Privacy Policy
Signup recap: By clicking subscribe, you agree to receive email updates from Colin. Your email address will be securely processed by our email delivery partner, Mailgun, a Sinch Email service. You can withdraw your consent and unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link at the bottom of any email or by viewing our Privacy Policy at: https://blog.corkseafarers.com/privacy-policy/
Last updated: 16 August 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how Colin Jenkins collects and processes personal data when you visit blog.corkseafarers.com, subscribe to email updates, or contact .
1. Data controller
The data controller responsible for your personal data is:
Colin Jenkins
Ireland
Email: corkseafarers@proton.me
2. Personal data collected
Newsletter subscriptions
When you subscribe to the newsletter, I collect and process:
- Your email address;
- Your name, if you choose to provide it;
- Your subscription status;
- The date and time of your subscription and confirmation;
- The source of your subscription, where recorded; and
- Information needed to record your consent and any subsequent withdrawal of consent.
Providing your email address is voluntary, but it is necessary if you want to receive the newsletter. Providing your name is optional.
Email delivery information
When an email is sent, operational information may be processed, including:
- Whether the message was delivered;
- Whether delivery failed or the message bounced;
- Whether the message was rejected or reported as spam;
- The date and time of these events; and
- Your unsubscribe status.
This information is used to deliver the newsletter reliably, maintain the mailing list, investigate delivery problems and prevent messages from being sent after you unsubscribe.
I do not use tracking pixels to monitor whether individual subscribers open emails, and I do not track individual link clicks for marketing or profiling purposes.
Website and server information
When you visit the website, the server and related infrastructure may automatically process limited technical information, including:
- Your IP address;
- The date and time of access;
- The pages or resources requested;
- Browser and device information;
- Referring website information;
- Error messages; and
- Security-related events.
This information is used only to operate, secure, maintain and troubleshoot the website.
Information you provide directly
If you contact me, I process the information contained in your message, your email address and any other information you choose to provide.
I do not intentionally collect special-category personal data through the newsletter. Please do not send sensitive personal information unless it is necessary.
3. Purposes and legal bases
I process personal data for the following purposes and under the following legal bases.
Sending the newsletter
I process your email address and related subscription information with your consent under Article 6(1)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation.
You may withdraw your consent at any time by using the unsubscribe link in an email or by contacting me. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.
Operating and securing the website
I process limited server, diagnostic and security information where necessary for my legitimate interests under Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Those interests include:
- Operating and maintaining the website;
- Detecting and preventing abuse or unauthorised access;
- Investigating technical problems; and
- Protecting the security and integrity of the self-hosted system.
Managing email delivery
I process delivery, bounce, complaint and suppression information where necessary for my legitimate interests in delivering requested emails, maintaining an accurate mailing list and preventing unwanted messages.
Responding to enquiries
If you contact me about the newsletter or website, I process your information to respond to your request. Depending on the nature of the enquiry, the legal basis is consent, legitimate interests, or taking steps at your request before entering into an agreement.
Compliance and legal claims
Personal data may be processed where necessary to comply with a legal obligation under Article 6(1)(c) GDPR or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
4. How information is obtained
Most personal data is obtained directly from you when you subscribe or contact me.
Technical information is generated automatically when your browser communicates with the website. Email delivery information is generated by Ghost and Mailgun when newsletter messages are processed.
I do not purchase subscriber lists or obtain email addresses from data brokers.
5. Self-hosting and service providers
Ghost and Start9
The website and its primary subscriber database are self-hosted using Ghost on a Start9 server under my control.
Ghost is open-source publishing software. The use of self-hosted Ghost does not, by itself, mean that the Ghost Foundation receives subscriber information.
Mailgun
I use Mailgun, a Sinch Email service, to send newsletter and related transactional emails.
Information processed by Mailgun may include:
- Your email address;
- Your name, if provided;
- The content of the email;
- Message identifiers;
- Delivery, bounce and complaint information;
- Your unsubscribe or suppression status; and
- Technical information necessary to transmit the email.
Mailgun processes this information to deliver and manage email on my behalf. Mailgun may also retain limited records where necessary to operate its service, prevent abuse, comply with legal requirements and maintain suppression lists.
