Privacy

What we collect

When you send a project inquiry we collect the details you enter: your name, email address, phone number, project city or ZIP code, and any optional project type, timing, budget range and notes you choose to share. You may also choose to share approximate room measurements and up to five project photos, sketches, floor plans or inspiration files (JPEG, PNG, WebP or PDF).

How it is used

Inquiry details, measurements and files are used only to review your project, prepare design and quote information, and respond to you. They are not sold or used for advertising.

Where it is stored

Inquiries are stored in the website's hosted database and any files in private storage that is not publicly accessible. Only Hale Design Studio's authorized administrator accounts can view them, using short-lived download links. When an inquiry arrives, a summary of the details you entered (not your files) is emailed to Hale Design Studio's designated business contact at a Gmail address; that copy is handled by Google under its own terms. Files you share stay in private storage and are viewable only through the signed-in dashboard. To limit spam, the site keeps a short-lived, one-way scrambled (keyed) form of your connection's IP address, and of each inquiry's upload link, solely to count submissions and uploads and limit abuse; the address itself is not stored, and these counts are routinely deleted after about two days.

Journal and author accounts

Journal articles are written in a private author dashboard. Sign-in to that dashboard is limited to authorized authors; readers do not need an account and no reader accounts are offered.

Instagram posts (SnapWidget)

The homepage automatically loads Instagram posts using SnapWidget, a third-party service, as the Instagram section approaches view. Your browser connects to SnapWidget and Instagram, which receive information such as your IP address and browser details and may set their own cookies under their own privacy policies.

Headline fonts are loaded from Google Fonts, which also receives your IP address and browser details when pages load.

Analytics

The site uses the hosting platform's built-in visitor analytics to understand overall traffic. We do not install Google Analytics or a Meta advertising pixel. Third-party embedded content is described above.

Your requests

To ask about, correct or request deletion of information or files you submitted, send a message through the inquiry form using the email address you originally used, and mention “privacy”, “correction” or “deletion” in the notes. Measurements and files aren’t needed for these requests. You can also reply to any message from Hale Design Studio.