Privacy policy
We collect very little. Here is exactly what, why, and who else is involved.
Last updated September 2, 2026
Who we are
Stroke & Stern is a website published by Slate Mill Group at slatemillgroup.com. Contact: info@strokeandstern.com.
What we collect
If you use the contact form
The name, email address, topic and message you type. That is sent to us by email so we can reply, and it is retained in that mailbox. We do not add it to a mailing list, and there is no mailing list to add it to.
The form also records the moment the page loaded, purely to distinguish a person filling in a form from a script posting to it in a few milliseconds. It is not stored after the submission is processed.
If you just read the site
Google Analytics 4 records anonymous usage: pages visited, roughly where in the world you are, what kind of device you are on, and which links you click. We use it to see which pages are useful and which affiliate links people actually find. We do not attempt to identify individual readers and we could not if we tried.
What we do not collect
- We do not sell data to anybody.
- We run no advertising network and no ad-retargeting pixels.
- We have no user accounts, so there are no passwords to lose.
- We take no payments, so we never see card details.
Third parties
| Who | Why |
|---|---|
| Google Analytics | Anonymous traffic and link-click measurement |
| Amazon Associates | Attribution for purchases made through our links. Amazon sets its own cookies once you arrive there |
| Vercel | Hosting. Standard server logs including IP addresses |
| Microsoft (Graph) | Delivering contact form submissions to us as email |
Each of those has its own privacy policy governing what it does with data you give it. Once you click through to Amazon you are on Amazon's site under Amazon's terms, not ours.
Cookies
Google Analytics sets cookies to distinguish one visit from another. Amazon sets its own once you follow a buy link, which is how affiliate attribution works at all.
We set no cookies of our own. Browser controls and extensions that block analytics cookies will not break anything on this site -- our affiliate links are server-side redirects and work regardless.
Your rights
Depending on where you live you may have the right to access, correct, delete or export the personal data we hold, to object to processing, and to complain to a regulator. In practice the only personal data we hold about most readers is nothing, and about anybody who has emailed us is that email.
To exercise any of these, email info@strokeandstern.com. We will respond within 30 days.
Children
This site is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect anything from them. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, email us and we will delete it.
Changes
If this policy changes materially, the last-updated date at the top of this page changes with it. There is no mailing list to notify, so checking the date is the way to know.
See also our terms of service and affiliate disclosure.