Privacy Policy
Published / Effective
This policy explains how Porch Field Notes handles personal information in connection with porchfieldnotes.com and messages sent to the publication.
1. Who is responsible
Porch Field Notes is the publication responsible for the purposes and handling of personal information described in this policy. References to we, us, or our mean Porch Field Notes. For personal information matters, the brand acts as the responsible data user or controller, as those terms apply under the relevant law.
Contact for privacy matters: contact@porchfieldnotes.com, subject line Privacy Request. The same contact handles access, correction, and other applicable rights requests.
2. Information and purposes
| Activity | Information involved | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Delivering hosted pages | Technical requests such as IP address, requested URL, browser details, and request time may be processed by delivery infrastructure. | Deliver pages, operate the service, identify errors, and protect availability and security. |
| Email correspondence | Your email address, any name you provide, message content, and relevant attachments. | Answer inquiries, assess corrections or rights requests, and keep an appropriate record of the matter. |
| Site search | Keywords are filtered in your browser against an embedded article index. | Find relevant articles without a remote search service. |
| Optional analytics | No analytics provider is enabled in the current configuration. | Any later use will require an updated description of the provider, data, purposes, and available choices. |
Fonts and article images are hosted with the site. Loading them does not require a request to a third-party font service. Local search does not send a separate search request. If a query is included in a page URL you request or share, that URL can be visible to the delivery infrastructure and the recipient.
3. Your choices when contacting us
You decide whether to email Porch Field Notes. Providing a contact address and sufficient message detail is necessary if you want a reply or investigation. Do not send passwords, payment information, identification documents, health information, or other sensitive information that is unnecessary for the matter.
We use correspondence for the purpose of responding to the matter and related administration, security, or legal obligations. We do not add correspondents to a marketing list merely because they contact us.
4. Cookies, local storage, and analytics
The current website does not enable advertising tags or analytics tracking and does not set tracking cookies through its own page code. It has no account, newsletter signup, payment checkout, or embedded contact form.
The site includes an optional analytics consent function that is inactive while analytics is disabled. If an analytics service is enabled, that function can store the visitor's choice in browser local storage and load the configured service only after permission. Any activation must be accompanied by an accurate policy update and the consent or other controls required for the actual service and applicable law. A browser choice can be changed through the privacy controls offered when that function is active.
5. Advertising and Google's privacy controls
No personalized advertising or live advertising service is enabled in the current site. If advertising is introduced, Porch Field Notes will identify the relevant services and explain their processing and choices before they are used.
For information about Google's services and advertising settings, you may use Google's ad-personalization controls and read how Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services. A Google sign-in may be required for account settings. Turning off ad personalization does not mean that all advertising or all other processing by those services stops. These links are provided for information and do not indicate that Google advertising is currently installed here.
6. Sharing and international processing
Personal information may be handled by service providers supporting website delivery, security, or email, to the extent relevant to those services. Information may also be disclosed when required by applicable law or reasonably necessary to address a rights claim, misuse, or a security incident. The current website has no feature that sells personal information or shares it for behavioral advertising.
Service infrastructure and email systems may process information outside the visitor's location, including outside Hong Kong. Where a transfer requires safeguards or another lawful arrangement under applicable data protection law, the relevant arrangement must be used. Contact us for information about the handling of a particular request or correspondence.
7. Retention and security
We keep personal information only as long as reasonably needed for the purpose it was collected, relevant follow-up, and applicable legal obligations. Correspondence may be retained while an inquiry, correction, dispute, or rights request remains relevant. Information no longer needed should be deleted or anonymized. Infrastructure providers may maintain their own technical records under their applicable terms and retention practices.
We take reasonable steps appropriate to the information and its use to protect against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or disclosure. No website or email channel can guarantee absolute security. Avoid sending unnecessary sensitive information, and contact us if you believe a message or security issue needs attention.
8. Applicable privacy law and your rights
Our Hong Kong privacy framework includes the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, Chapter 486. You may request access to and correction of personal information held about you, subject to the applicable requirements and exceptions. We may seek information reasonably necessary to verify the request and respond within the applicable statutory period. Any permitted fee will be explained where relevant.
Depending on the processing and the law that applies to it, additional rights may include deletion, restriction, objection, portability, or withdrawal of consent. The EU GDPR, UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, or Brazil's LGPD apply only where their scope conditions are met; listing them here does not mean every visit triggers every law. Withdrawal of consent does not invalidate processing lawfully carried out before withdrawal.
Email contact@porchfieldnotes.com to make a request or complaint. You may also contact the relevant supervisory authority, including the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong, without first giving up any other available remedy.
9. Children and automated decisions
The publication is for a general audience and is not designed to collect children's personal information. If a parent or guardian believes that a child has sent unnecessary personal information, contact us so the matter can be assessed. The current website does not make automated decisions about people that produce legal or similarly significant effects.
10. Changes and contact
We may update this policy when the site's functions or practices change. The revised policy will identify its effective date, and any additional notice or choice required by applicable law will be provided. Privacy questions should be sent to contact@porchfieldnotes.com.