Privacy Policy
This page explains what happens to information when you visit this website, email me, or book a call. It is written in plain language, not legal language. If anything here is unclear, email me and I will explain it.
Who Steph Forward is, and who to contact about privacy
Steph Forward is an independent AI consulting practice founded and led by Stephanie "Steph" Zhou in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is a one-person practice, so there is no separate privacy team.
If you have a question about privacy, or about information you have already sent me, email me at stephforward2025@gmail.com. Your question comes to me directly.
What this website actually collects
This website is static HTML. There are no accounts, logins, payments, or e-commerce on it, and nothing for the site itself to save about you. The one place you can type anything is the cost calculator on the AI automation page. Calculations happen in your browser. The calculator does not send the values you enter to a server or save them.
The site is hosted by Vercel. Vercel serves the pages and, like any web host, processes request data such as your IP address in order to deliver them.
Pages load web fonts from Google Fonts. That means your browser makes a request to Google's servers when a page loads.
What happens to information you send when you contact or book a call
Anything you send me leaves this website, because the website has no way to receive it. There are two contact routes.
My contact address is currently a Gmail address. If you email me, your message and your email address sit in that inbox. I use them to reply to you and to keep track of our conversation.
Booking a call
Booking is handled off-site by cal.com. Following "Book a free discovery call" leaves this website. Whatever you enter on the booking page is entered on cal.com, and cal.com's own terms apply to what you enter there. I use the booking details to hold the call with you.
What analytics collects, and only after you agree
This website uses Google Analytics 4 for website analytics.
It loads only after you agree to it. Before you agree, it does not load and it sends nothing. That is the whole point of asking first.
If you do agree, Google Analytics collects information about how this site is used and sends it to Google. I use it to see which pages are worth keeping and which are not.
I am still confirming the exact list of what Google Analytics collects on this site once it is switched on, and what Google then does with it. I will update this page when I have that list, rather than guess at it here.
The third-party services actually used
These are the outside services this site and this practice actually rely on today.
- Vercel: hosting. Serves the pages, and processes request data such as your IP address in order to deliver them.
- Google Analytics 4: website analytics. Loads only after you agree.
- Google Fonts: web fonts. Loading a page means a request to Google's servers.
- cal.com: booking. Booking happens on cal.com, not here.
- Gmail: email. My contact address is currently a Gmail address.
- YouTube: this site links out to my YouTube channel. Following a link takes you to YouTube, where YouTube's own terms apply.
Cookies and local storage
Your consent choice is stored in your own browser, not on a server. I do not have a copy of it.
Google Analytics sets its own cookies, and only after you agree. Before that it is not loaded, so it sets nothing.
This site links to YouTube but does not embed a YouTube player, so YouTube sets no cookies here. YouTube's own cookies apply once you are on YouTube.
I am still confirming the full list of cookies these services set once they are in use, and I will update this page when I do.
How long information is kept
Emails sit in my inbox and bookings sit in my cal.com account while I am working with you, and afterwards while I still need them for my own records.
I have not set fixed retention periods yet. I would rather say that than publish a number I do not actually follow. I am still deciding how long to keep enquiry emails, booking records, and analytics data, and I will put the real periods on this page once they are set.
If you want your emails or booking records deleted before then, email me and I will delete them.
Personal information is not sold
I do not sell your personal information. I do not rent or trade it either.
The only places it goes are the services listed above that are needed to run the site, receive your email, and hold a call with you.
How to withdraw analytics consent
You can change your mind at any time, and you do not have to give a reason.
- Use the Cookie Settings control in the footer of every page to change your choice.
- Because your choice is stored in your own browser, clearing this site's cookies and site data in that browser also clears it. You will simply be asked again on your next visit.
Withdrawing consent stops Google Analytics loading on later visits. It does not by itself remove what was already collected while consent was on. If you want that removed, email me and tell me, and I will do what the tools allow.
How to ask for access to, or correction of, your personal information
Email me at stephforward2025@gmail.com and tell me what you are asking about: an email thread, a booking, or both.
I will tell you what I hold, correct anything that is wrong, or delete it if that is what you want. The reply comes from me, because there is no one else to pass it to.
I am still setting a target turnaround time for these requests, and I will state it here once I have one.
How this policy gets updated
This page describes what the site does today, not what it might do one day. If that changes (a new tool, a different contact route, a change to how analytics loads), I update this page rather than leave it stale.
Anywhere above where I have written that I am still confirming something, that is a real gap, and it will be filled in here once I have the answer.
Last updated: 31 August 2026