Privacy Policy

Last updated: Feb. 27, 2024

At the spiritual level, we are all interconnected. In our oneness, we inevitably share spiritual data with everyone and everything else in the universe, which makes ultimate privacy practically impossible! But I value human flourishing—and really, that’s the only win-win scenario for us as a species—so your empowerment to set personal boundaries and make autonomous choices is important to me. Our human minds interpret this as privacy, so this Privacy Statement is here to inform you about what you are getting into by using this website (www.vtdiep.ca) so that you can make your very important choices!

First, I use SSL (encryption) to protect your data in transit to and from this website as well as robust security software to protect the integrity of this website, and in turn your data. Second, other than your IP address, which may be automatically collected for some purposes as outlined below, the only other information I store on my website is information that you provide freely:

Newsletters

When you subscribe, I collect your email and IP address so that I can send you very infrequent updates about what is going on in my world. I use MailerLite for my newsletters. MailerLite is certified to the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework and Swiss-US Privacy Framework. My newsletters send a message back to MailerLite when they are opened. I view statistics on whether you’ve opened the newsletters or not. This helps me to better design my future content.

Want to be removed from the list? Click unsubscribe at the bottom of any newsletter.

Contact Forms

Contact forms allow you to send me messages. My contact form requests your name, email address, and the message that you wish to send me. Your IP address is also captured by the system. At the bottom of the form is also the option to opt-in to my newsletter. The contact form uses an anti-spam system called Honeypot to trap bots with an invisible field that humans will not see, and therefore, not fill out. Once the system determines you are not malicious, your message will then be transmitted to me via email.

Purchases

When you purchase a product from the online store on my website, I keep a record of that purchase. The record may include your name, e-mail address, mailing addresses, IP address and any other information you may have provided. Completed orders are kept in the system for 6 months. Failed, cancelled, or pending orders are deleted in 3 days. Your credit card information is not stored on my website. My payment gateway (WooPayments) gives this information directly to the payment processor (Stripe).

When you make a book purchase through my online store, I manually put in an order at IngramSpark, the book printer I work with, to print and deliver the product to your address. When you make other purchases through the online store, the order information is transmitted to Printify, the print-on-demand and drop-shipping company I use, to process and deliver your order through one of their associated printing companies. Your credit card information is not shared with IngramSpark or Printify since I use my own credit card to make the orders.

Purchase links on my website may direct you to third-party retailers such as The Game Crafter, Deckible, Amazon or other online bookstores. These purchases are processed and fulfilled through the retailer’s website. My website does not store any information related to these purchases.

Website Activity Tracking

My hosting company may collect and store basic data on those who access the site to help them improve their services and resolve potential issues. The data stored in this manner is not traceable back to any individual and is deliberately generalized.

When you use the Internet, search engines such as Google will track website visitors. If you do not want to be tracked, please consider using a private browser window. The information that these search engines store is not traceable to one individual and is very generic in nature.

Use of Cookies

My website uses cookies. A cookie is a tiny text file placed on your hard disk by a webpage server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.

One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. For example, if you personalize a webpage, or navigate with a site, a cookie helps the site to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of delivering relevant content, eases site navigation and so on. When you return to the website the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the site’s features that you customized.

Web beacons, also known as clear gif technology, or action tags, may be used to assist in delivering the cookie. They compile aggregated statistics about website usage, such as how many visitors clicked on key elements (such as links or graphics) on a webpage, blog, or newsletter.

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Many web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can modify your browser settings to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of this or other websites you visit.

Affiliate Links

Links on my website to products sold on Amazon (including links to my Books2Read.com pages that link to Amazon products) contain tracking cookies as part of my participation in their affiliate marketing program. When you click on the affiliate link, a cookie will be placed on your computer so that if you purchase from them within 24 hours, I will receive a tiny commission for the sale.

Embedded Content

My website may include embedded content such as videos. Embedded content behaves in the same way as if the visitor has visited the other website. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracing your interaction with the content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Note to International Users

This website is hosted in the United States and owned in Canada. By providing your information to the website, you are consenting to the transfer of your information to the United States for processing and maintenance per this privacy statement. You are also consenting to the application of Canadian law in all matters concerning the website.

Changes to this Statement

I may occasionally update this privacy statement. When I do, I will also revise the last updated date at the top of the page.

Questions and Concerns

If you have any concerns about this privacy policy, send me a note through my contact form. You can also contact me via my social media channels. Unfortunately, I’ve had to remove my email on the website to minimize spam.

Thanks to a certain website fairy (aka my author-website web developer teacher) for reminding me that a privacy statement can be a source of empowerment for me and readers, and not a document from the Lord of Legality sent to intimidate ordinary people.