FREUDIAN DEATH DRIVE — https://freudiandeathdrive.blog
Last updated October 16, 2026
This blog is a personal, non-commercial project that runs at a net loss. I do not sell, rent, trade, or share your data or my email list with anyone. I do not make money from this blog in any way. The only reason I keep an email list is so that, if this publication is ever removed from the web, I can invite you to my new publication.
Who we are
Our website address is: https://freudiandeathdrive.blog. FREUDIAN DEATH DRIVE is a personal publication. It is not a business, it has no advertising, no sponsors, and no paid subscriptions, and it operates at a net loss. References to “we,” “us,” and “our” below mean the person who runs this blog.
For any privacy question, request, or complaint, contact: falkwhitaker@pm.me
Where this blog lives, and who processes your data
FREUDIAN DEATH DRIVE is published on two platforms, and both handle some of your data:
- Substack hosts the publication at freudiandeathdrive.substack.com. For the subscriber list there, Substack acts as our data processor and we are the data controller. Substack’s own privacy policy is at https://substack.com/privacy.
- WordPress.com / Jetpack provides this site and its built-in email subscription feature. Automattic processes subscription data on our behalf. Automattic’s privacy policy is at https://automattic.com/privacy/, and its notice for visitors to sites like this one is at https://automattic.com/privacy-notice.
This means your subscriber record is stored on those companies’ systems, not on a server we own. We can view it, export it, and remove people from it, but we cannot make those platforms stop keeping their own records.
In plain terms: we never sell, rent, trade, or share your data or our email list with anyone. The platforms above handle it because they have to in order to send email at all.
What we collect and why
Comments. When 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. 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.
Email subscriptions. If you subscribe by email, we receive and store your email address, your name if you provide one, the date you subscribed, and whether your subscription is active. We use it for one purpose: to send you posts and publication updates.
Specifically, if FREUDIAN DEATH DRIVE is ever removed from the web, suspended, deplatformed, or moved to a new address, we may write to you to let you know where it went and how to keep reading. That is the main reason the list exists.
On the WordPress.com/Jetpack sign-up, the platform also collects basic server data at the moment you subscribe — your IP address, HTTP request headers, and the page address you were on — used only to prevent abuse and spam on the subscription form.
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.
How subscriptions are confirmed
WordPress.com and Jetpack subscriptions use a double opt-in process. After you enter your email address, you are sent a confirmation email; your subscription is not active until you click the confirmation link. Unconfirmed addresses are not added to the active subscriber list.
One exception worth stating honestly: if we ever add an address manually — for example by importing a CSV or a list from another platform — that address is added directly and no confirmation email is sent. We only do this with addresses given to us deliberately for this publication. If you receive email from us and did not intend to subscribe, write to us at the contact address above and we will remove you.
Email open and click tracking
We want to be straight about this, because it is real data collection even though we do not profit from it.
Both platforms we use record whether emails are opened and which links are clicked, using tracking pixels and redirected links. This shows up in our dashboards as open rates, click rates, and for WordPress.com/Jetpack, aggregate information about subscriber location, device, and email client.
This is a default feature of Substack and of Jetpack newsletters. We have not found a setting on either platform that turns it off, so we cannot promise it does not happen. What we can promise is what we do with it: we use these aggregate numbers only to see whether posts are being read and which pieces people care about. We do not use them to profile you, to target you, to build advertising audiences, or to share with anyone. Substack has also stopped recording email opens for subscribers in France and Italy under those countries’ privacy rules.
Cookies
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.
Jetpack also sets functionality cookies for up to 347 days to remember your blog and post subscription choices.
We do not add advertising cookies, and we do not install our own analytics or tracking scripts. Note, however, that the platforms we publish on set their own cookies. Substack’s pages load first- and third-party analytics cookies, including Google Analytics, Facebook, and FullStory, together with strictly necessary cookies for security and login. We have not enabled any of Substack’s optional tracking integrations, such as the Meta pixel, X pixel, Google Tag Manager, or Parse.ly. Substack’s cookie details are in its privacy policy: https://substack.com/privacy.
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
We do not sell, rent, trade, or share your personal data. Your email address is never shared, sold, or given to any third party, and our email list is never handed over to anyone else. We do not use your data for advertising, profiling, or marketing of any kind, and we do not accept money for any of it.
Data is shared only in these narrow, limited circumstances:
- Our publishing platforms. Substack and Automattic (WordPress.com/Jetpack) process your data as our service providers in order to host the site and deliver email. They are not permitted to use it for their own marketing, and they do not sell it. Substack’s policy states plainly that it does not sell personal information.
- Spam detection. Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
- Password reset. If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.
- Downstream platform sharing. Be aware that the platforms themselves disclose some data to their own sub-processors — for example email delivery, hosting, security, and analytics providers — and may share data with law enforcement or in response to legal process. Those disclosures are governed by their policies, not by ours, and we cannot prevent them.
- Legal requirement. If we are legally compelled to disclose information, we will disclose only what is strictly required, and we will tell you unless prohibited from doing so.
Because we do not sell personal data or share it for advertising, we do not respond to “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” requests in the commercial sense — there is nothing of ours to opt out of. If you want to exercise rights against the platforms’ own processing, you can contact them directly; Substack’s privacy contact is privacy@substackinc.com and Automattic’s is privacypolicyupdates@automattic.com.
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.
Email addresses given for publication updates are kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete them, or until the publication ceases to exist — whichever comes first. When you unsubscribe or are removed, we remove you from the list we control. Note that the platforms may retain their own records — for instance, WordPress.com keeps server logs for around 30 days — under their own retention rules.
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.
You can unsubscribe from the email list at any time, and you can ask us to confirm what we hold about you or to delete it. We will honor such requests, and we will pass on to the relevant platform any request we cannot fulfill ourselves.
How to unsubscribe:
- WordPress.com/Jetpack: click the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email, or manage all your subscriptions at https://subscribe.wordpress.com/.
- Substack: click “Unsubscribe” at the bottom of any email, or manage subscriptions at https://substack.com/settings.
- Or just email us at the address at the top of this policy and we will remove you.
Where your data is sent
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
Your subscriber record is processed and stored on our platforms’ infrastructure, which is international. Substack is established in the United States and uses service providers in the US and other countries, and it is certified under the EU-U.S., UK Extension, and Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Frameworks. Automattic stores Jetpack data on servers worldwide, with entities in the United States and Ireland, and relies on European Commission standard contractual clauses for transfers out of the EEA.
Both platforms make a data processing agreement available, and both incorporate standard contractual clauses into it. We accept those terms as part of running this publication.
No commercial use
FREUDIAN DEATH DRIVE is not monetized. There is no advertising, no sponsorship, no affiliate marketing, no paid subscriptions, and no sale of any data or mailing list. The blog operates at a net loss and is maintained as a personal project. We receive no money from Substack, from Automattic, or from any advertiser in connection with your data.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the “Last updated” date at the top will change. Material changes affecting the email list will be communicated by email where we are able to do so.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your data: falkwhiter@pm.me