Legal

Privacy Policy

Effective October 6, 2026. This policy explains what information proctor.red collects, how I use it, and the choices you have. I wrote it in plain language on purpose. If anything is unclear, send me a message.

Who I am

proctor.red is the personal website of Lauren Proctor, based in New York. In this policy, "I," "me," and "my" mean Lauren Proctor. "You" means anyone who visits the site or sends me information through it.

What I collect

I collect only what you choose to send me, plus basic technical information that any website receives.

When you use the contact form

Your first name, email address, and message (required)
Your last name and phone number (if you add them)
What your message is about, if you choose a topic
How you prefer me to reply: email, phone call, or text message
Whether you asked to join Forefield, my newsletter
Which page of the site you sent it from

When you leave a doodle

Your drawing, its name if you give it one, and your note, if you write one
Your signature, drawn or typed
Your first name and email address (required), and your last name and phone number if you add them
Whether you chose to show the doodle publicly or share it with me privately
For public doodles, if you leave that box ticked, the city your device’s time zone is named after, such as New York. It comes from your time zone setting, not your location.

When you ask for Ground Truth Now

Your name, email address, phone number, company if you add it, and what you tell me about the decision
How you want to talk, whether I accepted, and, if I couldn’t take it, whether you chose a refund or a later session
Stripe holds and, depending on what happens, charges your card. I never see your full card number.

So I can answer within 10 minutes, your request reaches me three ways: the full request by email and through Telegram, and a short alert through ntfy that doesn’t include your name, contact details, or what you wrote.

When you ask about Standing Counsel

Your name, email address, phone number if you add it, and what you tell me you're working through

When you join Forefield

Your first name and email address (required), and when and where you agreed to join

When you book Ground Truth

Your name, email address, company if you add it, what you want to work on, the time you choose, and your time zone, so emails show your local time
Whether you paid, cancelled, or moved the session, and how many times

You book and pay on proctor.red. Stripe runs the payment form on the page and handles your card. I never see or store your full card number. Stripe handles it under its own privacy policy. To show open times, the site asks my Google Calendar only when I’m free or busy, never what’s on it. Once you pay, the session goes on my Google Calendar and Google sends you the invite with the Google Meet link. The site emails you a confirmation with your receipt, then reminders the day before, 2 hours before, and 32 minutes before your session. I get the booking by email, through Telegram, and as a short alert through ntfy without your name or details.

Technical information

My hosting provider, Cloudflare, automatically records basic request information, such as your IP address, browser type, and the pages you visit, to keep the site running and secure. When you send a form, I keep a scrambled, one-way version of your IP address for 24 hours to stop spam. It can't be turned back into your address. The site also uses analytics tools that collect information about how you use it. The Analytics and cookies section below explains them. I don't use any of this information to identify you.

How I use it

To read and reply to your message, the way you asked me to reply
To display your doodle, if you chose to make it public
To schedule, deliver, and follow up on sessions you book, including sending your notes or decision memo
To send occasional emails, only if you joined the mailing list
To understand how people find and use the site, so I can improve it
To keep the site secure and prevent spam and abuse
To meet legal, tax, and accounting obligations for paid work

I don't sell your information, and I don't use it for advertising.

Public doodles

If you choose "Show to public," I review your doodle before it appears. If I approve it, your drawing, its name if you gave it one, your signature, and your first name appear on the wall on the Doodle page, where anyone can see them. So does your time zone’s city, such as New York, unless you untick that box. It’s never your exact location. If you typed your signature, it appears exactly as you typed it. Your last name, email address, phone number, and note never appear publicly.

If you choose "Share with Lauren privately," your doodle never appears on the site. Only I see it.

I may decline any public doodle, and take one down at any time. I don't use signatures for anything other than showing your doodle.

To take your doodle down or delete it, use the contact form and choose "A doodle I left," from the email address you used when you left it. Taking a doodle down removes it from the wall within a few minutes. Deleting it also erases it from my database.

Mailing list

I add you to Forefield, my newsletter (formerly New Industry), only if you sign up on the Research or Forefield page or check the box on the contact form. For now I keep the list in my own database. When I choose an email service to send the newsletter, I'll name it here and move the list there. Every issue will include a link to unsubscribe, and you can ask me to remove you at any time.

