Who We Are
The Grand Experiment ("we," "us," or "our") operates the website at grandexperiment1600.com. The project is based in the United States and produces editorial content on American presidential history, civic memory, and political precedent.
If you have questions about this policy or about your personal data, you can reach us at hello@grandexperiment1600.com.
What We Collect
Email Addresses (Newsletter)
If you subscribe to our newsletter, What's the Precedent?, we collect your email address and any optional first name you provide. This information is stored by our newsletter service provider, Buttondown, on our behalf. We use it solely to deliver the newsletter and any account-related communications. We do not share, sell, or rent newsletter subscriber lists.
Direct Correspondence
If you email us at hello@grandexperiment1600.com, we receive whatever information you choose to send. We use that information only to reply to you and don't add you to any list without your explicit consent.
Aggregate Traffic Data
Our hosting provider, Netlify, processes server logs to generate aggregate website statistics — visitor counts, page views, geographic regions, and traffic sources. This data is collected from standard server logs and is not tied to any individual identity. No cookies or JavaScript trackers are used to generate it.
What We Do Not Collect
- We do not set tracking cookies.
- We do not use Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or any third-party advertising trackers.
- We do not collect names, addresses, phone numbers, payment information, or other personal details unless you provide them voluntarily.
- We do not maintain profiles of individual visitors.
Third-Party Services
We rely on a small number of third-party services to operate the site. Each has its own privacy policy, which governs how they handle data they collect on our behalf:
- Netlify (web hosting and server-side analytics) — see Netlify's privacy policy.
- Buttondown (newsletter delivery) — see Buttondown's privacy policy.
- Google Workspace (email infrastructure for hello@) — see Google's privacy policy.
- Amazon Associates (affiliate links to books). When you click an affiliate link on this site and visit Amazon, Amazon may collect data about your visit in accordance with their privacy policy. We receive only aggregate, anonymized reports from Amazon about purchase referrals — we do not see individual transactions or customer details.
Cookies
This site does not set tracking, advertising, or analytics cookies. Your browser may store small local-storage values to remember your quiz state on The 1600 (such as which questions you've answered today and your streak count). This information stays in your browser and is never transmitted to us or anyone else.
Affiliate Links
The Grand Experiment participates in the Amazon Associates Program. Some outbound links on this site, especially in The Library and book recommendations, are affiliate links — meaning we may earn a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking. There is no additional cost to you. We disclose this practice in detail on our Affiliate Disclosure page.
Your Rights
Subscribers
If you've subscribed to our newsletter, you can:
- Unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of every newsletter email.
- Request your data — what we have stored about you (essentially: your email and subscription date) — by emailing us.
- Request deletion of your subscriber record by emailing us. We'll remove you within 7 days.
California Residents (CCPA)
If you live in California, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act: the right to know what personal information we have collected, the right to delete it, and the right not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights. To exercise any of them, email us. We do not sell personal information and have no financial incentive to do so.
European Visitors (GDPR)
If you're in the European Economic Area or the UK, you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation, including access, correction, deletion, and objection to processing. The lawful basis for our processing is consent (newsletter subscribers) and legitimate interest (server-side traffic analysis). To exercise any GDPR right, email us.
Children's Privacy
This site is intended for general audiences. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please email us and we will delete it promptly.
Data Retention
Newsletter subscriber records are retained for as long as you remain subscribed, plus a short period afterward (typically 30 days) to handle accidental unsubscribes. Server-side traffic logs are retained by Netlify according to their retention schedule. We don't maintain other personal data.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy as the site evolves — for example, when we add new features or change service providers. We'll update the "Effective" date at the top whenever we do. For material changes affecting how we handle your personal data, we'll notify newsletter subscribers via email before the change takes effect.
Contact Us
Questions, concerns, requests, or corrections — all welcome.