Cookie Policy

This Cookie Policy explains how Adam Nasif, the operator of this website ("Company," "we," "us," and "our"), uses cookies and similar technologies to recognize you when you visit our website at https://www.bejoined.com ("Website"). It explains what these technologies are and why we use them, as well as your rights to control our use of them.

In some cases we may use cookies to collect personal information, or information that becomes personal information if we combine it with other information.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small data files that are placed on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. Cookies are widely used by website owners in order to make their websites work, or to work more efficiently, as well as to provide reporting information.

Cookies set by the website owner are called "first-party cookies." Cookies set by parties other than the website owner are called "third-party cookies." Third-party cookies enable third-party features or functionality to be provided on or through the website (for example, advertising, interactive content, and analytics). The parties that set these third-party cookies can recognize your computer both when it visits the website in question and also when it visits certain other websites.

What cookies does Bejoined use today?

Bejoined is a static content website. The Website may use essential (also called "strictly necessary") cookies or similar technologies only where they are required for hosting, security, form handling, consent management, or basic site operation. These are the cookies that make a website function, and they cannot be meaningfully refused without affecting how the site works. Our contact form is processed by Netlify Forms, our newsletter signup is processed by MailerLite, and our hosting provider may use such technologies as part of operating and securing the service.

In addition, the Website uses two measurement tools that set cookies. We use them to understand which pages are read and whether visits from our own social profiles lead to newsletter signups. Neither is used to show you advertising, and we have disabled the advertising-personalization features each tool offers.

Analytics cookies (Google Analytics 4)

Google Analytics helps us count visits, see which articles are read, and understand where visitors come from. We have disabled Google signals and ad-personalization signals, and Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses.

• _ga (first-party, up to 2 years): distinguishes one browser from another.
• _ga_{container} (first-party, up to 2 years): keeps track of a browsing session.

Pinterest tag cookies

The Pinterest tag lets us see whether people who find Bejoined through our Pinterest pins later sign up for the newsletter. We use the base tag only: it does not read form fields, and enhanced matching (which would share hashed contact details with Pinterest) is turned off.

• _pin_unauth (first-party, 1 year): a random ID that groups actions from the same browser.
• _pinterest_ct_ua and related Pinterest cookies (third-party, 1 year): the same grouping as a third-party cookie; most modern browsers block these by default.
• _epik / _derived_epik (first-party, 1 year): set when you arrive from Pinterest so the visit can be attributed to Pinterest.

Bejoined does not currently use:

• Advertising cookies or targeted advertising
• Ad network scripts, Meta (Facebook) pixel, TikTok pixel, or similar advertising pixels
• Affiliate tracking scripts
• Tracking pixels in emails (open tracking is off in the emails we send)
• Embedded social media widgets (links to our social profiles are plain outbound links)
• Flash cookies or Local Shared Objects

There is currently no cookie consent banner or preference center. United States law does not require one for the measurement cookies described above, and Bejoined's audience is in the United States. Instead, this policy describes every cookie in use, and the section below explains how to refuse or delete them. If a law that applies to Bejoined ever requires consent before these cookies are set, a way to accept or reject them will be added first.

How can I control cookies?

You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject cookies. You can set or amend your web browser controls to accept or refuse cookies. If you choose to reject cookies, you may still use our Website, though your access to some functionality (such as forms) may be affected.

The means by which you can refuse cookies through your web browser controls vary from browser to browser, so visit your browser's help menu for more information. Current versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Opera all provide cookie controls in their settings.

Tool-specific opt-outs for the cookies we actually use:

• Google Analytics: install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, which stops Google Analytics from receiving data in that browser on every site. How Google uses data from sites that use its services is described at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
• Pinterest: Pinterest honors its own personalization controls at help.pinterest.com/en/article/personalization-and-data, and blocking third-party cookies in your browser blocks Pinterest's third-party cookie.

What about other tracking technologies, like web beacons?

Cookies are not the only way to recognize or track visitors to a website. Similar technologies exist, like web beacons (sometimes called "tracking pixels" or "clear gifs"): tiny graphics files that contain a unique identifier and can recognize when someone has visited a page or opened an email. In email, Bejoined does not use web beacons: open tracking is turned off in the emails we send. On the Website, the two measurement tools described above may use a fallback image beacon when JavaScript is disabled; it reports the same page-visit information as the script it replaces, and nothing more.

One exception to know about: links in our newsletter emails pass through our email provider's redirect service (MailerLite), which records that a link in an email was clicked before sending you on to the destination page. This is a built-in feature of the email provider that we cannot currently turn off. It applies only to links inside our emails.

Does Bejoined serve targeted advertising?

No. Bejoined does not currently serve advertising and does not use tracking technologies for targeted advertising. The measurement cookies described above are used to understand readership and attribute newsletter signups, with each tool's advertising-personalization features disabled.

Future changes

Bejoined may later add features such as display advertising, affiliate tracking, or embedded content. None of those are live today. The newsletter and its email click tracking are already live and are described above, not here. If any of the future features are added and they change how cookies or similar technologies are used, this Cookie Policy and the Privacy Policy will be updated first, and any legally required consent mechanisms will be put in place.

How often will you update this Cookie Policy?

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time in order to reflect, for example, changes to the cookies we use or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. Please revisit this Cookie Policy regularly to stay informed about our use of cookies and related technologies.

The date at the top of this Cookie Policy indicates when it was last updated.

Where can I get further information?

If you have any questions about our use of cookies or other technologies, please email us at contact@bejoined.com or use the contact form. Bejoined is operated by Adam Nasif, located in Illinois, United States. See the Privacy Policy for how personal information is handled.