam, abusive messages or irrelevant content. I use this information under my legitimate interests in running and moderating discussions and preventing misuse. Commenting does not subscribe you to the newsletter. If you choose the optional comment notifications checkbox, I use Amazon SES to email you when your comment is approved or someone replies directly to it. These messages include a link to turn off notifications for that comment. This is based on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time.

2. Blog subscriptions and email tracking

I use EmailOctopus, connected to Amazon Simple Email Service (Amazon SES), to manage subscriptions and deliver blog updates. EmailOctopus manages subscriber details, topic preferences, campaigns and unsubscribe requests. Amazon SES processes recipient addresses, email content and delivery information to send those messages.

I use your subscription details to send updates about the topics you choose. Every subscription email will include an unsubscribe link. You can also ask me to change your preferences or unsubscribe by emailing hello@meganvwalker.com.

Understanding how emails perform

I use email open and link-click tracking. A small image, sometimes called a tracking pixel, can record when an email is opened. Tracked links can record which links are selected and when. These events may be linked to your email address and include technical information such as your IP address, browser or device details. Email systems can automatically load images or check links, so these measurements are not always an accurate record of your activity.

I use this information to understand which updates are useful and improve future emails. This is separate from Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity on the website: rejecting website analytics does not turn off email tracking.

Subscription emails include open and link-click tracking as described above. You can unsubscribe at any time to stop receiving subscription emails. Blocking remote images in your email app can limit open tracking, but does not prevent link-click tracking.

Read more about EmailOctopus privacy and AWS privacy.

3. Website analytics and cookies

The only optional analytics services I use on this website are Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity. I will ask for your permission before loading either service. You will be able to reject optional analytics and continue reading the blog.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics helps me understand which articles people read, how visitors find the website and how they move between pages. It can collect page views, referral information, browser and device details, approximate location and identifiers stored in cookies. Google Analytics 4 uses IP addresses during collection but does not log or store them.

Its standard cookies include _ga and _ga_<container-id>, which distinguish visitors and sessions. Google’s default lifetime is two years, although browser restrictions and the website’s settings can shorten it. Cookie lifetimes are separate from how long analytics reports are retained.

See how Google uses Analytics data and Google Analytics cookie information.

Microsoft Clarity

Microsoft Clarity helps me understand how people use the website through heatmaps and session replays, including clicks, scrolling and navigation. It can process usage information, device and browser details, IP addresses and cookie identifiers. Session replays reconstruct interactions with a page; they are not recordings of your camera or microphone.

Clarity’s first-party cookies include _clck, which recognises a browser, and _clsk, which connects page views within a session. Depending on the configuration and browser, Microsoft may also use cookies on its own domains, including CLID, MUID, MR, SM and ANONCHK. Microsoft describes some identifiers as supporting advertising and other Microsoft purposes as well as analytics. I do not use Clarity to place advertisements on this website.

See Microsoft’s Clarity cookie information and the Microsoft Privacy Statement.

Use the banner to accept or reject optional analytics. Select Cookies in the footer on any page to reopen the controls and change your choice. Your choice is stored in this browser for 180 days, after which I will ask again. If browser storage is blocked or cleared, you may be asked sooner. Withdrawing consent will stop future analytics collection through this website; it does not undo processing that has already taken place. You can also delete existing cookies through your browser settings.

Remembering a cookie choice uses essential browser storage (the mvw-cookie-consent preference in local storage and session storage). This is used to respect your preference rather than measure your browsing.

Some articles contain embedded YouTube videos. Loading or playing an embedded video can connect your browser to YouTube and involve additional data collection or storage. Videos are replaced by a notice and only load when you select the button to load that video. This is separate from your website analytics choice; you can instead follow the link to watch on the video provider website. External links also take you to services covered by their own privacy notices.

