Effective date: 21 October 2026
This policy explains what personal information The Borealian collects when you read the site, sign up, subscribe, or write to us, how we use it, and the choices you have. In this policy, “The Borealian,” “we,” and “us” mean the publication and The Borealian’s owner, who is responsible for how we handle personal information.
We follow Canada’s federal private-sector privacy law, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
What we collect
When you use the contact form. If you send a tip, correction, letter, pitch, or general enquiry, we receive your name, your email address, the subject you choose, and your message. Our contact form is provided by Tally, which stores the submission and passes it to us.
When you sign up as a free member or for the newsletter. We collect your email address and, if you give it, your name. We also record which newsletters, such as The Borealian Morning, you receive. Ghost, our publishing platform, records whether a newsletter was opened and which links in it were clicked.
When you buy a paid subscription. Payments are handled by Stripe through Ghost. Stripe collects your card details directly. We never see or store your full card number. We receive your name, email address, subscription plan, payment status, and limited card details such as the card brand and last four digits.
Server logs. Like any website, our host automatically records technical information when you visit: your IP address, browser and device type, the pages you request, the referring page, and the date and time.
Analytics. We use Google Analytics 4 to understand how readers use the site, for example which articles are read and how people arrive. It collects pages viewed, approximate location, device and browser type, and time on page. We use these reports in aggregate, not to identify individual readers.
Cookies and similar technologies
Cookies are small files a website stores in your browser. We use the following kinds.
Ghost member cookies. If you sign in, Ghost sets cookies (such as `ghost-members-ssr`) that keep you signed in and let the site show members-only or ad-free content. These are needed for membership to work.
Analytics cookies. Google Analytics sets cookies (such as `_ga`) to tell visits apart and measure returning readers. You can block them in your browser settings or with Google’s opt-out add-on at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Advertising cookies. Free readers may see ads. We have applied to Google AdSense, and once our application is approved, Google will serve ads on the site. Paid members don’t see ads.
- Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a reader’s prior visits to this website or other websites.
- Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to this site and other sites on the internet.
- You may opt out of personalized advertising from Google by visiting Google’s Ads Settings at https://adssettings.google.com.
- You may opt out of personalized advertising from other participating vendors at https://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or, in Canada, at https://youradchoices.ca/.
If you opt out, you will still see ads, but less tailored ones. Google explains how it uses information from sites that show its ads at https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
Affiliate cookies. Some links, mostly in Hodgepodge picks, are affiliate links. When you click one, the retailer, such as Amazon, sets a cookie in your browser so that it can credit The Borealian if you buy something. Amazon tells us about qualifying sales and commissions, but they don’t tell us who you are.
Stripe may set its own cookies at checkout to prevent fraud. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, but if you block Ghost’s cookies, you won’t be able to stay signed in.
How we use your information
We use personal information to:
- publish the site and send the newsletters you asked for;
- create and manage your membership, process payments, and send receipts and account notices;
- read and answer your messages, check tips and corrections, and select and publish letters;
- understand which content readers find useful, so we can improve the site;
- show ads to free readers and measure affiliate sales; and
- keep the site secure, prevent abuse, and meet our legal obligations, including tax records.
If we publish your letter, we print your name and city or town as you gave them. We never publish your email address or other contact details.
We don’t sell your personal information. We don’t rent, trade, or give away our mailing list.
Service providers
We share personal information only with companies that help us run the site, and only as much as each needs:
- Ghost(Pro) hosts the website, manages member accounts, and sends our newsletters.
- Stripe processes paid subscriptions.
- Google Analytics provides visitor statistics.
- Google AdSense serves ads to free readers, once approved.
- Amazon Associates tracks clicks and sales from our affiliate links.
- Tally, our contact form provider, receives and stores form submissions.
We may also disclose information if the law requires it, such as under a valid court order.
Your rights
Under PIPEDA, you can ask to see the personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct it if it’s wrong, and withdraw consent to uses that aren’t needed to provide a service you’ve asked for.
- Access or correction. Send a request through the contact form at https://www.borealian.ca/contact/. Choose the subject “General” and start your message with “Privacy request.” We may need to confirm your identity, usually by replying to the email address linked to your account. We will respond within 30 days, as PIPEDA requires.
- Unsubscribe. Every newsletter includes an unsubscribe link. You can also change your newsletter settings on your account page.
- Cancel a paid subscription. Use the account page on the site, or ask us through the contact form.
- Delete your account. Ask through the contact form, and we will delete your member record. We may keep payment records that the law requires us to keep.
If you aren’t satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at https://www.priv.gc.ca.
Readers in the EEA, the U.K., and Switzerland. Where the law requires it, we will ask for your consent before setting analytics or advertising cookies, and you can change your choice at any time. Readers in these regions will see a consent message for this purpose. You also have rights to access, correct, delete, and move your data, and to object to some uses. Contact us through the form to use them.
How long we keep information
- Contact form messages: up to two years after our last exchange, then deleted. Letters we publish stay in the published roundup.
- Member and newsletter records: for as long as you’re a member, and deleted within 30 days of a deletion request.
- Payment and tax records: six years, the period the Canada Revenue Agency generally requires businesses to keep records.
- Google Analytics data: 14 months, the longest standard setting in Google Analytics 4.
- Server logs: kept by our host under its own retention schedule.
Children
The Borealian is written for adults and isn’t directed at children under 13. We don’t knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you think a child has given us information, tell us through the contact form and we will delete it.
Security
Traffic to the site is encrypted (HTTPS), card details go straight to Stripe, and we limit who can see member data and contact messages. No system is perfectly secure, so we can’t guarantee that information will never be accessed without permission. If a breach creates a real risk of significant harm, we will notify affected readers and the Privacy Commissioner, as PIPEDA requires.
International transfers
Our service providers may store and process information on servers outside Canada, including in the United States and Europe. Information stored in another country is subject to that country’s laws and may be accessible to its courts, law enforcement, and national security authorities.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when our services or the law change, for example when ads start running. We will post the new version here with a new effective date, and tell members by email or a site notice if a change is significant.
Contact us
Send questions or requests about privacy through our contact form at https://www.borealian.ca/contact/, as described under “Your rights.”