You can read Mailgun’s privacy information at:
https://www.mailgun.com/legal/privacy-policy/
You can read Mailgun’s GDPR compliance and EU data protection at: https://www.mailgun.com/gdpr/
Proton
I use Proton to receive and respond to messages sent tocorkseafarers@proton.me. If you contact me at that address, Proton processes your email address, message and associated email metadata to provide its email service.
Other disclosures
I do not sell, rent or trade personal data.
Information may be disclosed where required by law, necessary to protect the security of the service, or necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
6. International transfers
Some service providers, including Mailgun or its subprocessors, may process personal data outside Ireland or the European Economic Area.
Where GDPR requires safeguards for an international transfer, the transfer is made using an appropriate legal mechanism, such as:
- A European Commission adequacy decision;
- The European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses; or
- Another transfer mechanism permitted by data-protection law.
More information about Mailgun’s processing locations, subprocessors and transfer arrangements is available in its privacy and data-processing documentation.
7. Cookies and similar technologies
The website may use cookies or local browser storage where strictly necessary to provide requested Ghost functionality, maintain security or remember a member’s authenticated session.
I do not use advertising cookies or third-party website analytics cookies. I do not use email tracking pixels to monitor individual email opens.
If non-essential analytics, embedded content or other tracking technologies are introduced in the future, this notice will be updated and consent will be requested where required before those technologies are used.
You can also control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Blocking essential cookies may prevent some website features from working correctly.
8. Retention
Active subscriptions
I retain your email address and associated subscription information for as long as you remain subscribed.
Unsubscribing
When you unsubscribe, newsletter messages will stop and your address will be marked as unsubscribed.
A limited suppression record may be retained to ensure that the opt-out is respected and that you are not accidentally subscribed or contacted again. I may also retain limited records of consent and withdrawal where reasonably necessary to demonstrate compliance with data-protection law or deal with a legal claim.
Unsubscribing does not necessarily delete every historical delivery record immediately. Mailgun may retain limited delivery, security or suppression information according to its applicable settings and retention policies.
You may separately request the deletion of personal data that is no longer required.
Server logs
Routine server logs are retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for security, maintenance and troubleshooting. They are normally deleted or overwritten after 30 days, unless a particular record must be retained longer to investigate a security incident, abuse or legal claim.
Enquiries
Messages and correspondence are retained only for as long as reasonably necessary to respond to the enquiry and maintain an appropriate record of the response.
9. Security
I use reasonable technical and organisational measures intended to protect personal data, including self-hosting the primary database on infrastructure under my control and limiting administrative access.
Mailgun and other service providers are responsible for the security of information processed within their respective systems.
No internet-connected service or email transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If I become aware of a personal-data breach, I will assess it and notify the Irish Data Protection Commission and affected individuals where legally required.
10. Your data-protection rights
Subject to the conditions and exceptions in applicable law, you may have the right to:
- Access: Obtain confirmation that your personal data is being processed and request a copy;
- Rectification: Have inaccurate or incomplete information corrected;
- Erasure: Ask for personal data to be deleted where there is no lawful reason to retain it;
- Restriction: Ask for processing to be restricted in certain circumstances;
- Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interests;
- Data portability: Receive certain information you provided in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format;
- Withdraw consent: Withdraw your consent at any time; and
- Complain: Lodge a complaint with a data-protection supervisory authority.
These rights are not absolute, and a request may be refused or limited where permitted by law.
11. Exercising your rights
To unsubscribe from the newsletter, use the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of any newsletter email.
For access, deletion, correction or other data-protection requests, contact:
I will normally respond within one month. If a request is particularly complex or numerous requests are made, the response period may be extended by up to two additional months as permitted by GDPR. You will be informed within the first month if an extension is necessary.
I may ask for information reasonably necessary to confirm your identity before responding.
12. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how your personal data has been handled, you may contact me first so that I can try to address the issue.
You also have the right to complain to the Irish Data Protection Commission:
Data Protection Commission
Website: https://www.dataprotection.ie/
You may also be entitled to complain to the supervisory authority in the EU or EEA country where you live or work.
13. Automated decision-making
I do not use personal data to make decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects.
I do not use subscriber information for behavioural profiling.
14. Changes to this policy
I may update this Privacy Policy if the website, service providers, processing practices or legal requirements change.
The current version will be published at:
https://blog.corkseafarers.com/privacy-policy/
The “Last updated” date at the top of the policy will be changed when revisions are made. Where a change materially affects how subscriber information is used, I will provide additional notice where appropriate.
