Privacy policy

Last updated November 7, 2026

Without Surprise is published by Timothy O’Brien. This policy explains the information collected when you read the writing at withoutsurprise.com, ask a question, subscribe to the newsletter, or use the Without Surprise app on iPhone or iPad.

Reading the book

You can read the online edition without an account or newsletter subscription. The site is hosted on Google Firebase. The hosting provider may process routine request information, such as your IP address, browser, and requested URL, for delivery, security, and reliability.

The iOS app

The Without Surprise app does not require an account. Notes, plans, and any rates you type in stay on your device. The app does not upload them. When you share a note or a plan, that share uses the system share sheet and goes only where you send it.

The app reads the writing, the blog, and the vocabulary from withoutsurprise.com. Those are ordinary requests to this site. It also reads a public list of model prices from OpenRouter. That request includes routine network information, such as your IP address and a user agent that identifies the app. Read OpenRouter’s privacy policy. The app does not include advertising or analytics software, and it does not use Apple’s advertising identifier.

Ask

On the website and in the app, you can ask a question about the writing. The question is limited to 600 characters and is sent to withoutsurprise.com. We do not store the question, and we do not use it for advertising or to build a profile of you.

To answer, the service sends the question to OpenAI so it can find relevant passages, then sends the question and those passages to OpenRouter so it can write the answer. Those companies process the question for that purpose. Read OpenAI’s privacy policy and OpenRouter’s privacy policy. What they keep, and for how long, is covered by their policies. We do not keep a copy.

To limit how often Ask can be used, the service stores a one-way hash of the date and your IP address, with a count of attempts. The record does not contain the question. It is marked for deletion after 24 hours. Google may remove it later.

Your analytics choice

On this website, we use Google Analytics 4 to understand visits and interactions such as starting a chapter and interest in an edition. Analytics loads automatically when you visit. You can disable it using “Analytics preferences” in the footer. Disabling Analytics does not affect reading or subscribing. The iOS app does not load this analytics software.

When enabled, Google Analytics receives technical information about your browser and device, the pages visited, and limited interaction information. It may use first-party cookies to distinguish visits. We do not send your newsletter email address to Analytics. Advertising storage, advertising personalization, and advertising user data are disabled.

If you set an analytics preference, it is saved until you change it or clear your browser data. You can change it at any time using “Analytics preferences” in the footer. Disabling Analytics stops subsequent measurement and removes accessible Analytics cookies on this site; it does not erase data already processed by Google.

Read more about Google’s privacy practices.

Newsletter subscriptions

The newsletter signup form is provided by Kit. When you subscribe, Kit processes your email address, confirmation status, signup source, and subscription timestamps on our behalf. We use this information to send Without Surprise emails about chapters, practical notes, and book releases. Please check your inbox to confirm your subscription.

Kit’s embedded form also processes routine browser and request information to display the form, measure its performance, and reduce abuse. Read Kit’s privacy policy. Your email is not displayed publicly or sent to Google Analytics. We do not sell or rent subscriber information.

Without Surprise readers are identified by a dedicated tag within a Kit account that also serves other books. Joining this form does not enroll you in those books’ forms or automated email sequences. You can unsubscribe using the link Kit provides in each email, update your preferences there, or request removal by emailing tobrien@discursive.com from the subscribed address.

Earlier subscriptions

Earlier website subscriptions were stored privately in Google Cloud Firestore. New signups go to Kit. Existing private management links continue to remove the earlier subscription’s email and consent details. A hashed identifier, hashed management token, and opt-out timestamp are retained to recognize that link and record the opt-out. These earlier records have not been automatically imported into Kit.

Retention and your requests

Active subscription information is retained until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove it. You can contact us to ask about, correct, or delete your subscription information. Ask questions are not stored by us. The hashed rate-limit record for Ask, and temporary rate-limit records for earlier management links, are marked for deletion after 24 hours; Google may remove them asynchronously. Hosting, Analytics, Kit, OpenAI, and OpenRouter information are also subject to those services’ retention settings and practices.

Links and purchases

This site may link to other websites, including booksellers when paid editions become available. Their privacy policies apply to information you provide there. We do not currently collect payment information on this site or in the app. The app has no purchases.

Changes and contact

We will update this page when these practices change. For questions, contact Timothy O’Brien at tobrien@discursive.com.