The code in the link
Why there is a ?t= on the end of the address
If you reached this site from an email I sent you, the link carried a short random code. It identifies the email, not you: it is a string of random characters, and it is not derived from your name, your company or your address.
It exists because I send a small number of these emails by hand and I would otherwise have no idea whether any of them were read.
What gets recorded
Two moments, and only if the code is present
One record when the page has been open and visible for a few seconds, and one if a booking button is pressed. Each record holds:
- the date and time
- the code from the link
- which page, and which button
- whether the page was scrolled or interacted with, and for how long it was open
- your browser's user-agent string and language preference
- the country the request came from
Your IP address is not stored. The country is worked out before the record is written and the address itself is discarded.
If the link you used had no code on it, nothing is recorded at all. That is not a setting, it is how it is built: no code, no record.
Your device
Nothing is written to it
No cookies. No local storage, no session storage, no fingerprinting, nothing that survives you closing the tab. The code is read out of the address bar and used once, while the page is open.
That is also why there is no cookie banner on this site. There is nothing to consent to storing, because nothing is stored.
This site also uses Vercel Web Analytics, which counts page visits in aggregate. It is first-party, sets no cookies, and cannot be tied to an individual.
The legal part, briefly
Basis, retention, and how to stop it
The code is linked to the business contact details I used to email you, so under UK GDPR this is personal data even though no cookie is involved. I process it under legitimate interests: knowing whether a handful of business emails were read is a proportionate thing to want, and nothing here is used to profile you, sold, or shared with an advertising network.
Records are kept for 12 months and then deleted.
Two ways to stop it. Email
elabeh@elabeh.com and I will delete your records and
stop sending you tracked links. Or, before you press Enter, delete the
?t= and everything after it from the address bar: the page works exactly the
same and nothing connects the visit to you.
You can also ask me for a copy of what is held about you, ask for it to be corrected, or complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.
Everything else
Booking and payment are not mine to see
Pressing a booking button hands you to Google's appointment scheduling, and payment is taken by Stripe. What you type there goes to them under their own terms, not mine. I never see or hold your card details.
If you book, I get your name, email address and whatever you write in the booking form, and I keep it for as long as we are working together or talking about it.