Privacy Policy

Last updated: 27/02/2026

1. Introduction

1.1 This Privacy Policy explains how Cognitive Ink Pty Ltd (11 166 425 234) (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, discloses and protects personal information when you visit or use our website www.cognitiveink.com and any related services (together, the “Site”).

1.2 We are an Australian‑based blog that publishes articles and resources about technology and design, and we offer an optional email newsletter for people who choose to subscribe.

1.3 We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles, which set out how personal information must be handled in Australia.

1.4 We also comply with the Spam Act 2003 in relation to our newsletter and other commercial electronic messages.

1.5 By using our Site, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. Where required by law, we will seek your express consent before collecting or using your personal information in particular ways (for example, certain non‑essential cookies).

2. Who we are and how to contact us

2.1 The Site is operated by Cognitive Ink Pty Ltd.

2.2 If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, you can contact us at: privacy@cognitiveink.com

3. Types of personal information we collect

3.1 The personal information we collect can include:

  • Newsletter and contact information – your email address and, if you choose to provide them, your name or other contact details when you subscribe to our newsletter or submit a contact form.

  • Technical and usage data – information about your browser, network and device, IP address, pages viewed, referring pages, clicks, scrolling, searches and timestamps.

  • Preferences and feedback – your communication preferences (for example, whether you want to receive the newsletter) and any information you include when you contact us or respond to surveys.

3.2 We do not intentionally collect sensitive information (such as health information) and do not use the Site for behavioural profiling or targeted advertising.

4. How we collect personal information

4.1 We collect personal information in the following ways:

  • Directly from you when you subscribe to our email newsletter, complete forms (such as “Contact us” or surveys) or otherwise interact with us through the Site.

  • Automatically through cookies, pixels and similar tracking technologies when you browse or use the Site (see section 5).

  • From our hosting and analytics providers (currently Squarespace and Google Analytics), who collect certain technical and usage information on our behalf.

  • From payment processing systems (currently Buy Me A Coffee and Stripe).

4.2 Where lawful and practicable, you may interact with us anonymously or using a pseudonym (for example, by browsing the Site without logging in or by using a pseudonym in feedback forms), although some features (such as receiving the newsletter) may not be available without at least an email address.

5. Cookies and similar technologies

5.1 Our Site uses cookies and similar technologies (such as pixels and local storage) to operate, secure and improve the Site and to understand how it is used.

5.2 Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. We use:

  • Strictly necessary cookies – required for the Site to function and for security (for example, to serve pages, prevent abuse and manage network traffic).

  • Analytics and performance cookies – to understand traffic, usage patterns and improve our content (for example, pages visited, time on page, clicks, scrolling and referring pages).

  • Social and sharing cookies/pixels – when you use sharing buttons to share content to third‑party services (for example, social networks). These services may set their own cookies and collect information about your interaction with our Site.

5.3 Non‑essential cookies (such as analytics and some social/marketing technologies) are controlled through our cookie management tool, which is visible and accessible at the bottom of the window on all pages. You can use this tool at any time to:

  • provide or withdraw consent to non‑essential cookies, and

  • change your cookie preferences.

5.4 You can also control cookies through your browser settings, but blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on the Site.

6. Analytics

6.1 We use Squarespace analytics, Google Analytics, Buy Me A Coffee and Stripe to collect usage data to help us protect the Site, maintain our services, process payments and understand how our technology and design content is being used and discovered.​

6.2 The analytics data collected may include:

  • your IP address, device and browser type,

  • the web pages you visited before coming to our Site,

  • pages you view on our Site, links you click, scrolling, searches and timestamps.​

6.3 This information is used in aggregated and de‑identified form wherever possible. We do not use analytics data to identify you personally, except where required to investigate or prevent security incidents, fraud or misuse of the Site.

6.4 You can manage analytics cookies and similar technologies through our cookie management tool described in section 5.

7. Purposes for which we use personal information

7.1 We may collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information for the following purposes:

  • to operate, administer, secure and maintain the Site and our underlying systems;

  • to monitor and improve the performance, content and user experience of the Site through analytics;​

  • to process payments for site support, via Buy Me A Coffee and Stripe;

  • to send you our optional email newsletter about new posts, articles, updates and other content related to technology and design, if you have subscribed, using our email service provider Mailchimp;

  • to respond to your enquiries, feedback and requests submitted via forms or email;

  • to conduct surveys or research (where you choose to participate);

  • to comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests from regulators or law enforcement; and

  • to prevent, detect and investigate fraud, security incidents and misuse of the Site.

