Privacy Policy

Effective Date: December 13th, 2025

This Privacy Policy explains how I collect, use, and protect your information when you use my website to inquire about services.

1. Who I Am

I am Matthew Williams, a freelance web developer offering services including web design, web development, SEO, hosting, and content writing. For the purpose of data protection laws, I am the Data Controller of the personal information you submit.

2. Information I Collect

When you initiate contact with me directly via email, phone call, or SMS/Text, I receive and may collect the Personal Information (PI) you choose to include in that communication, which typically consists of:

Providing valid contact information is necessary if you wish to receive a response to your inquiry.

3. How Your Information is Transmitted and Received

You initiate contact using your own communication service. I am the recipient, not the collector, of the initial transmission.

Your service provider (email or telecom) is the independent data controller for the act of transmission. Their privacy policies govern any metadata (e.g., your IP address, phone number, timestamps) they collect to complete the delivery.

4. How I Use Your Information and Legal Basis

I use your information only for the following explicit purposes:

Purpose of Use Legal Basis (for GDPR/EEA Users)
To respond to your inquiries and provide quotes. Legitimate Interest: To respond to direct inquiries about my services.
To communicate about potential or ongoing projects and manage our client relationship. Contract: Necessary to enter into or perform an agreed-upon contract.
For business record-keeping, defense of legal claims, and historical analysis of client demand. Legitimate Interest: To ensure an accurate financial and communication record for tax and legal auditing purposes (Statutory Limitation Periods).

I do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes.

5. Data Storage and Retention

Your information is stored based on the contact method used:

I retain your personal information for no longer than is necessary for the purposes outlined above (Storage Limitation Principle). For the purpose of this section, "Communications" refers only to the substantive content of emails and text messages, and related PI (Name, Email, Phone Number) that I directly control, and expressly excludes metadata and logs retained by independent third-party service providers (such as telecom carriers).

If you would like your communications deleted, contact me using the methods listed in Section 9.

6. Cookies and Tracking

I use only Strictly Necessary Cookies and modern, privacy-preserving, cookie-less tracking. I do not use cookies for advertising, behavioral profiling, or non-essential analytics.

This site may also embed content from third parties (e.g., Google Maps in Section 7). These third-party services may set their own essential cookies or collect anonymous data necessary for their functionality. I encourage you to review their individual privacy policies for more details.

7. Third-Party Services and Data Sharing

This site uses the following third-party services that may process your information. These third parties operate under their own privacy policies.

Service Purpose / Data Collected
Your Email Service Provider
(e.g., Gmail, Outlook, iCloud Mail)		 You use this service to send your initial email. They act as an independent data controller for the transmission and collect associated metadata (e.g., sender IP address).
Your Telecom Carrier
(e.g., Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile)		 You use this service to place a call or send an SMS/Text. They act as an independent data controller for the transmission and collect associated metadata (e.g., calling numbers, timestamps, approximate location).
My Mobile Carrier (Verizon) Retains metadata (time, date, calling numbers) of incoming and outgoing calls/texts as part of standard service operations. They do not store the content of the message.
Zoho My professional email and CRM platform. It processes and stores the contents of our email correspondence once I receive it.
Cloudflare (Security & Analytics) Provides DDoS protection and bot mitigation (using necessary security cookies) and collects anonymized site performance data.
Google Maps Displays location maps. Google may independently collect IP address, device type, and potential location data.

I do not control how these third parties handle data collected during the transmission process (e.g., email routing or call connection). I encourage you to review their privacy policies for more details.

8. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location (e.g., EU, California), you have several rights regarding your personal data. I commit to honoring requests from all users to the extent possible under law. To exercise any of these rights, please contact me through the form linked at the bottom of the page.

Right Description
Right to Know/Access Request the specific pieces of PI I have collected about you.
Right to Deletion Request that I delete the PI collected from you, subject to legal exceptions (such as retaining records required for financial, tax, or legal obligations).
Right to Correction Request that I correct any inaccurate PI I have about you.
Right to Opt-Out Opt-out of the sale or sharing of your PI. (Note: I do not sell or share PI).
Right to Object Object to or request the restriction of processing your PI where based on legitimate interest.

9. Contact and Data Requests

If you have any questions about this policy or would like to submit a verifiable request to exercise your privacy rights, please use one of the following designated methods. I will respond to requests within 45 days as required by law.

For California residents: You may designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf by providing written permission. I may need to verify both your identity and the agent's authorization.