The short version
You can read the whole site without giving us anything. There are no advertising trackers. Google Analytics is optional and loads only if you choose Allow analytics. You can decline and still use the whole site. We count visits and link clicks anonymously on our own site. We only receive personal details when you email us, send a project inquiry, send a partnership brief or join The Weekly Watch waitlist. We never sell personal data.
Hosting and visit counts
Like any website, our hosting provider processes standard request data, such as your IP address and browser type, to deliver the site and protect it from abuse.
To see what is useful, the site counts page views itself: which pages are read, which site sent the visit, how often each link on our links page and short links (/go/…) is used, and a daily visitor count. Visitors are counted with a scrambled code that changes every day and is discarded the next day. No IP addresses or cookies are stored for this, and the counts are never shared.
Cookies and browser storage
Google Analytics cookies (names starting with _ga) are used only after you allow analytics, and are configured to expire after 180 days. Your analytics choice is saved on this device as hw_analytics_consent for up to 180 days. Use Analytics choices at the bottom of any public page to change it. Declining after previously allowing analytics removes these cookies and reloads the page to stop the Google tag.
If you switch between light and dark mode, your choice is saved in your own browser’s local storage under the name hw-theme. It stays on your device, is never sent to us, and you can clear it at any time in your browser settings.
The newsletter sign-up box also saves a small note in your browser (names starting with ww_) so it doesn’t keep asking after you close it or join. It stays on your device.
Optional Google Analytics
If you allow analytics, Google receives information about the pages you read, your browser and device, the referring site, and events such as following an external link or completing a new newsletter signup. Google also processes the network information needed to receive these requests. We use these reports to understand which guides help readers and which sources bring visitors.
We do not send your email address, form contents, site-search text, or arbitrary URL parameters to Google Analytics. Advertising features and Google signals are off. We set event-data retention to two months; aggregated reports may be retained longer. Read how Google uses information from sites that use its services.
Before you allow analytics, and when you decline, we do not load the Google tag or send analytics requests to Google. Withdrawing consent stops future collection; it does not erase information already processed by Google. Our own anonymous site counters operate separately without analytics cookies. Questions or privacy requests can be sent to hello@hermeswatcher.com.
The project inquiry form
The form on the services page asks for your name, email, what you want Hermes to do and an optional deadline. Depending on who it is for, it also asks where you are with Hermes and which computer you use, or your company, website, tools and team size. When you send it, the details are emailed to us so we can reply. We use them only to reply to you and to scope any work that follows. The site does not keep a copy of the form itself.
The partnership brief form
The form on the partnerships page asks for your name, company, work email, product link, format, budget, timing and a message. You can add attachments if you like. When you send it, the details are emailed to partnerships@hermeswatcher.com so we can reply. The site does not keep a copy of the form itself.
To limit spam and abuse, the site keeps a short-lived counter of briefs sent from each IP address with our website host. The counter is deleted automatically after about an hour.
Emails to hello@hermeswatcher.com and partnerships@hermeswatcher.com, including partnership briefs, are handled in Google Workspace. We use them only to reply and to run partnerships.
The Weekly Watch waitlist
If you join the waitlist, we keep your email address, the page you signed up on and the date. We use it only to send you The Weekly Watch, and we never sell or share it.
The list is stored securely with our website host and is not shared with anyone. No email service receives it until the newsletter launches, and we will update this page before then. Every issue will include an unsubscribe link. If the newsletter does not launch, we delete the list.
To prevent spam, the site briefly keeps a scrambled (hashed) form of your IP address, deleted after about an hour. To be removed from the list at any time, email hello@hermeswatcher.com.
How long we keep things
We keep emails, inquiries and briefs for as long as we need them to reply to you and to run any partnership that follows. Waitlist emails follow the rules in the waitlist section above.
Your choices
You can ask us for a copy of what we hold about you, or ask us to delete it. Email hello@hermeswatcher.com and we will take care of it.
Links to other sites
We link to sites such as GitHub, the official Nous Research documentation and X. When you follow those links, their own privacy policies apply.
Children
This site is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal data.
Changes
If this policy changes, we will post the new version on this page and update the date at the top.