Privacy Policy

Effective date: 2025-10-31

Re:Context respects your privacy. We collect only the data necessary to operate this website, accept voluntary support, and understand how articles perform in aggregate.
We do not sell or share personal data with third parties for advertising purposes.
However, external partners such as Google AdSense and Amazon Associates may use cookies on their own domains according to their respective privacy policies.

Data controller

Re:Context Editorial Team — based in Japan (operating from Tokyo)
Contact: contact@recontext-japan.com

What we collect

• Site analytics. Page views, referrers, device type, and approximate region (city level) captured through a consent-mode-compatible analytics tool.
  No cross-site identifiers or advertising cookies are set without opt-in.

• Support and invoices. Name, email, and payment reference when you contribute via Ko-fi or request an invoice.
  Financial data such as card numbers are processed only by the payment vendor and are never stored by us.

• Emails. Messages sent to our contact address may be retained for follow-up and record-keeping purposes.

• On-device preferences. Navigation helpers (e.g., the “back” button) are stored in your browser’s sessionStorage (rc.back.url) and never transmitted to our servers. Consent choices, theme preferences, Global Privacy Control (GPC) status, and anonymous consent identifiers are kept in localStorage so they persist between visits.

• Diagnostics. Client-side error information is written only to the browser console via window.__recontextReportError for troubleshooting during development. No remote logging or third-party transmission occurs.

How we use the data

• Measure article reach and plan editorial priorities
• Process voluntary payments and maintain a record of supporters
• Respond to inquiries and maintain correspondence records

Legal bases

• Consent. Analytics cookies and personalized advertising operate only after explicit opt-in.
• Legitimate interest. We maintain minimal records of correspondence and security events to protect the site from abuse.

Data retention

• Analytics logs: 14 months (aggregated after 30 days)
• Supporter records: up to 7 years (to comply with tax requirements)
• Emails: normally retained for up to 24 months and deleted earlier if no longer necessary.
  We manually review and remove old correspondence to ensure it is not kept longer than required by law or operational need.

Your rights (EEA/UK/California/Canada)

Under EU GDPR and UK GDPR

You may request access, correction, deletion, or portability of your personal data.
You may also object to processing or withdraw consent at any time.
To exercise your rights, email contact@recontext-japan.com.
If we cannot resolve your concern, you may lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.

UK-specific contact: Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) — ico.org.uk

Under California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have the following rights:

• Right to Know: Request details of personal data collected and its purpose
• Right to Delete: Request deletion of your personal data
• Right to Opt-Out: We do not sell personal data, but you may request confirmation
• Right to Non-Discrimination: You will receive equal service regardless of privacy choices

Contact: contact@recontext-japan.com
Response time: within 45 days (per CCPA Sec. 1798.130)

Under Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)

We follow the ten fair information principles set out under PIPEDA:

1. Accountability — We are responsible for personal information under our control and have designated the Re:Context Editorial Team as the accountable entity.
2. Identifying Purposes — We identify the purposes for which personal information is collected before or at the time of collection.
3. Consent — We obtain meaningful consent before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information, except where inappropriate.
4. Limiting Collection — We collect only the personal information necessary for the identified purposes.
5. Limiting Use, Disclosure, and Retention — We use and disclose personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected and retain it only as long as necessary.
6. Accuracy — We keep personal information as accurate, complete, and up to date as required for its intended use.
7. Safeguards — We protect personal information using appropriate security measures against loss, theft, or unauthorized access.
8. Openness — We make our privacy policies and practices readily available to individuals.
9. Individual Access — Upon request, individuals may access and correct their personal information held by us.
10. Challenging Compliance — Individuals may contact us to challenge our compliance with these principles, and we will investigate and respond promptly.

Third-party services

• Ko-fi — payment processing
• Cloudflare Pages — hosting and security
• Google Analytics 4 — analytics (Consent Mode v2, defaulting to “denied”)
• Google AdSense — advertising (only with explicit consent)
• Amazon Associates — affiliate links (when users click external product links)

Each provider maintains its own privacy policy and acts as an independent data controller for its services.
We ensure that data processing agreements (DPAs) or equivalent addenda are in place where applicable.

Global Privacy Control (GPC)

If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, we automatically treat it as an opt-out for optional analytics and supporter tools.
The consent banner records the GPC trigger locally so the preference remains enforced unless you explicitly change it.

Children’s Privacy and Age Restrictions (COPPA)

Our site is not intended for children under 13 years of age.
We do not knowingly collect or store personal information from minors.
If you are under 13, please do not use our services without parental consent.
If a parent or guardian believes their child has provided personal data, please contact us for prompt deletion.

Governing law and venue

This policy is governed by the laws of Japan. Any disputes shall be brought before the courts of Japan.
Users outside Japan are subject to the laws of their respective jurisdictions in addition to these terms.

Updates

This policy is reviewed annually or whenever our data practices or service providers change.
Revisions and their effective dates will be listed at the end of this page.