Privacy
We don't track you
- No tracking
- One cookie, only when you sign in
- Download or delete everything yourself
What we don't do
There are no statistics, no ads and no tracking. You use the public site without an account and without cookies.
On your own device
The modules you ticked off on the craft pages, your theme (light or dark) and your reading comfort choices are kept in your own browser's storage (localStorage). They don't reach us by themselves. When you sign in to the Workbench, we offer once to bring those ticks into your account; if you do, they are kept there from then on as well.
The Workbench: your account
You create your account yourself, for free: you fill in your e-mail address, get a six-digit code by e-mail, and then fill in your first name and, if you like, a first craft. There is no password, and nobody has to approve you first. Of the code we keep only an encrypted fingerprint (hash), for ten minutes. In your account we keep: your e-mail address, your first name, the language of your e-mails, the crafts on your path and your rank in each, your own ticks, your submissions (the link and your explanation), the reviews with the line-by-line comments, and your hallmarks. We keep that to track your path and review your work, and for nothing else. If you take the subscription, we also keep your subscription (status, the month you are in, when you cancelled, and when you asked to start straight away) and your invoices with the name, address and, if given, the VAT number you entered for the invoice.
Sessions and the one cookie
When you sign in, the site sets one cookie that keeps you signed in. It is needed for the Workbench to work and doesn't track you. The database keeps only a hash of it, together with the device as your browser reports it (browser and operating system), when you signed in and when you last did something. A session ends after 30 days without use, and after 180 days in any case. On your account page you see your devices and can sign them out. Against abuse we count how many codes are requested per visitor; for that we keep an unrecognisable hash of your IP address per time window, not the address itself.
Who sees it
Your Master (for now that is Neal, the only Master) sees your name, your email address, your path, your rank and your submissions, to review your work. Nobody else. We pass nothing on and sell nothing.
Download and delete
On your account page you download everything we keep about you in one file (JSON), and you delete your account. Then everything is gone at once and for good: your path, your submissions, the reviews and your hallmarks. In case of abuse we can close an account; you are then signed out on all your devices. Only invoices are kept, because the law requires it (see Paying through Mollie).
Where it is kept
Once the Workbench is online, the data is kept in a Postgres database at a hosting provider, and an email service (Resend) sends the emails with your code. The hosting provider hasn't been chosen yet; we'll fill in its name here once it is. Like any web server, it will keep short technical logs, such as an IP address and the time of a visit, to keep the site running safely. During development, everything is in a local database (PGlite) on the developer's computer.
Paying through Mollie
You pay for the subscription through Mollie B.V. (Amsterdam), a licensed payment service. Mollie handles your payment details (card or account) itself, as a processor for us and under its own privacy statement (mollie.com); we never see them. We give Mollie your name, your e-mail address and the amount, and Mollie only tells us whether and when you paid, with a reference for the payment. The law requires us to keep invoices (in Belgium usually seven to ten years): if you delete your account, your invoices are kept for the books, no longer linked to your account. A running subscription is first cancelled at Mollie when you delete your account.
Asking for a conversation
If you ask for an introduction or an hour 1-to-1, we keep your answers (your name, your e-mail address, your choices and your message) in the Atelier's admin and mail them to Neal at contact@nealvdv.be. We use them only to follow up on your request and pass them to nobody. A handled request is deleted after a year, a binned one after 30 days. Against abuse we count how many requests come per visitor, with an unrecognisable hash of your IP address, not the address itself. You can always ask what we keep about you, or have it deleted.
Links to others
We link to official documentation, certificate issuers and the maker's site. Those sites have their own privacy rules.
Questions
Have a question about your privacy? Email contact@nealvdv.be.
Updated on 20 October 2026: creating an account yourself and asking for a conversation.