Legal

Privacy Policy

Your trust matters. Here is how we honor it.

Effective Date: April 28, 2026

Overview

This Privacy Policy describes how Dr. Sheri James, PhD and Affluent Era LLC ("we," "us," or "our") collect, use, and protect information when you visit drsherijamesphd.com (the "Site"). We aim to be transparent rather than legalistic. If anything here is unclear, contact us at drsherijamesphd.com/connect.

What We Collect

This Site uses Google Analytics 4 (GA4), served at the edge through Cloudflare Zaraz, to measure how readers engage with our research and writing. When you accept analytics, GA4 collects:

  • Pageviews and the pages visited
  • Approximate location (country and region only — IP addresses are trimmed before processing)
  • Device type, browser, and operating system
  • Referring source (the site or link that brought you here)
  • Time spent on pages and basic engagement signals

If you submit information through our contact form, we receive the information you voluntarily provide — typically your name, email address, and the contents of your message.

GA4 does not receive your full IP address. We do not use GA4 to build advertising audiences, and we do not run advertising or retargeting scripts on this Site.

Cookies Set By This Site

The following first-party cookies may be set by this Site:

  • cf-consent — stores your consent choice so you are not asked again on every visit. Set whether you accept or decline.
  • _ga and _ga_RNSHP10ED2 — Google Analytics 4 identifiers, used to distinguish unique visitors and sessions. Set only if you accept analytics.
  • cfz_google-analytics_v4 and cfzs_google-analytics_v4 — Cloudflare Zaraz first-party cookies for GA4 measurement at the edge. Set only if you accept analytics.

If you decline analytics, only the cf-consent cookie is set, recording your choice. No GA4 cookies are written.

Your Choice and How to Change It

The cookie banner shown on your first visit lets you accept or decline analytics. Your choice is stored in the cf-consent cookie. To change your choice later, clear the cf-consent cookie for drsherijamesphd.com in your browser settings; the banner will appear again on your next visit so you can choose differently.

Contact Form Submissions

If you submit our contact form at drsherijamesphd.com/connect, the information you provide (name, email address, and message) is delivered to our inbox by Resend, our transactional email provider. Submissions are forwarded as email; we do not store contact form submissions in a separate database. Resend processes the message in transit and may retain delivery logs (timestamps, sender and recipient addresses, and delivery status) on its servers in accordance with its own retention practices.

How We Use Information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Respond to inquiries and communications
  • Understand which research and writing resonates with readers
  • Improve the Site's functionality and user experience
  • Comply with legal obligations

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties.

Third-Party Services

This Site relies on the following third-party services, each of which operates under its own privacy policy:

  • Cloudflare: Hosting, edge security, and tag management via Cloudflare Pages and Cloudflare Zaraz. Cloudflare may collect technical data such as IP address, request timing, and security signals as part of standard hosting and protection. See cloudflare.com/privacypolicy.
  • Google Analytics 4: Pageview and engagement measurement, served through Cloudflare Zaraz at the edge. Loaded only after you accept analytics. See policies.google.com/privacy.
  • Google Fonts: Typography rendering (Merriweather, Playfair Display, Raleway). Google may receive your IP address when fonts are fetched from its servers. See policies.google.com/privacy.
  • Resend: Transactional email delivery for contact form submissions. Resend receives the name, email address, and message contents you submit and forwards them to our inbox. Resend may retain delivery logs on its servers. See resend.com/legal/privacy-policy.
  • Gumroad: Distribution of branded research PDFs. When you click a Gumroad download link from this Site, you are taken to Gumroad's domain, where their checkout, payment, and download flow operates under their own privacy practices. See gumroad.com/privacy.

Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy, or as required by law. Analytics data is retained according to GA4's default retention settings; contact form correspondence is retained in our inbox for as long as the conversation is active or for record-keeping purposes. You may request deletion of your data at any time by contacting us.

Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:

  • Access the personal information we hold about you
  • Request correction of inaccurate information
  • Request deletion of your personal information
  • Opt out of marketing communications
  • Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at drsherijamesphd.com/connect. We will respond within a reasonable timeframe and may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.

What We Do Not Do

We do not:

  • Sell your data to third parties
  • Run advertising or retargeting pixels on this Site
  • Use dark patterns to nudge consent — Accept and Decline are equally weighted
  • Track you across other websites you visit

External Links

This Site links to other properties in the Affluent Era™ ecosystem (affluentera.com) and to external services such as Beehiiv, Gumroad, ORCID, and SSRN. Each has its own privacy practices. Once you leave drsherijamesphd.com, this policy no longer applies.

Children's Privacy

This Site is not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13, we will promptly delete it. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at drsherijamesphd.com/connect.

Security

We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect information collected through this Site, including HTTPS encryption for all traffic, edge-level security via Cloudflare, and minimum-access principles for any internal systems. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. Material changes will be reflected in the cookie banner so you can re-confirm your preferences. Your continued use of the Site after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights, please contact us at drsherijamesphd.com/connect.