This Privacy Policy explains how The Unbeaten Path ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, and protects information about you when you visit our website or subscribe to our newsletter. We are committed to handling your personal data responsibly and in accordance with applicable privacy laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) where it applies.
1. What data we collect
We collect only the minimum data necessary to operate the site:
- Email address — if you subscribe to our newsletter. We collect this through our sign-up form and pass it to Beehiiv (our email platform) for delivery purposes.
- Usage data — basic, anonymised information about how you use the site (pages visited, time on page) collected via our hosting platform (Vercel). No personally identifiable information is retained.
- Cookies — minimal cookies required for the site to function. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.
We do not collect your name, location, payment details, or any other personal information unless you explicitly provide it.
2. How we use your data
- Email address — used solely to send you the newsletter you subscribed to. We do not sell, rent, or share your email with any third party for marketing purposes.
- Usage data — used in aggregate to understand which content is valuable and to improve the site. Never tied to an individual.
3. Newsletter and email
Our newsletter is powered by Beehiiv (Beehiiv, Inc.). When you subscribe, your email address is transferred to and stored on Beehiiv's servers in the United States. Beehiiv is certified under applicable data transfer frameworks and maintains appropriate safeguards for international transfers.
If you have enabled double opt-in (our default), you will receive a confirmation email before being added to our list. You can unsubscribe at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email we send. Your data will be removed from our mailing list within 30 days of unsubscribing.
Beehiiv's privacy policy is available at beehiiv.com/privacy.
4. Third-party services
We use the following third-party services to operate this site:
- Vercel — website hosting and deployment. Processes request data to serve pages.
- Sanity — content management. Stores destination content; does not process visitor personal data.
- Beehiiv — newsletter platform. Stores and processes email subscriber data.
- Unsplash / Pexels / Pixabay — image sources. Images are served directly; no personal data is shared with these providers.
Each of these providers has their own privacy policy and data handling practices. We choose providers that take privacy seriously and apply appropriate safeguards.
5. Your rights (GDPR)
If you are in the European Economic Area (EEA) or United Kingdom, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Right of access — you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Right to rectification — you can ask us to correct inaccurate data.
- Right to erasure — you can ask us to delete your personal data. For newsletter subscribers, you can do this at any time via the unsubscribe link.
- Right to object — you can object to our processing of your data.
- Right to data portability — you can request your data in a machine-readable format.
- Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent (e.g. newsletter), you can withdraw it at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@theunbeatenpath.com. We will respond within 30 days.
6. Data retention
We retain your email address for as long as you are subscribed to our newsletter. When you unsubscribe, your address is removed from our active list and permanently deleted within 30 days. Anonymised usage analytics are retained indefinitely as they contain no personal information.
7. Data security
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your data against unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. Our site is served over HTTPS. We do not store your email address on our own servers — it is handled exclusively by Beehiiv, which maintains industry-standard security practices.
8. Children's privacy
This site is not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.
9. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
10. Contact
If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please contact us at: privacy@theunbeatenpath.com
The Unbeaten Path is operated independently. Est. 2026.