Privacy Policy

Newsletter subscriptions

Newsletter forms ask for an email address and submit it to Kit, our newsletter service provider. Kit processes the subscription, confirmation, delivery, and unsubscribe records needed to provide the newsletter. The site uses double opt-in, so a submitted address must be confirmed before it is added as a subscribed reader.

We record an aggregate event when Kit accepts or rejects a signup and when a reader reaches the subscription-confirmation page. That event identifies the signup location, provider, and result, but does not contain the email address. Do not submit someone else’s address without permission. You can use the unsubscribe option provided with newsletter messages to stop future mail. Kit’s own privacy practices apply to information it processes for this service.

Spam protection

The Kit form is configured to use reCAPTCHA to distinguish legitimate subscriptions from automated abuse. That service may receive browser, device, interaction, and network information needed to perform the check. Its provider’s separate privacy terms apply.

Spotify embeds

Some pages contain embedded Spotify players. Loading or interacting with a player connects your browser to Spotify, which may receive technical request information and may use cookies or similar technology under its own privacy policy. Spotify controls that service; Distill My Heart Adventures does not receive your Spotify account credentials.

Merchant, affiliate, and other external links

This site links to manufacturers, retailers, maps, source documents, music services, and other websites. When you follow an external link, the destination receives the ordinary request information sent by your browser and applies its own privacy practices.

When you select a merchant recommendation, we record an aggregate event containing the merchant, product category, product name, page, link placement, and whether the link is an affiliate link. We do not store the full destination URL, an IP address, a cookie, or a visitor identifier in that event. If a link is monetized, it is disclosed near the recommendation. The merchant or affiliate network may use link parameters, cookies, or similar technology under its own policy. Third-party merchants have separate privacy, payment, shipping, return, warranty, and customer-service practices; review them before purchasing.

Analytics and site operation

The custom events described above are submitted to a first-party endpoint and stored in Cloudflare Workers Analytics Engine for aggregate reporting. The custom event system does not set analytics cookies or create visitor profiles. This aggregate measurement is separate from the advertising services described below.

Hosting and security infrastructure necessarily receives basic request information, such as an IP address, requested URL, browser details, and time of request, to deliver and protect the site. That ordinary infrastructure processing is separate from the limited fields stored in our custom event dataset.

The site does not currently provide customer accounts, a shopping cart, or native checkout, and it does not collect payment or shipping information.

Google advertising and your choices

We use Google AdSense to provide advertising when ads are available. Google and other third-party advertising vendors may use cookies or similar identifiers to serve, measure, and limit the frequency of ads. Google’s advertising cookies enable it and its partners to serve ads based on visits to this site and other sites on the Internet. Advertising services may receive your IP address, browser and device details, the page you visit, and information about your interaction with an ad.

Where applicable, Google’s consent and privacy messages let you accept, decline, or manage the use of your information. Declining personalized advertising does not necessarily remove all ads. Where available, use the Privacy and cookie settings or Do Not Sell or Share my personal information link displayed on the page to revisit site choices. You can also manage Google’s personalized advertising in My Ad Center.

Read how Google uses information from sites that use its services and Google’s advertising policy. Additional participating advertising vendors and their policies are listed in the consent message when it is available. You can also visit AdChoices to opt out of participating vendors’ personalized advertising. Browser cookie settings provide additional controls; choices may need to be made separately on each browser or device.

Advertisements are commercial placements, not endorsements by our editors. Our recommendations follow our Editorial Standards.

Contact and privacy questions

For privacy questions, write to the business email on our Contact page. Your message is processed by your email provider and the provider serving that mailbox. Send only the information needed to explain the request; do not send passwords, payment information, or other sensitive data.

Include the service you used and enough detail to identify your request concerning information you submitted. We may need to confirm that a request concerns your own information before acting on it.