Privacy
Effective 3 October 2026
Under Ideal Conditions is published by Jason Schmetzer. This page explains what information is collected when you read the site, who collects it, and what you can do about it. Questions go to privacy@underidealconditions.com.
The short version
There are no accounts, comments, forms or newsletters here, and no advertising on the pages themselves. The only tracking is Google Analytics, which loads only for visitors in the United States whose browser does not send a Global Privacy Control signal. We do not sell or share personal information, and we do not use it for targeted advertising.
Analytics
To see which articles people read and how they reach them, the site uses Google Analytics 4. It loads only when both of these are true:
- You are visiting from the United States, based on the country our host derives from your IP address. The country is used for this check and not stored by us.
- Your browser does not send a Global Privacy Control signal.
If either is false, Google Analytics never loads and sets no cookies.
When it does load, Google Analytics sets first-party cookies (named _ga and _ga_ followed by an ID) to tell a returning browser from a new one. It records pages viewed, how you arrived (for example, a search engine or another site), clicks on links that leave this site, the approximate location and the device and browser type. Google says Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses. We see the results only as aggregate reports, and analytics data is kept for 14 months.
Google signals and ads personalization are turned off, and the property is not linked to any Google advertising account, so this data is not used to target ads at you. Google explains how it handles data from sites that use its services at How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.
Amazon links
Some articles link to products on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. If you follow one of those links, you leave this site, and Amazon handles what happens next under its own privacy notice. The link carries our Associate tag so Amazon can credit the referral. It carries nothing about you.
No Amazon scripts, widgets or images run on these pages. However, third parties, including Amazon and other advertisers, may serve content and advertisements, collect information directly from visitors, and place or recognize cookies on visitors' browsers once they reach those third parties' sites.
Hosting and email
The site is hosted by Vercel. Like any web server, it receives your IP address and browser details with each request and keeps short-lived logs to run and secure the service. We do not use those logs to identify or profile readers.
If you email us, we keep your message and address so we can reply. Nothing else is done with them.
Your choices
- Turn on Global Privacy Control in your browser or with an extension. We honor it as an opt-out, and Google Analytics does not load.
- Install Google's opt-out add-on, or block or delete cookies in your browser settings.
- Do Not Track: browsers' older Do Not Track setting has no agreed standard, so we do not act on it separately. Global Privacy Control is the signal we honor.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to know what personal information we hold about you, to have it corrected or deleted, and to opt out of its sale, sharing or use for targeted advertising. We do not sell or share it or use it for targeted advertising, and we do not hold analytics data in a form tied to your name. To make a request, email privacy@underidealconditions.com. We will answer within 45 days and will not treat you differently for asking.
Children
This site is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them.
Changes
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new effective date.