Who we are
Effective Date: July 1, 2025
Hey there, sweet reader! Welcome to V.S. Beals Writes, where I spill my heart, share my writing, and talk about Jesus, healing, and a bit of quirky creative madness. But let’s get serious for a sec—your privacy matters around here. I promise to treat your information like I treat a freshly brewed cup of tea: carefully, respectfully, and not for anyone else to sip on unless you say so.
Our website address is: vsbealswrites.com.
Comments
What I Collect (and Why)
When you hang out here, I may collect a few pieces of personal info, like:
- Name and Email Address (when you subscribe to the newsletter, leave a comment, or contact me)
- Browser Info and IP Address (because the techy tools like Google Analytics do this automatically)
- Any other info you give me voluntarily (like survey responses or messages)
Why?
To keep this place safe from spam, bots, and digital weirdos
When you or visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
To send you updates, blog goodies, and spiritually-packed content you’ll love
To respond to your messages like a good pen pal would
To improve the website and understand what readers like you actually enjoy
An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
Media
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
Cookies (No, not the chocolate chip kind—sadly)
If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
Embedded content from other websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Who we share your data with
Third-Party Tools
I use some tools that may collect your data on my behalf, such as:
- Google Analytics – for stats and site insights
- ConvertKit or Mailchimp – for email newsletters
- Affiliate links – when I recommend a product or resource I love (you won’t pay extra, but I may earn a small commission)
These tools have their own privacy policies too, and I don’t control how they do their thing. But I only partner with tools I trust and use with integrity.
If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.
How long we retain your data
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
What rights you have over your data
If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Where your data is sent
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
Children’s Privacy
This site is not directed at children under 13. I don’t knowingly collect data from kiddos. If you’re a parent and believe your child has shared info here, contact me immediately and I’ll remove it.
Security
I do my best to keep your information safe, using standard security practices and only trusted services. But no website is 100% hack-proof, so keep that in mind when using any online space.
Updates to This Policy
I may update this policy occasionally (especially when I grow or add new features). You’ll always find the latest version here with the updated “Effective Date” at the top.
Questions?
Shoot me a message at vsbealswrites@gmail.com or val@vsbealswrites.com. I’ll answer as soon as I finish writing the next plot twist I’m working on
Stay bold, stay blessed,
V.S. Beals ✍🏽💙