Privacy Policy

Protecting your privacy is a priority. This Privacy Policy explains how Smart Life Dumb Life (“we,” “us,” “the Company”) collects, uses, and protects information when you use our website, chat feature, and related services (collectively, the “Services”). By using the Services, you consent to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree, please stop using the Services.

As a business based in California that serves an international audience, we aim to process data transparently and in accordance with applicable privacy laws, including for visitors in the European Economic Area.

I. Information We Collect

We collect the following information directly from you:

• Email address, when you sign up for updates or the free chapter through a form on the site.
• Questions you type into the chat feature, which are sent to our AI provider to generate a response.
• Order details, if you buy something. Your name, email address, and (for physical products) shipping address are collected by the store that handles that purchase, described in Section III. We never see or store your full card number.

We do not require an account to use the site or the chat, and we ask that you not include your name, email address, or other personal details in a chat question — the chat does not collect or store that information as part of the conversation itself.

II. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Send you the content you signed up for, including the free chapter and occasional email updates.
• Generate answers to questions you ask the chat feature.
• Fulfill and deliver anything you buy, and answer questions about your order.
• Review chat questions, without any identifying information attached, to understand what readers are asking about and to guide what we write next.
• Operate, maintain, and improve the Services.

III. Third-Party Service Providers

We use the following third-party services to operate the Services. We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with any party for their own marketing purposes, and chat questions are never shared with advertising networks.

• Vercel— our website hosting provider. Text entered into the chat is transmitted through Vercel’s infrastructure solely to generate a response.
• Kit(kit.com) — our email service provider. Kit stores your email address and sends the messages you’ve signed up for. Kit’s emails may track whether they were opened or clicked, which helps us understand what’s useful to readers. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email. Kit’s own privacy policy governs how they handle this data.
• Kit, as a store — digital downloads (such as PDFs and phone wallpapers) are sold through Kit’s product pages. Kit handles the checkout and delivers the download. Buying a digital product also adds your email address to our list; you can unsubscribe at any time without losing access to what you bought.
• Anthropic— the AI provider behind our chat feature. When you ask the chat a question, that question is sent to Anthropic’s API to generate a response. We do not send your email address or other identifying information along with your question. Anthropic’s privacy policy governs how they handle this data.
• Printify— physical products (such as hats, shirts, and stickers) are sold through our Printify Pop-Up Store. Printify handles the checkout and uses your name, email, and shipping address to make and ship your order. We do not use your shipping information for marketing purposes.
• Stripe— the payment processor behind both the Kit and Printify checkouts. Your card details go directly to Stripe and are never stored by us. Stripe’s privacy policy governs how they handle this data.
• Amazon— the paperback book is sold on Amazon. If you buy it there, Amazon handles the order under its own privacy policy, and we do not receive your personal information.

We may disclose information without notice if required by law, or in the good-faith belief that doing so is necessary to comply with legal process, protect our rights, or protect the safety of our users or the public.

IV. Cookies and Tracking

We do not use cookies on this site. We do not run analytics scripts, advertising trackers, or any other automated tracking technology.

V. Automatically Collected Information

Our hosting provider automatically logs standard technical information for security and operational purposes, such as IP address and browser type. This is used only to operate and maintain the Services and is not used to build a profile of you.

VI. Data Retention

• Email list: We keep your email address for as long as you remain subscribed. You can unsubscribe at any time.
• Chat questions:Chat questions are retained only as long as reasonably necessary to operate, debug, and improve the Services, consistent with our hosting provider’s standard log retention practices. They are not kept as a long-term, identifiable record tied to you.

VII. Links to Other Sites

This website contains links to other sites, including Amazon, Kit, and our Printify store. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of those sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any site you visit.

VIII. Your Right to Deletion

You may request that we delete your personal information from our records, and we will direct our service providers (such as Kit) to do the same. We may retain information where necessary to comply with a legal obligation, resolve disputes, or enforce our agreements. We will respond to valid requests within 30 days.

To request deletion, contact us at the email address below.

IX. Your Rights Under the GDPR

If you are located in the European Economic Area, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to access— you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification— you can request that we correct inaccurate information.
• Right to erasure— you can request that we delete your email address from our list.

Our legal basis for processing your email address is your consent, given when you sign up. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the email address below.

X. Children and Teens

Our audience includes teenagers as well as adults, and our content is written to be appropriate for readers roughly 13 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If you are under 13, please do not sign up for our email list or provide us with your email address without a parent or guardian’s involvement. Purchases should be made by an adult, or by a teen with a parent or guardian’s permission.

If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without appropriate consent, we will delete it promptly. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at the email address below.

XI. California Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) gives you the right to know what personal information we have collected about you, and to request its deletion. As stated above, we do not sell or share personal information with third parties for their own purposes. To exercise your rights under the CCPA, contact us at the email address below.

XII. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time, for example when our services change or when data protection laws change. If we make significant changes, we will update the effective date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify subscribers by email.

XIII. Contact Information

Smart Life Dumb Life is based in California.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise any of the rights described above, contact us at:

Email: bill@smartlifedumblife.com