This policy explains what personal information The Bench Verdict ("we", "us") collects when you visit thebenchverdict.com, why we collect it, and the choices you have. We keep it in plain language on purpose. Questions or requests: hello@thebenchverdict.com or The Bench Verdict, Rua Augusto dos Anjos, 155 - Barueri/SP - CEP 06485-370 - Brazil.
What we collect
- Your email address — only if you give it to us. The one form on this site asks for your email so we can send you the free plans guide and, with your express consent, our newsletter. Reading the site requires no account and no personal information.
- Quiz answers — stored on your device only. The project quiz saves your three answers in your browser's session storage so the results page can show your match. They are never sent to us or to any server, and they're deleted when you close the browser tab.
- Basic technical data. Our web host's standard server logs record IP addresses and requested pages for security and uptime. If we run analytics, it's aggregate page-view data used to improve the site.
- Advertising data. If you arrived from an ad, the advertising platform (Google Ads) may set cookies on its own behalf to measure ad performance.
- Contact messages. If you email us, we keep the message and your address for as long as needed to reply and resolve the issue.
We do not sell or rent your personal information. Ever.
Your email: consent, use, and unsubscribe (CASL)
We follow Canada's anti-spam legislation (CASL) for all subscribers, not just Canadian ones:
- Express consent. You only join our list by ticking an unticked consent box that states what you'll receive and who from. We keep a record of that consent (timestamp and form) as CASL proof.
- Sender identification. Every email identifies The Bench Verdict as the sender and includes our mailing address (Rua Augusto dos Anjos, 155 - Barueri/SP - CEP 06485-370 - Brazil).
- Unsubscribe that works. Every email carries a one-click unsubscribe that takes effect promptly (CASL allows up to 10 business days; in practice it's immediate). You can also withdraw consent any time by emailing hello@thebenchverdict.com.
- What the emails contain. The free guide, beginner project picks, tool notes, and occasional recommendations — some of which may be affiliate offers, always disclosed in the email itself.
Our email list is operated on MailerLite, an email service provider that stores subscriber data on our behalf under its own privacy policy and safeguards. MailerLite processes your email address, consent record, and email engagement (opens and clicks) so we can run the list; it may store this data outside Canada (see "Where data is stored" below).
Cookies and similar technologies
- This site itself sets no cookies for reading, and the quiz uses session storage (device-only, described above), not cookies.
- Google Ads may set cookies if you arrive via one of our ads, to measure that the ad worked. Google handles these under its own privacy policy.
- Affiliate links. If you click a link to a product we recommend (for example, Ted's Woodworking), the retailer — ClickBank — sets a cookie on its own site so a purchase can be credited to us. This happens on the retailer's domain, under the retailer's privacy policy. We never see your payment details.
- MailerLite forms may use cookies or similar technologies to make the signup form work and prevent abuse.
You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings; the site remains fully readable without them.
For Canadian visitors: PIPEDA
We handle personal information in line with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and its ten fair-information principles. In practice that means:
- Purpose & consent: we collect your email for the purposes stated at the form, with your express consent, and use it for nothing else.
- Limiting collection: we collect the minimum — an email address is all our form asks for.
- Access & correction: you may ask what personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. Email hello@thebenchverdict.com; we respond within 30 days.
- Challenging compliance: if you believe we've handled your information improperly and we haven't resolved it, you may complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
Where data is stored
Our service providers (web hosting, MailerLite, Google) may store and process data on servers outside Canada, including in the United States and the European Union. Where that happens, the data is subject to the laws of those jurisdictions. We choose providers with recognized security practices and use them only for the purposes in this policy.
Data retention & security
We keep your email address until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it, then remove it from our active list (CASL consent records may be retained as legal proof). Contact messages are deleted once resolved. We take reasonable safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the data — which, for this site, is deliberately minimal — though no internet transmission is perfectly secure.
Children
This site is written for adults. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children under 13; if you believe a child subscribed, email us and we'll delete the address.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy materially, we'll update the "last updated" date above and, for subscribers, mention it in the next email.