Privacy Policy

Last Updated: December 25, 2025

The Short Version (In Plain English)

Hey friend, privacy matters to me because you matter to me. Here’s the deal: I collect some information to run this website, send you helpful emails, and process purchases. I never sell your data to anyone, and you have complete control over your information. Want to unsubscribe? Go for it. Want me to delete your data? Just ask.

If you have questions about any of this, email me at [email protected] and we’ll talk it through like the real humans we are.

Now here’s the longer (legally required) version:

Who We Are

Our website address is: https://fea.lyy.mybluehost.me/website_f30b3fb0

Backroads & Breakthroughs is operated by Cyndi Kay Media. When we say “we,” “us,” or “our” in this policy, we’re referring to Backroads & Breakthroughs and Cyndi Kay Media.

What Personal Data We Collect and Why

Comments

When you leave a comment on our site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, plus your IP address and browser user agent string to help with spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address (called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Comments and their metadata are retained indefinitely so we can recognize and approve follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.

Contact Forms

When you submit information through a contact form on our website, we collect:

Your name
Your email address
Any other information you include in your message

Contact form submissions are submitted via Ninja Forms and stored in our website database. This information is used solely to respond to your inquiry. We do not share form submissions with third parties except as necessary to respond to your request.

Form submissions are retained until you request deletion or until they are no longer needed for their original purpose.

Email Communication and Newsletter

When you sign up for our email list, download free resources, or purchase products, we collect:

Your name
Your email address
Any other information you voluntarily provide

We use this information to:

Send you the resources you requested
Deliver our newsletter and spiritual encouragement content
Process your purchases
Respond to your questions
Improve our services

Email Marketing Service: We use Kit (formerly ConvertKit) to manage our email communications. Kit’s privacy policy is available at https://convertkit.com/privacy. Your email information is stored securely on their servers.

Payment and Purchase Information

When you make a purchase through our Journey Shoppe, we collect:

Billing information (name, address)
Payment information (processed securely through Square)

Payment Processing: We use Square to process payments. Square collects and processes your payment information according to their privacy policy, available at https://squareup.com/us/en/legal/general/privacy. We never see or store your complete credit card information.

Purchase records (what you bought, when, and receipt information) are retained for accounting and customer service purposes.

Community Platform

If you join our Backroads & Breakthrough community on Substack, that platform has its own separate privacy policy available at https://substack.com/privacy. We do not control Substack’s data practices.

Cookies

If you leave a comment on our site, you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we will set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me,” your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.

Analytics

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website. Google Analytics collects information such as how often users visit our site, what pages they visit, and what other sites they used prior to coming to our site. We use this information to improve our website and content.

Google Analytics collects only the IP address assigned to you on the date you visit our site, not your name or other identifying information. Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to this site is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Use and the Google Privacy Policy.

You can opt-out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

Embedded Content from Other Websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, articles, etc.) from platforms like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, or Vimeo. Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if you visited that other website directly.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Affiliate Links

We occasionally use affiliate links for products and services we genuinely recommend (such as Dwell Bible app, Cultivate What Matters planners, and other spiritual journey tools). If you make a purchase through one of these links, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. This helps support our ministry but never influences our recommendations—we only share what we actually use and love.

Our affiliate partnerships do not give those companies access to your personal information unless you choose to purchase from them directly.

Who We Share Your Data With

We share your information only with trusted third-party services necessary to operate our website and serve you:

Kit (ConvertKit) – Email marketing and newsletter delivery
Square – Payment processing for purchases
Google Analytics – Website analytics (anonymized data)
WordPress hosting provider – Website hosting and maintenance
Substack – Community platform (has separate privacy policy)
Ninja Forms – Contact form submissions (stored in our website database)

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes. Ever.

If required by law, we may disclose your information to comply with legal obligations, protect our rights, or ensure user safety.

How Long We Retain Your Data

Comments: Retained indefinitely (can be deleted upon request)
Contact form submissions: Retained until you request deletion or until no longer needed
Email subscribers: Until you unsubscribe or request deletion
Purchase records: Retained for 7 years for accounting and tax purposes
Analytics data: Google Analytics retains data according to their retention policies

What Rights You Have Over Your Data

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

Access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

Correction: You can update or correct your information at any time by emailing us.

Deletion: You can request that we erase your personal data. This does not include data we’re obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes (such as purchase records required for tax compliance).

Unsubscribe: You can unsubscribe from our emails at any time using the unsubscribe link in every email, or by contacting us directly.

Object to Processing: You can object to our processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.

Data Portability: You can request a copy of your data in a portable format.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at [email protected]. We’ll respond within 30 days.

Where Your Data is Sent

Email data is stored on Kit’s (ConvertKit) secure servers
Payment data is processed by Square’s secure payment systems
Website data is hosted on our WordPress hosting provider’s servers
Contact form submissions are stored in our website database
Analytics data is processed by Google Analytics
Community data is stored on Substack’s platform

All these services use industry-standard security measures to protect your information.

How We Protect Your Data

We take reasonable precautions to protect your personal information:

Secure hosting with regular backups
Encrypted payment processing through Square
Regular software updates and security monitoring
Limited access to personal data
Secure third-party services with privacy commitments

However, no internet transmission is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Children’s Privacy

Our website is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us immediately and we will delete it.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal, operational, or regulatory reasons. We will post any changes on this page and update the “Last Updated” date.

For significant changes, we may notify you via email or a prominent notice on our website.

Your California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have specific rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

Right to know what personal information we collect and how we use it
Right to request deletion of your personal information
Right to opt-out of the sale of personal information (we don’t sell your information)
Right to non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights

To exercise these rights, contact us at [email protected].

European Privacy Rights (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

Right to access your personal data
Right to rectification of inaccurate data
Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”)
Right to restrict processing
Right to data portability
Right to object to processing
Right to withdraw consent

Our legal basis for processing your data:

Consent: When you sign up for emails or make purchases
Contract: When we process your purchase
Legitimate Interest: When we improve our website and services