Privacy Policy

Last updated: 5/12/2026

Who We Are

Our website address is: https://justasecularhomeschooler.com

Just a Secular Homeschooler is a personal blog about secular homeschooling, written by Ronda Bowen.

What Data We Collect and Why

Comments

When you leave a comment on the site, we collect:

  • The data shown in the comments form (name, email address, website if provided)
  • Your IP address and browser user agent string (to help detect spam)

Profile pictures: An anonymized string created from your email address (called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to display your profile picture if you use Gravatar. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After your comment is approved, your profile picture is visible to the public alongside your comment.

How long we keep it: Comments and their metadata are retained indefinitely, so we can automatically approve follow-up comments instead of holding them in moderation.

Contact Forms

If you contact me through a contact form, I collect:

  • Your name and email address
  • Any information you include in your message

Why we collect it: To respond to your questions about secular homeschooling.

How long we keep it: Contact messages are retained as part of blog correspondence. You may request deletion at any time.

Analytics

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the site. This includes:

  • Pages visited
  • Time spent on site
  • General location (city/region level)
  • Device and browser type

This data is anonymized and helps me create better content for secular homeschooling families. You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies for the following purposes:

Comment cookies: If you leave a comment, you may opt in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies so you don’t have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies last for one year.

Analytics cookies: From Google Analytics to track website usage (see Analytics section above).

Affiliate cookies: Third-party affiliate programs may use cookies to track referrals and purchases (see Affiliate Links section below).

Affiliate Links

Some posts contain affiliate links. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. This helps support the blog and allows me to continue creating free content.

Major affiliate networks:

  • Amazon Associates
  • Awin
  • Impact Radius
  • Rakuten Advertising

Additional affiliate programs:

  • Educational product and curriculum affiliates
  • Homeschool resource affiliates
  • Retail and general merchandise affiliates
  • Other programs relevant to secular homeschooling families

Specific affiliate partners may change over time. These programs may use cookies to track referrals and purchases.

Embedded Content

Blog posts may include embedded content (videos, images, social media posts, etc.) from other websites. Embedded content behaves the same way as if you had visited that other website directly.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with the embedded content—especially if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Common embedded content sources include:

  • YouTube (videos)
  • Instagram, Twitter/X, Facebook (social media posts)
  • Pinterest (pins)

Who We Share Your Data With

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

We may share your information with:

  • Email service providers (to send newsletters)
  • Analytics services (Google Analytics for site statistics)
  • Affiliate networks (to track referrals and commissions)
  • Spam detection services (to protect comment sections)

All third-party services are required to protect your data and use it only for the purposes we specify.

How Long We Retain Your Data

  • Comments: Retained indefinitely
  • Contact form submissions: Retained as business correspondence
  • Email subscribers: Until you unsubscribe
  • Analytics data: Governed by Google Analytics retention settings

Your Rights

You have the right to:

  • Request an exported file of the personal data we hold about you
  • Request correction of any incorrect information
  • Request deletion of your personal data (except data we’re required to keep for legal, tax, or security purposes)
  • Unsubscribe from emails at any time

For EU residents (GDPR): You have additional rights, including data portability and the right to lodge a complaint with your data protection authority.

For California residents (CCPA): You have the right to know what personal information we collect and request deletion of your information.

To exercise these rights, email [email protected].

Spam Detection

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.

Children’s Privacy

This site is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the “Last updated” date.

Contact

For privacy questions, data requests, or to exercise your rights, contact:

Ronda Bowen
Just a Secular Homeschooler
[email protected]