The short version. The only personal information we hold from a form is what you have typed in and chosen to send us. We also use Google Analytics to see which pages are read and roughly where visitors come from, which sets a small number of cookies on your device, and Adobe Fonts to serve the typefaces on this site, which sees your IP address the way any font or image request does. We do not use advertising or tracking beyond that.
Who is responsible for your information
VX Diary is operated by X M Collective FZE LLC, Ajman, United Arab Emirates. Under the UK and EU General Data Protection Regulation we are the data controller for the information described here.
For anything to do with your privacy, including any of the requests listed further down, write to hello@vxdiary.com. A person reads it.
What we collect, and only when you send it
Every piece of personal information we hold reaches us because you typed it into a form and pressed a button.
| Where | What you can send us |
|---|---|
| Join the Community | Your email address, your name if you choose to give one, the life stage you select, and whether you would rather stay anonymous within the community |
| The ask box in the Journal | Your email address, your name if you give one, your life stage if you select one, and the message you write |
| Perimenopause self-check | Your email address only |
| Guide download | Your email address only |
| Gatherings | Your email address, the city you are closest to, your name if you give one, and which kinds of gathering interest you |
| Comments on the Journal | The comment itself, your name if you give one, and your email address if you choose to leave it. We never publish your email address |
| Retreat interest | Your email address only |
Comments are read by us before they go live. We do this so the Journal stays a place worth reading, not to censor honest disagreement. Your email address, if you leave one, is only ever used to reach you about your own comment, never shown on the page.
We do not ask for, and have no way to receive, your date of birth, your address, your phone number or any payment details.
Your self-check answers never leave your device
This one matters enough to state on its own.
When you tick boxes in the perimenopause self-check, those answers are stored only in your own browser, on your own device, using a feature called local storage. They are never transmitted to us, to our hosting provider, or to anyone else. We could not read them if we wanted to.
The only thing that reaches us from that page is the email address you enter to open your reading. We are told that someone completed the self-check. We are never told what she ticked.
The same applies to the small markers your browser keeps so that the guide download and the self-check remember you between visits. They sit on your device. You can clear them at any time through your browser settings, and clearing them removes them completely.
Why we hold it, and on what basis
- To send you what we publish next, and news of gatherings. Our lawful basis is your consent, given when you submitted the form. You may withdraw it at any time and we will remove you.
- To answer you. If you write to us with a question, a topic suggestion or a story, our lawful basis is our legitimate interest in replying to people who have contacted us.
- To decide where to hold gatherings. We look at which cities appear most often. Our lawful basis is your consent.
If you send us a story or a question that describes your own health, that is information about your health and deserves particular care. We treat anything you tell us as confidential, we do not publish it without asking you first, and we will delete it on request. Please share only what you are comfortable sharing.
Who else touches your information
We keep this list as short as we can, and it is complete.
- FormSubmit delivers the contents of our forms to our inbox. Your submission passes through their service on its way to us.
- Hostinger hosts this website. Like every web host, their servers keep standard technical logs, which include visitors' IP addresses, for security and reliability.
- Google Analytics tells us which pages are read and roughly where visitors come from. See the section below for what this involves.
- Adobe Fonts serves the typefaces used on this site. See the section below for what this involves.
- Our email provider holds the messages once they arrive, in the same way any inbox does.
We do not sell your information. We do not share it with advertisers. We do not pass it to any other business, including any other business connected to our founders.
Analytics
We use Google Analytics to understand which pages people read and roughly where visitors are coming from, so we know what to write more of. Google Analytics sets cookies on your device and processes some information about your visit, including your IP address, device and browser type, and the pages you view.
We look at this information in aggregate, to understand traffic patterns, not to identify you personally. Google Analytics is provided by Google Ireland Limited, and information may be processed on Google's servers outside the UK and the European Economic Area, including in the United States.
You can opt out of Google Analytics at any time by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, or by blocking cookies through your own browser settings.
Fonts
The typefaces on this site are served by Adobe Fonts, so your browser requests them directly from Adobe's servers when you load a page. That request includes your IP address, in the same way any request to any server does. Adobe may also set a small technical cookie to serve the right font file efficiently. We do not receive or see any of this information ourselves, and it is used only to deliver the typeface, not to track you around the web.
Adobe Fonts is provided by Adobe Inc., and information may be processed on servers outside the UK and the European Economic Area, including in the United States. You can read Adobe's own privacy policy at adobe.com/privacy.
What this site still deliberately does not do
- No advertising and no advertising trackers.
- No social media pixels or embedded feeds. The WhatsApp and LinkedIn links are ordinary links, and nothing is sent to either company unless you click through.
- No selling or renting of your information, ever.
- No automated decision-making and no profiling.
Where your information goes
We are based in the United Arab Emirates, which the European Commission has not designated as providing an adequate level of data protection. Our service providers may also process information outside the UK and the European Economic Area. This means your information may be handled in countries whose data protection laws differ from those where you live. We keep what we hold to a minimum for exactly this reason, and we apply the protections described in this policy wherever it is held.
How long we keep it
We keep your email address for as long as you want to hear from us. When you ask to be removed, we remove you.
Messages you send us are kept while we are dealing with them and for a reasonable period afterwards, in case you write again about the same thing. If you would like a message deleted sooner, say so and we will.
Your rights
If you are in the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, you have the right to:
- ask what we hold about you, and receive a copy
- have anything inaccurate corrected
- have your information deleted
- ask us to restrict how we use it
- receive your information in a portable format
- object to our use of it
- withdraw your consent at any time, which does not affect anything done before you withdrew it
Write to hello@vxdiary.com and we will respond within one month. There is no charge, and you do not need to give a reason.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, you may complain to your national data protection authority. In the United Kingdom that is the Information Commissioner's Office.
Children
This site is written for adults. Some of what we publish is intended to help mothers talk to their daughters, but it is addressed to the parent. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has sent us something, please tell us and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
If we change how we handle your information, we will update this page and change the date at the top. If the change is significant and we hold your email address, we will tell you directly rather than leave you to notice.
xoxo VX Diary