Who operates this site
In this policy, "HackWednesday," "we," and "us" refer to the operator of https://hackwednesday.com. Questions, privacy requests, and corrections can be sent to info@ideaascode.com.
Information we collect
- Newsletter: email address, optional role or interest, signup page, consent record, subscription status, and delivery records.
- Mascot waitlist: selected item, name, email address, consent record, and submission time. We do not ask for a shipping address at the waitlist stage.
- Optional analytics: after consent, Google Analytics may process page activity, session information, approximate location, referrer, browser, and device information.
- Site operations: hosting and security providers may process IP address, user agent, request time, and diagnostic or security logs needed to deliver and protect the site.
- Admin access: Google sign-in provides an approved administrator's email and basic session information for restricted editorial and waitlist pages.
The visitor IP mirror returns the IP address associated with the current request so the visitor can see it. HackWednesday does not intentionally add that displayed address to an application database, although infrastructure providers may retain ordinary request logs.
How we use information
We use information to provide requested subscriptions and waitlists, operate and secure the site, troubleshoot failures, prevent abuse, understand which resources are useful, and comply with legal obligations. Where law requires a legal basis, we rely on consent for optional analytics and marketing email, on the visitor's request for waitlist administration, and on legitimate interests for proportionate site security and operations.
Service providers and external content
We use service providers that process information for us, including Vercel for hosting, serverless functions, logs, and private Blob storage; Resend for newsletter delivery; Google for consented Analytics and restricted administrator sign-in; and YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed domain for conference videos. Their own terms and privacy practices also apply when you interact with those services.
External links take you to third-party sites. HackWednesday does not control the privacy practices of those sites.
Analytics and browser choices
Google Analytics stays off until a visitor allows it. Advertising storage, ad personalization, and Google Signals are disabled in the site configuration. A saved choice can be changed below. If no choice has been saved, we treat a browser Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track signal as a request to keep optional analytics off.
When allowed, Google Analytics may set first-party cookies named_ga and _ga_<container-id> to distinguish users and preserve session state. Google documents a default lifetime of up to two years, subject to browser restrictions and deletion by the visitor.
Analytics status: off
Sale, sharing, and advertising
We do not knowingly sell personal information or use it for cross-context behavioral advertising. HackWednesday does not currently accept paid placement or use paid affiliate links. If that changes, material relationships will be disclosed clearly near the relevant recommendation and this policy will be updated as needed.
Retention and protection
Newsletter membership is kept until unsubscribe or deletion request; a minimal suppression record may be retained so an unsubscribed address is not mailed again. Waitlist records are retained while the relevant product interest is active and then deleted when no longer needed. Operational and security logs follow provider retention settings and are kept only as long as reasonably needed for security, diagnostics, or legal obligations.
We use access controls and private application storage, but no online service can promise absolute security. Do not submit passwords, API keys, private customer data, or production secrets to public forms or interactive tools.
Your choices and requests
You can unsubscribe through the link in each newsletter. Depending on where you live, you may also have rights to request access, correction, deletion, restriction, or a copy of personal information. Send the request and the relevant email address to info@ideaascode.com. We may need to verify identity before completing a request.
Children
HackWednesday is a general-audience cybersecurity publication and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. The mascot waitlist is limited to adults. Contact us if you believe a child submitted personal information.
Changes
We may update this policy as the site changes. Material changes will be reflected by a new date on this page. The related site rules are in our terms and disclaimers.