Most privacy policies are long because they have to be. The author is collecting things and embedding things, and the law requires them to disclose all of it. The disclosure is the consolation prize: you've already been tracked, here's the list.
This one is short because Popkulturist isn't collecting much.
Who's behind this
Benjamin Adam Touati, operating as Popkulturist, is the data controller for this site. For privacy questions specifically, write to ben@popkulturist.com. Full legal details and contact information are on the Imprint page.
No tracking, no ads, no cookie banner
Popkulturist runs no advertising and no behavioural tracking — no Google Analytics, no Facebook Pixel, no third-party fingerprinting. The site does use GoatCounter, a privacy-respecting analytics tool that doesn't set cookies, doesn't store IP addresses, and doesn't follow you across the web. GoatCounter counts page views the way a librarian counts books: in aggregate, anonymously, useful only to the publisher.
There's no cookie banner here because there's nothing for you to consent to. Standard cookie banners exist to obtain consent for third-party trackers that fire before you can refuse them. Popkulturist doesn't load those trackers, so the question doesn't come up.
YouTube embeds, before the click
Several essays include YouTube videos. They've been set up so that when a page loads, only the video's thumbnail and a play button appear — no YouTube player, no cookies, no scripts. Google's servers will see your IP when the thumbnail itself is fetched, because the thumbnail comes from Google's image CDN, but nothing else passes. If you click play, the full YouTube player loads at that moment and behaves like any normal YouTube embed from then on. The choice is yours, made by clicking.
Newsletter signups
If you subscribe to the newsletter, your email address goes to Buttondown, the platform Popkulturist uses to send issues. Buttondown stores your email, your subscription date, and basic delivery information (whether messages were delivered, opened, or bounced). You can unsubscribe instantly using the link at the bottom of every issue. Buttondown is a US company and processes your data accordingly.
Server logs
The site is hosted on Netlify, which automatically logs basic visit data (IP address, browser type, requested URL) as part of running the server. These logs exist so the host can keep the site online and respond to abuse, with retention following Netlify's standard policy. None of it is used for analytics or tracking.
Your rights under GDPR
You have the right to:
- Request a copy of any personal data held about you
- Have inaccurate data corrected
- Have your data deleted (the right to erasure)
- Object to or restrict certain types of processing
- Receive your data in a portable format
- File a complaint with the Swedish data protection authority, Integritetsskyddsmyndigheten (IMY)
To exercise any of these, email ben@popkulturist.com. Requests are handled within 30 days, as required by law.
International transfers
Buttondown and Netlify are US-based and process data under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and standard contractual clauses where applicable. The GoatCounter instance Popkulturist uses is EU-hosted.
Changes to this policy
Material changes will be noted at the top of this page with a date. Minor edits (typos, link fixes) won't.
Last updated: 21 May 2026