7.2 We will not use your personal information for purposes that are materially different from those set out in this Privacy Policy unless we are permitted or required to do so by law, or we obtain your consent.

8. Consent, newsletter and your choices

8.1 For our newsletter and other electronic messages that promote our content, we comply with the Spam Act 2003, which generally requires:

  • your express consent to receive commercial electronic messages (such as by actively subscribing via a form that is integrated with Mailchimp),

  • that we clearly identify ourselves as the sender, and

  • that we provide a functional and free unsubscribe facility in each message.

8.2 You can withdraw your consent or change your preferences at any time by:

  • clicking the “unsubscribe” link or similar in any newsletter email sent via Mailchimp; or

  • contacting us using the details in section 2.

We will action unsubscribe requests within a reasonable period and in line with the timeframes required under the Spam Act.

8.3 For cookies and similar tracking technologies, we will generally seek your consent for non‑essential cookies, particularly where tracking would go beyond what a reasonable person would expect for a technology and design blog. You can change these settings at any time via the cookie management tool, which sits at the bottom of the site in the cookie preferences pane.

9. Disclosures to third parties and overseas recipients

9.1 We may disclose personal information to the following categories of third parties:

  • our website hosting and platform provider (currently Squarespace);

  • our analytics providers (currently Google Analytics);

  • our payment providers (currently Buy Me A Coffee and Stripe);

  • our email service provider Mailchimp, which we use to manage our newsletter mailing list and send newsletter emails on our behalf;

  • providers of fonts and other content delivery networks (currently Google Fonts and Adobe Fonts);

  • providers of social and sharing features embedded in the Site;

  • professional advisers (such as legal or technical advisers) where reasonably necessary; and

  • law enforcement, regulators or courts, where required or authorised by law.

9.2 Some of these third parties are located outside Australia. In particular:

  • Mailchimp, Squarespace, Google, Adobe, Buy Me A Coffee and Stripe may use servers located in the United States, the European Union and other countries where it or its sub‑processors operate data centres;

9.3 When we disclose personal information overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure that the recipient will handle it in a way that is consistent with the APPs, for example by using contracts and relying on the provider’s published data protection commitments and data processing addenda.

10. Data retention

10.1 We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or as required by law.

10.2 In particular:

  • Newsletter subscription records and contact/enquiry records are generally retained for 7 years after our last interaction with you, unless we need to keep them longer for legal or operational reasons.

  • Google Analytics and technical logs are retained for 14 months and then deleted according to the Google Analytics retention policy.

  • Squarespace Analytics are kept indefinitely so we can see how the value and interest in articles changes over time. However, the data shows only aggregate and de-identified information.

10.3 When personal information is no longer needed for any authorised purpose, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de‑identify it, in line with APP 11 obligations to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures.

11. Data security

11.1 We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, as required by the Privacy Act and APP 11.

11.2 These steps include a combination of technical and organisational measures such as secure hosting, access controls, encryption in transit (for example, HTTPS), regular updates to our website platform and security monitoring provided by our hosting and email service providers.

11.3 While we use reasonable measures to protect your information, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. If a data breach occurs that is likely to result in serious harm, we will assess and, where required, notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

12. Your rights

12.1 Access – You may request access to the personal information we hold about you, subject to certain exceptions under the Privacy Act. If we refuse access, we will explain why, subject to any legal restrictions.

12.2 Correction – You may request that we correct personal information that is inaccurate, out‑of‑date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. If we do not agree to change your information, we will let you know why and how you can complain.

12.3 Anonymity and pseudonymity – Where lawful and practicable, you can choose not to identify yourself (for example, by browsing the Site without logging in or by using a pseudonym in feedback forms).

12.4 Opting out of direct marketing (newsletter) – You may opt out of our email newsletter and any other direct marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe link in the message or contacting us. We will honour your request within a reasonable period and at no cost to you.

12.5 Withdrawing consent – Where we rely on your consent (for example, for the newsletter or certain non‑essential cookies), you may withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of any use of your information that occurred before you withdrew consent.

12.6 Exercising rights – To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in section 2. We may need to verify your identity before we can respond.

13. Concerns

13.1 If you have concerns about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first using the details in section 2 and tell us what you are concerned about.

13.2 We will acknowledge your complaint and aim to respond within 30 days, setting out the steps we will take and the outcome of our investigation.

14. Changes to this Privacy Policy

14.1 We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements or for other operational reasons.

14.2 The “Last updated” date at the top of this Privacy Policy indicates when it was last revised. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically. When required by law, we will notify you of significant changes (for example, via a notice on the Site).