Privacy Policy

This policy explains how bard0 design handles information submitted through this website.

Last updated: May 17, 2026

Who We Are

This website is operated by bard0 design (referred to in this policy as "we", "us", or "our"), based in Australia. We are responsible for the personal information described below under the Australian Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles, and act as the data controller where the EU and UK GDPR apply. For any privacy question, or to request our full business details, use the contact form on this website.

Information We Collect

When you contact us, subscribe to engineering notes, leave a comment, or use the chat, we may receive your name, email address, message or comment text, preferred consultation time, timezone, and newsletter signup source. Whenever any visitor loads a page, we also receive standard request information such as IP address, approximate country, page path, referrer, and basic browser information, which we use for analytics and abuse prevention.

How We Use It and Our Legal Basis

We use the information above for the following purposes:

• Reply to inquiries and arrange consultations — performance of a contract, or steps prior to entering into a contract at your request.
• Send occasional engineering notes to newsletter subscribers — your consent, given when you submit the signup form.
• Moderate, display, and operate the article comments area — legitimate interest in running a public discussion space and keeping it free of abuse.
• Generate chat replies and review chat transcripts to improve the assistant — legitimate interest, with the AI processing described below.
• Understand page visits and engagement through internal server-side analytics — legitimate interest in operating and improving the site.
• Load optional third-party analytics (Google Analytics) — your consent, given through the on-site preferences banner.
• Protect the site from spam, abuse, and attacks, and keep operational records — legitimate interest and, where applicable, legal obligation.

AI Chat Processing

The chat widget on this site sends the messages you type to Google's Gemini API in order to generate replies. This means your chat content is transmitted to and processed by Google in the United States, subject to Google's own terms and applicable safeguards. We also store chat transcripts on our server so we can review them, follow up on inquiries, and improve the assistant. Please do not enter confidential, regulated, or otherwise sensitive personal information into the chat.

Comments Are Published Publicly

The display name you submit and the comment text are shown publicly on the article page. The email address, if you choose to provide one, is not published and is only used for moderation and follow-up. If you would like a published comment removed, use the contact form on this website.

Cookies, Local Storage, and Consent

We use essential first-party browser storage to support core site features (for example, remembering a contact-form prefill between pages and remembering your cookie-preferences choice). These do not track you across other sites.

The site also offers an optional third-party analytics service, Google Analytics, which is only loaded after you click "Accept" on the on-site preferences banner. If you decline or ignore the banner, Google Analytics is not loaded and no Google Analytics cookies are set. You can change your choice at any time using the "Manage preferences" link in the footer area.

We do not use advertising cookies or cross-site marketing pixels.

Storage and Retention

We store the information described above on our systems and back it up periodically so we can recover from data loss. We keep each category for as long as it is needed for the purpose for which it was collected:

• Contact and consultation submissions: while your inquiry is active and for a reasonable follow-up period afterwards.
• Newsletter subscriptions: while you remain subscribed, unless you ask us to remove your email.
• Article comments: while the article remains published, unless you request deletion.
• Chat transcripts: for the time needed to follow up on your conversation and review assistant quality.
• Analytics records: for a limited rolling window sufficient for trend analysis, after which older records are rotated out.
• Backups: rotated on a regular maintenance cycle, with older copies removed.

Third Parties That Help Operate the Site

We share information only with the service providers we need to run the website, and only as needed for those purposes. We do not sell personal information.

• Google (Gemini API) — processes chat messages to generate assistant replies (United States).
• Google Analytics — optional, consent-gated visitor analytics (United States).
• An IP-based geolocation service — provides the approximate country associated with an IP address.
• A hosting and email provider — provides server, storage, and email-delivery infrastructure for the site.

Overseas Disclosure

We are based in Australia. Some of the providers listed above (notably Google's Gemini API and Google Analytics) are based in the United States, and our hosting and email infrastructure may also process data outside Australia. If you use the chat feature, or accept analytics on the preferences banner, the relevant data is disclosed to and processed by these overseas providers under their standard contractual terms and applicable safeguards.

Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• access the personal information we hold about you;
• request correction or deletion;
• request portability of the data you submitted to us;
• object to or restrict certain processing;
• withdraw your consent where processing is based on consent (for example, the optional analytics).

To exercise any of these rights, use the contact form on this website. We may need to retain some records where required for security, legal, or operational reasons.

If you live in Australia and are not satisfied with how we have handled your personal information, you can lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (oaic.gov.au). If you live in the EU, UK, or EEA, you have the equivalent right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.

Contact

For privacy questions or to exercise your rights, use the contact form on this website.