Last updated: May 7, 2026
This page explains what information returntothe.bible (the “site”) collects from visitors, how it is used, and what choices you have about it. The site is operated by Chris, the author of the commentary, as a personal project. The content is free to read and the site does not run advertising.
If you have a question about anything here, the contact information is at the bottom of the page.
What we collect
Information you give us directly
You may choose to share information with the site through one of two interactive features:
- Email signup. If you subscribe to the newsletter, you provide your email address (and optionally a name). This is used only to send updates from the site. You can unsubscribe at any time through the unsubscribe link in any email.
- Contact form. If you send a message through the contact form, you provide a name, an email address, and the contents of your message. This is used only to respond to you.
The site does not collect names, addresses, phone numbers, payment information, or any other personal information beyond what you voluntarily provide through these two channels.
Information collected automatically
When you visit the site, certain technical information is collected automatically:
- Server logs kept by the hosting provider (HostGator). These typically include your IP address, browser type, operating system, the pages you visit, and the date and time of your visit. Server logs are standard for any website and are used for security, error monitoring, and basic diagnostics.
- Analytics data collected through Google Analytics 4 (see the next section).
- Cookies placed by WordPress and by Google Analytics (see the cookies section below).
The site does not knowingly collect any sensitive personal information (such as data about race, religion, health, or political opinions) and does not perform any kind of fingerprinting beyond what Google Analytics performs by default.
Google Analytics
The site uses Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to understand how visitors are using the commentary: which chapters are being read, how long readers stay, where they’re coming from, and what the most useful content is. This helps decide what to draft next.
GA4 is a service provided by Google. It collects information including:
- A pseudonymous identifier stored in a cookie
- Pages visited and time spent on each
- Approximate geographic location (country / region / city, derived from your IP address; the precise IP is not retained by GA4 by default)
- Device, operating system, and browser
- The website that referred you (if any)
This data is processed by Google according to its own privacy practices. You can read Google’s policy at policies.google.com/privacy.
If you do not want Google Analytics to collect data on your visit, you can use Google’s official opt-out browser add-on or block analytics scripts using a browser-level privacy tool such as uBlock Origin or the privacy settings in browsers like Brave, Firefox, or Safari. The site will continue to work normally with analytics blocked.
Cookies
A cookie is a small text file your browser stores when you visit a site. The site uses cookies in two ways:
- WordPress functional cookies. Standard WordPress cookies that handle things like remembering whether you’re logged in (only relevant for the site’s author) or whether a comment author has filled in their details. These do not track you across sites.
- Google Analytics cookies. Set by GA4 to record a pseudonymous visitor identifier and session information. These are described in the previous section.
You can clear cookies at any time through your browser’s settings, and you can set your browser to refuse cookies entirely. Refusing cookies will not break the reading experience.
How your information is used
Information collected by the site is used only for the following purposes:
- To deliver the content you requested
- To send you newsletter emails if you subscribed
- To respond to messages sent through the contact form
- To understand which content is being read and improve future drafts (analytics)
- To keep the site secure and diagnose technical problems (server logs)
- To meet legal obligations if any arise
The site does not sell, rent, or trade personal information to anyone. The site does not use your information to build advertising profiles or to retarget you on other platforms.
Who else has access
A small number of third-party services touch the data the site collects, in each case only for the purpose of running the service:
- HostGator — hosting the WordPress site, including server logs
- Google (Analytics) — processing analytics data
- The newsletter provider — if you subscribe, your email is stored with whichever email service the site uses to send the newsletter (this will be named here once a provider is chosen)
- The contact-form provider / email — your message is delivered to the site’s email address through whichever form plugin and email transport the site uses
Each of these has its own privacy practices. Contact information for the site, including how to ask which specific providers are in use at any given time, is at the bottom of this page.
How long information is kept
- Newsletter emails are kept for as long as you remain subscribed, plus a short retention window after unsubscribe to handle technical bounces and spam reporting. You can request deletion at any time.
- Contact form messages are kept for as long as needed to respond to your message and for a reasonable follow-up period (typically up to a year).
- Analytics data is retained according to Google Analytics’ default settings (currently 14 months, which can be adjusted).
- Server logs are typically retained by the host for 30 to 90 days for security and diagnostic purposes.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have specific rights about your personal information. The site honors the following rights regardless of jurisdiction:
- Right to access. You can ask what information about you the site holds.
- Right to correction. You can ask for inaccurate information to be corrected.
- Right to deletion. You can ask for your information to be deleted (subject to limits required by law, such as a need to retain certain records for legal reasons).
- Right to withdraw consent. You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time through the link in any email or by contacting the site directly.
- Right to opt out of analytics. You can use the methods described in the Google Analytics section above to opt out.
If you are a resident of the European Union, the United Kingdom, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia, or another jurisdiction with specific privacy laws, you may have additional rights under those laws. To exercise any of these rights, contact the site at the address below.
Children’s privacy
The site is intended for adult readers and lay theological study. It is not directed at children under 13. The site does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information to the site, please contact us and we will delete it.
Security
The site takes reasonable technical and administrative measures to protect the information it collects, including using HTTPS for all pages, keeping the WordPress installation and its plugins up to date, and limiting access to the site’s administrative area. No website can guarantee absolute security; we do our best to protect your information but cannot promise that no breach will ever occur.
External links
The site frequently links to external resources (publishers’ pages, scholarly works, museum collections, public domain texts, and so on). The site is not responsible for the privacy practices of those external sites. When you follow a link off the site, the privacy policy that applies is the one published at the destination.
Changes to this policy
This policy may be updated from time to time as the site’s tools or features change (for example, when a newsletter provider is chosen, or when a new feature is added). Changes will be reflected in the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. Material changes will be announced on the site’s homepage and, if you are a newsletter subscriber, in an email.
Contact
For any question about this privacy policy or about the data the site holds about you, please contact:
We aim to respond to privacy requests within the legal response windows that may apply to your request (typically 30 days under GDPR or 45 days under CCPA).