4. Why I use your information

I use personal information only for the purposes explained in this notice:

  • Your consent: to send the blog updates you request, use optional website analytics and, where required, measure email opens and clicks. Website analytics consent and email consent are separate choices.
  • Legitimate interests: to operate and secure the website, handle enquiries, manage delivery failures and misuse, and retain a limited record of unsubscribe requests. These interests must be balanced against your rights.
  • Legal obligations: where I need to comply with applicable law or respond to a valid legal request.

You can withdraw consent at any time. This does not affect the lawfulness of processing before you withdrew it. I do not sell or rent your personal information.

5. Who receives your information

Where relevant, information is shared with:

  • EmailOctopus and Amazon Web Services: to manage subscriptions, deliver emails and report delivery and engagement events.
  • Google and Microsoft: to provide the optional analytics described above, if you consent.
  • Website hosting and infrastructure providers: to serve the website and maintain its security. Server logs may include IP addresses, requested pages, timestamps and browser information independently of optional analytics cookies.
  • Cloudflare D1: to store comments and moderation records. Moderator sign-in uses an essential secure session cookie; this is separate from optional analytics.
  • Cloudflare Turnstile: to protect the contact form from spam and automated abuse. This security check is separate from optional website analytics. See the Cloudflare Privacy Policy.
  • Amazon SES and email providers: to deliver contact form messages and receive and respond to your enquiries.

Providers’ roles depend on the service and their terms. Some process information on my instructions; others may also process information for their own purposes as explained in their privacy notices. Information may also be disclosed where required by law or necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal rights.

6. Where information is processed

These services may process personal information outside the United Kingdom, including in the United States. The location can depend on the provider, its subprocessors and the service region selected.

Where a restricted international transfer is involved, the applicable transfer arrangements must provide the protection required by UK data protection law. Depending on the service, this can include UK adequacy regulations or approved contractual safeguards, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or UK Addendum, with any additional measures required. You can contact me for information about the safeguards relevant to your data.

7. How long information is kept

  • Subscriptions: subscriber information is kept while you remain subscribed. After you unsubscribe, a limited suppression record may be kept to respect your choice and avoid adding you back without fresh consent. Consent records may also be retained where needed to demonstrate how permission was obtained.
  • Email delivery and engagement: records are kept only as needed to manage delivery, understand campaign performance and resolve issues, subject to the providers’ retention settings.
  • Google Analytics: retention depends on the settings selected for the property and the type of report. The final retention settings will be confirmed when analytics is configured.
  • Microsoft Clarity: Microsoft currently states that standard session playback is retained for 30 days; labelled or favourited sessions, heatmaps and click data are retained for nine months.
  • Comments: approved comments are retained with the relevant article unless removed. Commenter email addresses and unpublished submissions are retained only while needed for moderation and handling enquiries or disputes. Temporary moderation sessions expire after eight hours; spam-prevention counters expire within 15 minutes and are cleared during subsequent activity.
  • Correspondence and server logs: kept for as long as needed to respond to enquiries, maintain security and resolve relevant issues.

Information may be retained longer where needed to comply with a legal obligation or establish, exercise or defend legal rights. When it is no longer needed, it will be deleted or anonymised where possible.

8. Your rights and choices

Depending on the circumstances, you can ask me to:

  • Give you access to your personal information.
  • Correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
  • Delete information or restrict how it is used.
  • Provide certain information in a portable format.
  • Stop processing based on legitimate interests where your circumstances justify it.

You can withdraw consent at any time and have an absolute right to object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing.

Send requests to hello@meganvwalker.com. I may need to confirm your identity. I will normally respond within one calendar month; where the law permits more time, I will explain why. Requests are normally free of charge, subject to the exceptions allowed by law.

If you are unhappy with how your information is handled, please contact me so I can investigate. You also have the right to complain to the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Visit ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.

9. Security and policy updates

I use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information. No website, email service or internet transmission can be guaranteed completely secure.

I will update this notice when the website, services or relevant requirements change. The date at the top shows when it was last revised.

For questions about this notice or your information, contact Megan V. Walker at hello@meganvwalker.com.