Privacy Policy

Last updated: 12 September 2026

The Why We Project, LLC ("we", "us") operates thewhyweproject.com and the newsletter, social accounts and other services connected to it (together, the "Site"). This policy explains what information we collect when you use the Site, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. By using the Site you agree to the practices described here.

Who we are

The Why We Project is an online publication about psychology and human behaviour. We are the data controller for the personal information collected through the Site. You can reach us at privacy@thewhyweproject.com.

What we collect

Information you give us. If you subscribe to our newsletter, leave a comment, contact us, or take part in a survey, we collect what you provide: usually your name, email address and the content of your message. Newsletter sign-up asks for an email address and nothing else.

Information collected automatically. When you visit the Site, our systems and those of our service providers record technical information about your visit: your IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, the pages you view, the time and length of your visit, the site that referred you, and approximate location derived from your IP address. This is collected through cookies and similar technologies, described below.

Information from other sources. If you interact with us on a social platform, we may receive information that platform makes available, such as your public profile name. We do not buy personal data from third parties.

How we use it

We use the information we collect to:

publish and deliver the Site and the newsletter
understand how the Site is used so that we can improve it
respond to messages and requests
show advertising and measure its performance
protect the Site from abuse, spam and security threats
comply with legal obligations

Where data protection law requires a legal basis, we rely on your consent (for the newsletter and for non-essential cookies), our legitimate interests in running and improving the Site, and compliance with the law.

Cookies and similar technologies

A cookie is a small file stored on your device. The Site uses:

Essential cookies, which make the Site work and remember choices such as your cookie preferences
Analytics cookies, which tell us how visitors use the Site in aggregate
Advertising cookies, set by our advertising partners to show ads and measure them, which may be used to show you ads based on your interests across other sites

You can control cookies through your browser settings and, where a consent banner is shown, through that banner. Blocking cookies may affect how parts of the Site work.

Analytics

We use analytics services, including Google Analytics, to understand how the Site is used. These services collect the technical information described above and report it to us in aggregate. Google's own privacy policy is at policies.google.com/privacy, and you can opt out of Google Analytics at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Advertising

The Site is supported by advertising. Our advertising is managed by an advertising partner that works with a network of third-party ad providers. These providers may place cookies or use similar technologies to collect information about your visits to this and other websites in order to show you relevant ads and to measure them.

We do not control the cookies set by advertising providers. You can learn more and opt out of interest-based advertising through the Digital Advertising Alliance at optout.aboutads.info, the Network Advertising Initiative at optout.networkadvertising.org, and, in Europe, at youronlinechoices.eu. Opting out does not remove ads; it limits how they are tailored to you.

Affiliate links

Some articles contain affiliate links, including links to Amazon as part of the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you buy something through one of these links we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The retailer may set cookies when you follow the link. Affiliate relationships never influence what we write or which sources we cite, and articles that contain affiliate links say so.

If you subscribe, we use your email address to send you the newsletter and occasional messages about the Site. We use a third-party email service to send and manage it, and that service records whether emails are opened and which links are clicked. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in every email, and we will remove your address from the list.

Comments

If comments are enabled, the name and comment you post are public. Your email address and IP address are stored to help us manage spam and are not published.

Who we share information with

We share personal information only with:

Service providers that host the Site, send our emails, provide analytics, manage advertising, and protect the Site from abuse. They act on our instructions and may not use your information for their own purposes, except for advertising and analytics providers, which use it as described in their own policies
Advertising partners, as described above
Authorities or other parties where the law requires it, or where it is necessary to protect our rights, our readers, or the public
A successor if we sell or transfer the Site, in which case your information would pass to the new owner under this policy

We do not sell your personal information in the ordinary sense of the word. Some laws treat sharing information with advertising partners for targeted advertising as a "sale" or "sharing"; you can opt out of this as described under Your rights.

International transfers

We operate from the United Arab Emirates and use service providers in the United States and elsewhere. Your information may be processed in countries whose data protection laws differ from those where you live. Where required, we use recognised safeguards such as standard contractual clauses.

How long we keep it

We keep newsletter subscriptions until you unsubscribe. We keep messages you send us for as long as needed to deal with them and for a reasonable period afterwards. Analytics data is retained in aggregate form according to our providers' settings, currently no more than 26 months in identifiable form. Server logs are kept for a short period for security purposes.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access the personal information we hold about you, correct it, delete it, restrict or object to its use, receive a copy in a portable format, and withdraw consent where we rely on it. Residents of the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland have these rights under the GDPR and equivalent laws. Residents of California and certain other US states have the right to know what we collect, to delete it, to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information for targeted advertising, and not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights.

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@thewhyweproject.com. We may ask you to verify your identity. If you are in the EEA or UK and are unhappy with our response, you can complain to your local data protection authority.

Children

The Site is not directed at children under 16 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information, including encryption in transit and access controls. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Links to other sites

Articles link to research papers, books, retailers and other sites we do not control. Their privacy practices are their own, and this policy does not cover them.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it was last changed. If the change is significant we will say so on the Site or by email to subscribers.

Contact

The Why We Project
privacy@thewhyweproject.com