Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 24, 2026

Learned Curiosity is a personal blog by Pete Wright at https://www.learnedcuriosity.com. This page explains what information the site collects, why, who else handles it, and what you can do about it. Short version: I collect as little as I can, I don’t sell anything, and you can ask me to delete your information at any time.

What I collect and why

Contact form. When you use the contact form, you share your name, email address, and message. The form sends them to me by email so I can reply. They are not stored in the website’s database.

Comments. When you leave a comment, the site stores your name, email address, the optional website you enter, your comment, your IP address, and your browser type. Comments go through Akismet, an automated spam filter. Your email address is never published.

Profile pictures (Gravatar). To show a profile picture next to your comment, the site sends a scrambled string (a hash) created from your email address to the Gravatar service, which checks whether you have a picture there. Once your comment is approved, your Gravatar picture appears publicly with it.

Email subscriptions. If you check the box to be notified of new posts or follow-up comments, your email address is stored by Jetpack/WordPress.com so the notices can be sent. Every email includes an unsubscribe link.

Site analytics. I use Google Analytics (through the MonsterInsights plugin) and Jetpack Stats to see how people use the site: which pages are read, roughly where visitors are located (country or city level), which device and browser they use, and how they found the site. This helps me write more of what readers find useful. Google Analytics uses cookies to do this.

Security, backups, and performance. Jetpack protects the site against attacks, backs it up, and delivers images through a faster image network. As part of that, it may process your IP address and basic browser information.

Cookies

  • Comment cookies: if you check “Save my name, email, and website,” those details are saved in a cookie on your device for one year so you don’t have to retype them.
  • Analytics cookies: set by Google Analytics to tell new visitors from returning ones. You can block them in your browser settings or with the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
  • Login cookies: used only by site administrators.

Embedded content from other websites

Some posts may include embedded content such as videos or images from other sites. Embedded content behaves exactly as if you had visited the other site, and that site may collect data about you under its own privacy policy.

Who else handles your information

I do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. It is shared only with the services that run the site:

How long I keep it

  • Comments and their related information are kept for as long as the comment stays on the site.
  • Contact form messages are kept in my email only as long as needed to respond and follow up.
  • Subscription emails are kept until you unsubscribe.
  • Analytics data is kept according to Google Analytics’ data retention settings.

Your choices and rights

If you have left a comment or subscribed, you can ask me for a copy of the personal information the site holds about you, or ask me to delete it. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under laws such as the GDPR or state privacy laws. To make a request, use the contact form. I’ll respond within 30 days. Deletion does not cover information I must keep for security or legal reasons.

Children

This site is not directed to children under 13, and I do not knowingly collect personal information from them.

Links to other sites

Posts often link to books, articles, and other websites. I am not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites, so please read their policies.

Changes to this policy

If the site’s tools or practices change, I will update this page and the “Last updated” date at the top.

Contact

Questions about this policy? Reach me through the contact page.