Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 23, 2026

This site is run by me, Ben Skutnik, from Indiana. This page explains what information I collect, why, and what you can do about it. Questions go to ben.skutnik@gmail.com.

I don’t sell your information, and I don’t use advertising trackers.

Newsletter
When you subscribe, I collect your email address. That’s it. I use it to send you one email a week and to read your replies.
The site and newsletter run on Ghost(Pro). Ghost stores subscriber emails and sends the newsletter for me.
Ghost tracks whether you open each email and which links you click. I use that to see what people read. Images load a small tracking pixel, so blocking images in your email app stops open tracking. Links to other sites may include a tag showing they came from this site.
Ghost also records how you found the site when you subscribed, such as a link from another page.
You can unsubscribe from any email with one click. To have your email deleted completely, email me.

Comments
Comments on this site are turned off. Conversation about posts happens on my Discord server. If you commented before comments were turned off, you can ask me to remove your name or comment.

Cookies and browser storage
The site sets cookies only to keep you signed in as a subscriber. There are no advertising or tracking cookies.
Your browser also keeps a short list of pages you’ve viewed here and how you arrived. If you subscribe, Ghost uses it to record how you found the site.

Tips
Tips go through Ko-fi and are paid with PayPal. Ko-fi shares your display name, your email, and any message you leave with me. I use your email only to reply if you write something. Your payment details go to Ko-fi and PayPal, never to me.

Purchases
Ebooks and training programs are sold through Gumroad. When you buy, Gumroad shares your email and what you bought with me, plus your name if you give it, so I can deliver it and answer questions. If you pay with PayPal at checkout, the payment goes to my business PayPal account, and PayPal also shares your name and email with me. Gumroad and PayPal handle your payment details; I never see your card or bank information.

Discord
My Discord server, Thinking Out Loud, runs on Discord and falls under Discord’s privacy policy. When you join, I can see your Discord username, display name, profile picture, join date, which invite link you used, and anything you post in the server. I use invite links to give program buyers access to private channels. If you message me for access, I check the name you give against my Gumroad or TrainHeroic records. Discord scans messages and images in the server for spam and explicit content. A bot called MonitoRSS posts new articles from this site’s public RSS feed. To have your messages removed, delete them or ask me.

Free apps
The power-duration app and the maintenance macro calculator don’t save anything you enter. When you close the tab, your inputs are gone. The apps are hosted on Posit Connect Cloud, which may log basic technical details such as your IP address and browser.

Embedded content
Some posts and pages include content from other sites, such as podcast players or images. Those sites may collect information when that content loads, under their own privacy policies.

How long I keep things

  • Subscriber emails: until you unsubscribe or ask me to delete them.
  • Email replies: in my Gmail until I delete them.
  • Tip and purchase records: as long as tax law requires.
  • Discord messages: until you or I delete them, or the server closes.

If you’re in the UK or EU
You have the right to access, correct, delete, or download your information, and to object to how I use it. Email me and I’ll respond within 30 days. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.
My legal basis for using your information:

  • Newsletter: your consent when you subscribe.
  • Email open and click tracking: my legitimate interest in knowing what readers find useful.
  • Purchases: fulfilling what you bought.
  • Program access in Discord: fulfilling what you bought.
  • Tax records: legal obligation.
    Your information is stored and processed in the United States and other countries where these services operate.

Children
This site isn’t meant for anyone under 16, and I don’t knowingly collect their information.

Changes
If this policy changes, I’ll update the date at the top. Big changes will also go in a Sunday email.