Privacy, in plain language. With a little side-eye.

Honestly, privacy deserves a clear explanation. Preferably one that does not require a law degree, a magnifying glass, and a second pot of coffee.

This notice explains how Colleen Honestly: Work handles subscriptions, comments, basic site analytics, and those extra bits you sometimes see at the end of a link. Updated October 4, 2026.

When you join the letter list

The signup form asks for your email address and an optional first name. It also records your choice to receive letters, the time and version of that consent, your subscription status, and a random unsubscribe token—the little bit of information that lets the unsubscribe link do its job.

We use those details to manage your subscription, deliver letters when sending is active, and honor unsubscribe requests. Signing up is an invitation to your inbox. It is not a lifetime appointment to a committee.

When you leave a comment

The form asks for a display name, an optional email address, and your comment. Your submission is stored privately while Colleen reviews it. If approved, your display name and comment may appear publicly. Your email address will not appear with the public comment.

If you provide an email address, it is stored with your submission and included in Colleen’s private moderation notice. Moderation is the part where I read it before the internet gets involved.

Contact hello@colleenhonestly.com to request removal of your comment or related information. Pending and hidden comments are kept as needed for review, security, and related requests. A fixed automatic deletion period has not yet been configured.

Those extra bits at the end of a link

Some links we publish include campaign labels, often called UTM tags. They may identify the source, such as LinkedIn; the channel, such as social media; a campaign; or which version of a link was used.

These labels help show which posts or links bring people to the site. A label like “LinkedIn” is useful context. It does not tell Colleen who you are.

The site can remember those campaign labels in your browser tab’s session storage and reuse them for up to 30 minutes while you move between pages. The stored information includes campaign labels, a timestamp, and a test flag. It does not include your name, email address, or a visitor identifier. Session storage normally clears when the tab closes; the script’s 30-minute reuse limit is not a promise that the browser deletes the stored entry at that exact moment.

If you prefer, you can remove campaign labels before opening a link in a fresh tab. The page will still work. The alphabet soup at the end of the address is optional seasoning.

Your questions and work stories

Ask Colleen stores your question, the perspective you choose, your optional email address, your sharing choice, and submission timestamps. Email is only for possible follow-up; asking a question does not subscribe you to the newsletter. I can’t promise a personal response.

The workplace story survey asks for a work-moment category, your story, an optional takeaway, and your sharing choice. It has no name or email field. The custom story record does not contain an IP address, visitor identifier, or subscription identifier, and it is not linked to the analytics browser code. Hosting services may still process technical request information. This is a way to share without giving your name, not a promise that the entire internet has forgotten how servers work.

Both kinds of submissions are stored privately for Colleen Honestly to review. Nothing is automatically published. The optional sharing checkbox lets you permit an anonymous version in a future letter or tool after identifying details are removed. Leaving it unchecked keeps your submission private; general themes may still inform future educational topics without quoting your submission or describing your situation.

Please leave out names, employer names, precise locations and confidential workplace or medical details. A story can identify someone even without a name. We do not promise a fixed automatic deletion period for these records. Contact hello@colleenhonestly.com about access, correction, deletion or withdrawing sharing permission; if you supplied no email, you may need to describe your submission so we can locate it.

A head count, with reasonable boundaries

We want to know which letters are useful and whether people are finding their way here. We are not asking for your blood type or your firstborn. Neither would improve the newsletter.

The site records page and letter views, certain link clicks, page paths, referring-site hostnames when available, campaign labels, test flags, and event times. Starting October 4, 2026, it can also record a randomly generated browser identifier to estimate distinct visitors. The script does not put your name, email address, or IP address into these analytics records, and it does not store full referring-page URLs or arbitrary query strings.

The identifier is a random code kept in your browser’s local storage. It can recognize repeat visits from that browser; it does not verify who you are. It is not linked by this script to your subscription, comments, or identity, and it is not used to follow you across other websites.

The code is valid for 30 days after creation. On a later visit, an expired code is replaced. Browser storage does not necessarily delete the old entry at the exact expiration time; you can clear it yourself. Existing analytics records are not automatically erased when the browser code expires.

Total audience views counts page loads that are not marked as owner or testing. Estimated distinct visitors counts different browser codes on those views. One browser opening a letter 17 times adds 17 views but ordinarily one distinct visitor. Different devices or browsers, cleared or blocked storage, or a new code after expiry can change the estimate. A shared browser can represent several people. Views without a code still count as views but cannot establish a distinct visitor. Earlier visits cannot be retrospectively assigned identities.

Excluded views are page loads explicitly marked as owner browsing or testing. They are stored separately from audience totals so checking the site does not inflate those totals. “Views” means page loads here, not separate browsing sessions. Exclusion is a browser setting, not a guess that we know who owns the computer.

The custom script does not set analytics cookies. It uses local storage for the random code, the exclusion choice, and the identifier choice; campaign labels use the tab session storage described above. The hosting platform may use essential cookies for security and sign-in, and the private dashboard uses a sign-in cookie.

Your reading app

No name or account is required. Letter text size, saved letters and opened/unread choices stay in this browser’s local storage. They are not uploaded as a reading history. Clearing browser storage clears those choices. The app can cache its interface and catalog on this device; letters need an internet connection to load.

We record install-button clicks, browser-reported installation signals, and openings in home-screen app mode, including the first observed app-mode opening on a device. These are estimates of browsers or installations, not verified people or complete download counts. The same random browser identifier and opt-out/test-exclusion choices described here apply. Notification delivery is not enabled.

Your browser, your choices

These controls apply to this browser on this site. Repeat your choice on another browser or device. Clearing site storage resets the choices.

Turn off my visitor identifier Allow a random visitor identifier

Turning the identifier off removes its stored code. Basic page-view counting continues without a visitor code. For owner browsing or testing, use Exclude this browser from audience totals. To reverse that choice, Count this browser again.

The services helping this site function

FlowClick hosts the site and stores subscriptions, comments, and analytics records. The configured mail service handles email delivery. Hosting and delivery services may process technical request or delivery information needed to operate and protect their services. That is separate from the limited fields in the custom analytics table.

Pages load fonts from Google Fonts, so your browser contacts Google to retrieve them. Even the lettering needs to arrive from somewhere.

Links to LinkedIn, Facebook, and other external sites take you to services with their own privacy practices. Their rules apply when you use their services.

How long information stays

Subscription information is kept while needed to manage your subscription and related requests. After you unsubscribe, a limited record may be retained to help prevent unwanted future messages.

We do not promise a fixed automatic deletion period for subscription, comment, or analytics records until those retention settings are confirmed. A confident-looking number would be easy to type. It would also be a terrible substitute for the actual setting.

Your choices—and where to find me

Delivered letters include an unsubscribe link. You can also contact hello@colleenhonestly.com about access, correction, deletion, or stopping messages, or to ask what information is held.

Please do not send confidential employer, employee, medical, or legal details through the site. Keep accommodation and leave documentation with your appropriate employer contact or professional. The comment section has not earned custody of your medical chart.