I share information only with services that help me run the site and my work, and only as much as they need:

Hosting: Cloudflare hosts the site and runs the code that receives form submissions.
Database: Neon stores form submissions, doodles, the Forefield list, bookings, and Ground Truth Now requests.
Email: Resend delivers form submissions and booking notices to my inbox, and confirmations to you.
Analytics: Google, through Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics 4, receives information about how you use the site, subject to your cookie choices.
Payments: Stripe processes payments, refunds, and the hold for Ground Truth Now.
Calendar: Google Calendar tells the site when I’m free or busy. When a session is confirmed, it goes on my calendar with your name, email address, and what you told me, and Google sends you the invite and the Google Meet link.
Alerts to me: Telegram delivers bookings and Ground Truth Now requests to my phone, with your details. ntfy sends me a short alert without your name, contact details, or what you wrote.

I may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect the safety of the site, its visitors, or me.

Analytics and cookies

I use two Google tools to measure how the site performs. Google Analytics uses cookies, which are small files stored in your browser.

Google Tag Manager loads Google Analytics on the site. It doesn't build a profile of you on its own.
Google Analytics 4 records which pages you visit, how you arrived (for example, from a search or a link), how long you stay, your device and browser type, and your approximate location, such as your city or country. Google Analytics 4 doesn't store your IP address. I see this information only in aggregate reports, not tied to your name.

Google processes this information under its policy for sites that use its services.

Your choices

Consent. If you visit from the European Union, the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the site asks for your permission first. Google Analytics stays off unless you accept.
Everywhere else, Google Analytics runs by default, and you can turn it off at any time.
Global Privacy Control. If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, the site treats it as a choice to turn Google Analytics off, unless you turn it on yourself in Cookie settings.
Change your choice whenever you like through Cookie settings in the footer of every page. The site remembers your choice on your device.
Opt out of Google Analytics on every site with the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, or block cookies in your browser settings. The site works without them.

The site doesn't use advertising cookies, and I don't use analytics data to target ads to you.

What the site keeps in your browser

A few small notes stay on your own device so the site works the way you expect. None of them are cookies, none are sent to me, and none are used for analytics or advertising.

Your cookie choice, so the site doesn't ask again. It stays until you clear this site's data in your browser.
Whether the opening animation already played during this visit. It disappears when you close the tab.
The private link to your booking or Ground Truth Now request, so its page still works if you reload it. It disappears when you close the tab.

When you reach the payment step, Stripe’s payment form loads on the page and may set its own cookies to process the payment and prevent fraud, under Stripe’s privacy policy. Nothing from Stripe loads before that step.

How long I keep it

Messages and inquiries: as long as I need them to reply and keep a record of our conversation. I review stored messages at least once a year and delete the ones I no longer need.
Doodles: until you ask me to delete them, or until I delete them. A doodle I decline or take down stops appearing on the site right away.
Forefield list: until you unsubscribe or ask me to remove you.
Analytics data: for the period each provider's settings allow. Google Analytics keeps event data for 2 months.
Spam-protection records: 24 hours.
Bookings, Ground Truth Now requests, and payment records: as long as tax and accounting rules require.

Your choices and rights

You can ask me to:

Tell you what information I have about you and give you a copy
Correct information that's wrong
Delete your information, including a doodle
Stop emailing you

Depending on where you live, including California and the European Union, you may have additional rights under local law. I honor these requests for everyone, wherever you live. To make a request, use the contact form. I may ask you to confirm your email address so I know the request comes from you, and I'll respond within 30 days.

Security

I use reputable providers, limit who can access submissions, and store only what I need. No system is perfectly secure, so please don't send sensitive information, such as financial account numbers or health details, through the site.

Children

This site isn't directed at children under 13, and I don't knowingly collect information from them. If you believe a child has sent me information, let me know and I'll delete it.

Changes to this policy

If I change how I handle information, I'll update this page and the effective date at the top. For significant changes, I'll also note them on the site.

Contact

Questions or requests about your privacy? Send me a message.