Plain-English summary: WellSourced collects your email address when you sign up for our newsletter or enroll in a course. We use it to send you wellness content and (if you opt in) product recommendations. We do not sell your data. You can unsubscribe or request deletion at any time by contacting hello@wellsourced.co.
Section 01
What We Collect
WellSourced collects only the information needed to deliver our service:
- Email address — collected when you subscribe to our newsletter, sign up for a free course, or enter your email via exit-intent popups or inline signup forms.
- Course progress data — if you enroll in our free course, we track your progress through lessons to provide certificates and resume capability.
- Browser usage data — we collect anonymous page-view data (which pages you visited, approximate time on page) to understand what content is most useful. This data is aggregated and does not identify individual users.
- UTM and referral data — if you arrive via a link with UTM parameters, we record those to understand how you found us. This data is used in aggregate only.
We do not collect sensitive personal data such as health records, financial information, government IDs, or precise geolocation.
Section 02
Cookies & Tracking
WellSourced uses cookies and similar tracking technologies in the following ways:
- Essential cookies — required for site functionality: session management, course progress, and authentication. These cannot be disabled without breaking core features.
- Analytics cookies — we use lightweight analytics to understand aggregate page-view patterns. Analytics data is anonymized and not linked to individual email addresses.
- Marketing/affiliate tracking — affiliate links may use browser cookies to track referral attribution. These are handled by the third-party affiliate programs we participate in.
- No behavioral advertising cookies — WellSourced does not run behavioral advertising and does not use third-party ad targeting platforms.
Most browsers allow you to block cookies via their settings. Blocking essential cookies may cause parts of the site to stop working.
Section 03
How We Use Your Email
Your email address is used only for:
- Sending the WellSourced newsletter and wellness education content, which you opted into when subscribing
- Occasional affiliate product recommendations (if you opted in to receive them)
- Transactional emails related to course enrollment (e.g., confirmation, certificate issuance)
- One-time announcements we believe are genuinely useful to our readers (new article series, important updates)
We do not sell, rent, or share your email address with third parties for their marketing purposes. Your email is stored securely and is accessible only to WellSourced operators.
Every email we send includes an unsubscribe link. You can unsubscribe at any time — your email will be removed from active lists within 48 hours. Re-subscribing will require a new opt-in.
Section 04
Affiliate Links
WellSourced participates in affiliate programs. When you click an affiliate link and purchase a product, the affiliate program may record that click and attribute the sale to WellSourced. This tracking is handled by third-party affiliate networks (e.g., Impact, ShareASale, or similar).
Affiliate relationships do not change our editorial process. We cover products based on evidence, not commercial relationships. Affiliate cookies are used solely to attribute sales for commission tracking — not to build individual user profiles.
For our full affiliate disclosure, see our Disclaimer page.
Section 05
Third-Party Services
WellSourced uses the following third-party services:
- Email delivery (Postmark) — our transactional and newsletter emails are delivered via Postmark. Your email address is transmitted to Postmark only for the purpose of delivering emails on our behalf.
- Analytics (internal) — we operate our own lightweight analytics to understand page views. Data is stored on our own servers and is not shared with third-party analytics platforms.
- Affiliate networks — affiliate tracking is handled by third-party affiliate programs. Each program has its own privacy policy governing how they handle your data.
- Web hosting (Render/Neon) — our website is hosted on Render.com and our database is on Neon (PostgreSQL). Data stored includes email addresses and course progress. Both services maintain their own security and compliance programs.
- Payment processing (Stripe) — if you purchase a paid course or product through a payment link, your payment is processed directly by Stripe. WellSourced does not store your payment card details.
We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services linked from our site.
Section 06
Data Retention
We retain your data for the following periods:
- Email subscribers — your email address is retained until you unsubscribe. After unsubscribing, it is removed from active mailing lists within 48 hours and deleted from our system within 30 days.
- Course enrollment data — your course progress and enrollment records are retained for 2 years from your last activity, after which they may be deleted or anonymized.
- Analytics data — anonymous, aggregated analytics data is retained for up to 12 months.
- Affiliate attribution data — affiliate cookies and attribution data are governed by the affiliate program's own retention policies, typically 30–90 days.
Section 07
Your Rights (GDPR & CCPA)
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights over your personal data:
- Right to access — request a copy of all personal data WellSourced holds about you.
- Right to correction — request that we correct any inaccurate personal data.
- Right to deletion — request that we delete your personal data ("right to be forgotten").
- Right to data portability — request your data in a machine-readable format.
- Right to object — object to certain processing activities, such as direct marketing.
- Right to restrict processing — request that we limit how we use your data.
California (CCPA): California residents have the right to know what personal information is collected, request deletion, and opt out of the sale of personal information. WellSourced does not sell personal information as defined under CCPA. To exercise your rights, contact hello@wellsourced.co.
European Union (GDPR): EU residents have the rights listed above, plus the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you believe we are processing your data unlawfully. To exercise your rights, contact hello@wellsourced.co.
Section 08
Data Security
WellSourced takes reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your data against unauthorized access, loss, or misuse. These include:
- Encrypted data transmission (TLS/SSL) for all site traffic
- Encrypted storage of sensitive credentials and tokens
- Access controls limiting who can access subscriber data
- Regular review of third-party service security practices
No method of internet transmission or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we are committed to maintaining appropriate safeguards for the data we hold.