Privacy Policy
Effective Date: September 18, 2025
Last Updated: September 18, 2025

1. Introduction
Welcome to Carefree Coding ("we," "our," or "us"). This website showcases my work and services (e.g., web design, scalable systems, security audits, mentoring, PC builds, smart home) and provides a way to contact me.

By using https://carefreecoding.ca/ (the "Website"), you agree to this Privacy Policy.

2. Information We Collect
We collect the minimum information needed to operate the Website and respond to inquiries:

- Contact form: name, email address, reason for inquiry (one of: web-design, security-audit, scalable-systems, mentoring, pc-builds, smart-home), and your message.
- Anti-spam: a simple math challenge (numbers, answer, and a token) used only to verify that a real person is submitting the form.
- Security: your IP address may be processed temporarily to detect and limit spam/abuse (rate limiting and blocking).
- Site usage: in production, we use Google Analytics (GA4) to understand basic site usage. GA4 may collect device information, pages visited, and approximate location. GA4 uses cookies or similar technologies. GA4 IP anonymization is applied by Google.
- Server logs: standard web server/application logs may include your IP address, request URLs, and user agent for security and troubleshooting.

We do not operate user accounts on this site and do not collect payment information.

3. How We Use Your Information
- Respond to inquiries: to read and reply to your message.
- Protect the site: to detect and prevent spam or abuse (e.g., temporary IP-based rate limiting).
- Improve the Website: to understand aggregated, non-identifying usage patterns via Google Analytics.

We do not sell your personal information.

4. Cookies and Analytics
We do not set marketing cookies. Google Analytics (GA4) may place cookies or use similar storage to measure site usage. You can control cookies through your browser settings and can learn about GA opt-out options here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

5. Data Sharing
We share information only as necessary to operate the Website and respond to inquiries:
- Email delivery: your message (including your name and email) is sent to us via our email service provider.
- Hosting and infrastructure: our hosting provider processes data to serve the Website and maintain security.
- Analytics: Google processes usage data to provide analytics.
- Legal: we may disclose information if required by law or to protect our rights and users.

6. Data Retention
- Spam/abuse protection: IP-based attempt counters are retained up to 1 day.
- Emails: inquiries you send may be retained as business records for as long as reasonably necessary to communicate with you and for recordkeeping.
- Logs: server/application logs are retained for a limited period for security and operations.

7. Your Choices and Rights
- You may request access to or deletion of your contact messages by contacting us.
- You can manage cookies in your browser and use Google’s opt-out for Analytics.

8. Children’s Privacy
This Website is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.

9. International Users
If you access the Website from outside Canada, you agree that your information may be processed in Canada and other countries where our providers operate.

10. Contacting Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding your privacy, contact us at: https://carefreecoding.ca/contact

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date. Your continued use of the Website after any changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.