Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 2, 2026

Who We Are

Healing the Layers is a personal publishing website operated by Nina Ajdin in Illinois, United States.

Website: healingthelayers.com
Privacy contact: nina@healingthelayers.com

For privacy-law purposes, Healing the Layers is the controller of personal information collected directly through this website.

Information We Collect

Depending on how you interact with the website, we may collect:

  • Your name and email address
  • Information you submit through contact forms
  • Your newsletter subscription preferences
  • Comments and associated information
  • Technical information such as your IP address, browser type, device information, referring page, and pages visited
  • Cookie and consent preferences
  • Communications you voluntarily send to us

Please avoid submitting private medical records, detailed health histories, financial information, government identification numbers, or other highly sensitive information through comments or contact forms.

How We Collect and Use Information

Newsletter and Free Resources

When you subscribe to the Healing the Layers newsletter or request a free resource, we collect your email address and any other information you voluntarily provide.

We use this information to:

  • Deliver the requested resource
  • Send writing, updates, and related communications
  • Maintain subscription records
  • Process unsubscribe requests

Newsletter subscriptions are managed through MailerLite. MailerLite processes subscriber information on our behalf. You may unsubscribe at any time using the link included in each email.

The legal basis for this processing is your consent. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing that occurred before withdrawal.

Contact Forms

When you contact Healing the Layers through a website form, we may collect your name, email address, message, and technical information needed to deliver the form and prevent spam.

Forms are provided through WPForms. Google reCAPTCHA may be used to distinguish human visitors from automated submissions. Google may process technical and device information for security and fraud-prevention purposes.

We use form information only to read, respond to, and manage your inquiry, protect the website, and maintain necessary records.

Comments

If comments are enabled and you leave a comment, we may collect the information entered in the comment form along with your IP address and browser user-agent information for spam detection and site security.

An anonymized value created from your email address may be provided to Gravatar to determine whether you use that service. If your comment is approved, your Gravatar profile image may appear publicly alongside it.

Anything you publish in a public comment can be seen by other visitors. Please do not include sensitive medical, personal, or identifying information in comments.

Website Analytics

We use Google Analytics through Google Site Kit to understand how visitors find and use Healing the Layers. Analytics information may include pages viewed, approximate location, device and browser information, referral source, interactions, and visit duration.

Google Analytics is configured with a data-retention period of 14 months. Nonessential Analytics storage is controlled through the website’s consent banner and used only after consent where required.

Analytics information is used to understand readership, improve site navigation and content, identify technical problems, and measure general website performance. It is not used to make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about individual visitors.

Cookies and Consent

Healing the Layers uses essential cookies required for the website to function. With permission, it may also use preference and statistics cookies.

Complianz manages the consent banner, stores visitors’ consent choices, and blocks nonessential scripts until the appropriate consent is provided. Consent preferences may be stored for up to 365 days unless they are changed or deleted sooner.

Visitors can accept, deny, or customize nonessential cookies and can change their choices later through the Manage Consent control.

For detailed information about cookies, their purposes, and expiration periods, please review the Cookie Policy (EU) available in the website footer.

Website Hosting and Security

Healing the Layers is hosted by Hostinger. The hosting provider may process IP addresses, server logs, request information, and other technical data needed to operate, secure, troubleshoot, and deliver the website.

Technical information may also be processed to detect malicious activity, spam, unauthorized access, and other security threats.

External Websites and Platforms

Healing the Layers contains links to external services, including Substack, social-media platforms, and other websites. A normal external link does not transmit information to that service until you choose to follow it.

Once you leave Healing the Layers, the external service’s own privacy policy and practices apply. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of external websites.

Legal Bases for Processing

Where applicable, we process personal information under one or more of the following legal bases:

  • Consent, such as for newsletter subscriptions and nonessential cookies
  • Legitimate interests, such as operating and securing the website, understanding general readership, and responding to messages
  • Legal obligations, where records must be retained or disclosed by law
  • Establishing or defending legal claims, when reasonably necessary

Service Providers and Data Sharing

We may share limited information with service providers that help operate the website, including:

  • Hostinger for hosting and technical delivery
  • MailerLite for newsletter subscriptions and email delivery
  • Google for Analytics, Site Kit, and reCAPTCHA
  • WPForms for contact-form functionality
  • Complianz for cookie and consent management
  • WordPress and Automattic services, including Gravatar where applicable

These providers process information according to their own privacy terms and, where applicable, data-processing agreements.

We may also disclose information when required by law, necessary to protect the website or another person, or needed to investigate fraud, abuse, or security threats.

Healing the Layers does not sell personal information. We do not use personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

International Data Transfers

Some service providers may process information in the United States, European Economic Area, or other countries. Where required, providers may rely on safeguards such as adequacy decisions, Standard Contractual Clauses, or other legally recognized transfer mechanisms.

How Long We Retain Information

Retention depends on the type and purpose of the information:

  • Google Analytics data is retained for up to 14 months.
  • Active newsletter information is retained while you remain subscribed.
  • A limited suppression record may be retained after unsubscribing so that your opt-out request is respected.
  • Contact-form communications are generally retained only as long as needed to respond and maintain appropriate records, ordinarily no longer than 24 months unless a longer period is necessary.
  • Approved comments and their metadata may be retained until the comment is removed.
  • Consent preferences may be stored for up to 365 days.
  • Technical and security logs are retained only as reasonably necessary for operation, security, troubleshooting, and legal obligations.

Information may be retained longer when required by law or reasonably necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

Your Privacy Rights

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

  • Request access to personal information held about you
  • Request correction of inaccurate information
  • Request deletion of your information
  • Restrict or object to certain processing
  • Request a portable copy of information you provided
  • Withdraw consent at any time
  • Object to direct marketing
  • Lodge a complaint with an applicable privacy or data-protection authority

To exercise a privacy right, email nina@healingthelayers.com. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request.

You may unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time using the unsubscribe link in an email. You may change cookie consent through the Manage Consent control on the website.

Children’s Privacy

Healing the Layers is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has submitted personal information, please contact us so it can be reviewed and deleted where appropriate.

Data Security

We use reasonable administrative and technical measures intended to protect personal information. However, no website, email system, or method of internet transmission can be guaranteed completely secure.

Changes to This Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated when the website, its services, or applicable requirements change. The revised date will appear at the top of this page. Material changes may also be communicated through the website where appropriate.

Contact

For privacy questions or requests, contact:

Healing the Layers
Operated by Nina Ajdin
Illinois, United States
Email: nina@healingthelayers.com