Last updated: July 14, 2026
Synapsis Coffee is a coffee reference site run by Mercus Hoffmann in Portland, Oregon. This policy explains what personal data the site collects, why it exists, and what you can do about it.
What is collected
- What you send me. If you use the contact form, I receive the name, email address, and message you type into it. If you subscribe to the newsletter, I receive your email address.
- What the server logs. Like any web host, the server records IP addresses and browser user agents. These are used to keep the site online and to block attacks, and nothing else.
- What analytics sees. Google Analytics records which pages are read, how long they hold attention, and roughly where in the world visitors are. It is read in aggregate.
- What advertising sees. Google and its partners collect data through advertising cookies in order to choose and cap the ads on these pages.
The site does not ask for, and has no use for, payment details, dates of birth, or any special category of personal data.
Why it is collected
Contact and newsletter data exist so I can reply to you and send you what you asked for. Server logs exist for security. Analytics exists so I know which guides are worth expanding. Advertising data exists because ads and affiliate links pay for the testing, as described in the affiliate disclosure.
Who it is shared with
Your data is not sold, rented, or traded. It is handled by the providers that make the site run: the web host, the newsletter mailer, the spam and security filters that check form submissions, and Google for analytics and advertising. Each processes it on my instructions or under its own published terms, and none is given data for its own marketing.
How long it is kept
Contact form messages are kept while the exchange is useful and then deleted. Newsletter addresses are kept until you unsubscribe, at which point they go. Server logs rotate on the host schedule. Analytics and advertising retention is governed by Google.
Your rights
You can ask what data I hold about you, ask for it to be corrected, and ask for it to be deleted. If you are in the EU or the UK, GDPR gives you those rights explicitly, along with the right to object to processing and to complain to your data protection authority. If you are in California, the CCPA gives you the right to know and to delete, and the right not to be discriminated against for asking. Wherever you live, I will honor the request. Send it through the contact form.
Cookies
Which cookies are set, by whom, and how to switch them off is covered in detail in the cookie policy.
Children
This site is written for adults and is not directed at children under 13, and I do not knowingly collect their data. If you believe a child has sent me something, tell me and I will delete it.
Changes
When this policy changes, the date at the top changes with it. Material changes will be obvious on the page rather than buried.