Effective date: January 1, 2026
Who We Are
SeaBits LLC ("SeaBits," "we," "us") is a marine consulting, systems integration, and publishing business operated by Steve Mitchell.
Owner and Data Controller
SeaBits LLC
7001 Seaview Ave NW, Suite 160-633
Seattle, WA 98117
admin@seabits.com
What This Policy Covers
This policy describes how SeaBits collects, uses, and shares personal data across all of our services, including:
- The seabits.com website and newsletter
- Paid membership subscriptions
- Consulting and training services
- The SeaBits Discussions community forum at talk.seabits.com
Data We Collect and Why
Website visitors
When you visit seabits.com, basic anonymous usage data is collected to understand how the site is used. No personally identifiable information is collected for analytics purposes.
Cloudflare processes all traffic to seabits.com as our CDN and security provider. This involves processing your IP address and browser data in order to deliver the site reliably and protect against attacks. Google Fonts loads typefaces from Google's servers, which may collect usage data.
Newsletter subscribers
When you subscribe to the SeaBits newsletter, we collect your email address and, optionally, your name. This data is stored in Ghost, our publishing platform, and used to send you newsletter issues and membership-related emails. Ghost uses Mailgun as its bulk email delivery service; your email address passes through Mailgun's systems solely for the purpose of delivering emails from SeaBits.
Paid members
When you purchase a membership, we collect your name, email address, and payment information. Payment is processed by Stripe — SeaBits never stores your full card details. Stripe processes your payment data under their own privacy policy. Ghost stores your membership status and billing history.
Consulting session bookings
When you submit a consulting or training inquiry via the forms on seabits.com, your name, email address, and inquiry details are processed by Formspree. SeaBits receives this data solely to respond to your inquiry and arrange services. Payment for services is processed by Stripe.
Contact form
When you submit the contact form on seabits.com, your name, email address, and message are processed by Formspree, a third-party form handling service. SeaBits receives this data solely to respond to your inquiry.
Community forum (talk.seabits.com)
The SeaBits Discussions forum is powered by Discourse software, self-hosted by SeaBits. When you register for an account, we collect your name, email address, and any profile information you choose to provide. Your posts and contributions are publicly visible. You may register using your email address, or via OAuth login through Google, X (Twitter), or GitHub — in which case those services authenticate your identity and share basic profile data with Discourse. Your account data and activity is stored on SeaBits' own servers.
Amazon affiliate links
SeaBits participates in the Amazon Associates affiliate program. When you click an affiliate link, Amazon may set trackers and collect usage data per their own privacy policy. SeaBits receives a commission on qualifying purchases but does not receive your personal data from Amazon.
How Long We Keep Your Data
- Newsletter subscribers: Retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion
- Paid member data: Retained for the duration of membership plus as long as required by tax and legal obligations (typically 7 years)
- Booking data: Retained for the duration reasonably needed to fulfill consulting services and for business records
- Contact form submissions: Retained only as long as needed to respond to your inquiry
- Forum data: Retained until you request account deletion
Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have rights regarding your personal data, including the right to:
- Access a copy of the data we hold about you
- Request correction of inaccurate data
- Request deletion of your data
- Withdraw consent to processing where consent is the legal basis
- Object to processing based on legitimate interests
- Request restriction of processing
- Lodge a complaint with a data protection authority
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at admin@seabits.com or via the contact form at seabits.com/contact. We will respond within 30 days.
To unsubscribe from the newsletter, use the unsubscribe link in any email or contact us directly. To delete your forum account, use the account settings in Discourse or contact us. To request deletion of membership data, contact us at admin@seabits.com.
Third-Party Services
The following third-party services process personal data in connection with SeaBits. Each operates under its own privacy policy.
| Service | Purpose | Privacy Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Ghost (Ghost Foundation Ltd, Singapore) | Site platform, subscriptions, newsletter | ghost.org/privacy |
| Mailgun (Sinch, US) | Email delivery for Ghost newsletters | mailgun.com/privacy-policy |
| Cloudflare (US) | CDN, traffic, security | cloudflare.com/privacypolicy |
| Google Fonts (Google LLC, US) | Typography | policies.google.com/privacy |
| Stripe (US) | Payment processing | stripe.com/privacy |
| Formspree (US) | Contact form processing | formspree.io/legal/privacy-policy |
| Google OAuth | Forum login option | policies.google.com/privacy |
| X (Twitter) OAuth | Forum login option | twitter.com/privacy |
| GitHub OAuth | Forum login option | docs.github.com/site-policy/privacy-policies/github-privacy-statement |
| Amazon Associates (US) | Affiliate links | amazon.com/privacy |
Data Security
We take reasonable measures to protect your personal data. All connections to seabits.com and talk.seabits.com are encrypted via HTTPS. Payment data is handled exclusively by Stripe, which is PCI-DSS Level 1 certified. We do not store payment card information.
Children's Privacy
SeaBits is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always available at seabits.com/privacy. Continued use of SeaBits services after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
Contact
Questions about this privacy policy or your personal data:
Email: admin@seabits.com Contact form: seabits.com/contact Mail: SeaBits LLC, 7001 Seaview Ave NW, Suite 160-633, Seattle, WA 98117