Privacy Policy

Introduction

Effective date: September 20, 2026

Plain & Minimal is an independent publication about slow, intentional living, published by Plain & Minimal LLC, a North Carolina limited liability company ("Plain & Minimal"). This policy explains what information is collected when you read, subscribe, support, or buy from plainandminimal.com, why, and the choices you have.

The short version: Plain & Minimal collects only what's needed to send you the newsletter, process payments, and understand which pieces resonate. Plain & Minimal doesn't sell your information or run ads.

Information collected

What's collected depends on how you use the site. Reading without signing up collects almost nothing about you personally.

Reading the site. Ghost records anonymous page views, the referring site, device and browser type, and approximate country. None of this is tied to your identity.

Joining as a free member. Ghost stores your email address, name (optional), signup date, the page you signed up from, newsletter preferences, approximate location, and whether you open or click newsletter emails.

Leaving a comment. Ghost stores your name, your comment, and the time it was posted.

Becoming a paying supporter. Ghost and Stripe store everything above, plus your tier, subscription status, and billing history. Card details go straight to Stripe and are never seen or stored by Plain & Minimal or Ghost. A billing address may be requested for sales tax.

Leaving a tip. You enter your name, email, tip amount, and payment details on Stripe's checkout page. You don't need to be a member. Stripe holds these details, and Ghost records that a tip was made.

Buying the e-book. Your name, email, purchase details, and payment details are held by Ghost and Stripe, or by the platform used to sell the e-book.

Emailing Plain & Minimal directly. Whatever you choose to include is held by Plain & Minimal's email provider.

Ghost may also show a profile picture next to your comments if your email is linked to a Gravatar account.

The interactive pieces in posts (coloring pages, games, and similar) run entirely in your browser. Nothing you draw or play is saved or sent anywhere.

How your information is used

To send the newsletter you signed up for, and occasional notes about new offerings like the e-book
To run your membership: signing you in, giving paid supporters their benefits, and processing payments
To deliver what you buy, such as the e-book file and receipts
To understand what resonates, using open, click, and page-view counts to guide what Plain & Minimal publishes next
To keep the site secure and prevent fraud or abuse
To meet legal and tax obligations, such as keeping payment records

For readers in the EU and UK, the legal bases are: your consent (newsletter), performing our agreement (paid memberships and purchases), legitimate interest (basic analytics and security), and legal obligation (tax records).

Service providers

A few trusted services handle information on Plain & Minimal's behalf. Each has its own privacy policy.

Ghost (Ghost Foundation) hosts the website, stores member records, sends newsletters, and provides analytics. Read Ghost's privacy policy.

Stripe processes subscription payments and tips. Read Stripe's privacy policy.

E-book sales platform (if used). If the e-book is sold somewhere other than Stripe or a Ghost membership, that platform processes the sale, delivers the file, and may handle sales tax. Its privacy policy will be linked at checkout.

Embedded content from other sites (a YouTube video, for example) behaves as if you visited that site, and it may collect data under that site's own policy.

Cookies and local storage

This site uses no advertising or tracking cookies. The only items stored in your browser are ones the site needs to work.

ghost-members-ssr and ghost-members-ssr.sig keep you signed in as a member. They are set only after you sign in.

ghost-history is stored in your browser's local storage. It remembers which pages you visited before signing up, so Plain & Minimal can see which pieces bring people in. It is set when you browse the site.

Stripe cookies help prevent fraud during checkout. They are set only on Stripe's payment pages.

You can block or clear these in your browser settings. If you do, signing in as a member won't work.

Newsletter emails record whether you opened them and which links you clicked. Plain & Minimal uses this to learn which topics resonate, never to profile or target you.

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of every email or from your account page. Unsubscribing stops the newsletter but keeps your account active unless you ask Plain & Minimal to delete it.

Site analytics show totals, such as how many people read a post and where they came from. These figures are not tied to individual readers.

Plain & Minimal does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information, or share it for advertising.

It is shared only:

with the service providers listed above, so they can do their jobs
when required by law, such as a valid court order
to protect the safety, rights, or property of readers, Plain & Minimal, or others
with a successor if Plain & Minimal is ever transferred, for example through a sale or merger of Plain & Minimal LLC. You'd be notified first, and this policy would continue to apply.

Retention and security

Member information is kept while your account is active and deleted within 30 days of your request to close it. Payment and purchase records are kept as long as tax law requires, even after an account is deleted.

Ghost and Stripe use industry-standard security, including encrypted connections. No system is perfectly secure, but Plain & Minimal will notify you promptly if a breach affects your information.

Your rights and choices

Wherever you live, you can ask Plain & Minimal to:

show you what information Plain & Minimal holds about you
correct anything inaccurate
delete your account and information
export your information
stop sending you emails

You can update your name, email, and newsletter preferences yourself from your account page. For anything else, email care@plainandminimal.com and Plain & Minimal will respond within 30 days.

If you're in the EU or UK, you can also object to or restrict certain uses, withdraw consent at any time, and complain to your local data protection authority. If you're in a US state with a consumer privacy law, such as California, you have similar rights, and Plain & Minimal won't treat you differently for using them.

Children

Plain & Minimal is written for adults and is not directed to children under 13. Plain & Minimal doesn't knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe a child has signed up, email care@plainandminimal.com and Plain & Minimal will delete their information.

International readers

Plain & Minimal is run from the United States. If you read from elsewhere, your information will be processed in the US and in other countries where Ghost, Stripe, and Plain & Minimal's other providers operate.

ChangesInternational readers to this policy

If Plain & Minimal changes this policy, it will update the effective date above. For significant changes, Plain & Minimal will also notify members by email before they take effect.

Contact

Questions or requests about your privacy:

Plain & Minimal LLC, care@plainandminimal.com