Privacy Policy
Last updated: August 26, 2026
This Privacy Policy describes how Genius Guild LLC ("Genius Guild," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and shares information about you when you visit buildthedamnthing.com (the "Site"), subscribe to our newsletters, purchase products such as BUILD, or otherwise interact with us. By using the Site, you agree to the practices described here. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.
1. Who We Are
Genius Guild LLC is a Delaware limited liability company. The Site is operated on behalf of Kathryn Finney and the Genius Guild brand family, including Build the Damn Thing and BUILD.
Contact: support@buildthedamnthing.com
2. Information We Collect
We collect information in the following ways:
Information you give us directly.
When you subscribe to our newsletters (including The Receipts and Build the Damn Thing), purchase BUILD or other products, contact us, fill out a form, or respond to a survey, we collect information such as:
- Your name and email address
- Billing information for paid products
- Any message, response, or content you submit to us
- Professional information you choose to share, such as your role or company
Information collected automatically.
When you use the Site, we and our service providers automatically collect certain information about your device and how you interact with the Site, including:
- IP address and approximate location
- Browser type, device type, and operating system
- Pages visited, time spent, links clicked, and referring URLs
- Cookie and similar tracking technology data
Information from third parties.
We may receive information from service providers that help us run the Site, process payments, deliver email, or analyze traffic. This includes data from Google Analytics, Stripe, our email service provider, and similar partners.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to:
- Provide, operate, and maintain the Site and our products
- Send newsletters, essays, and updates you have subscribed to
- Process payments for BUILD and other paid offerings
- Respond to inquiries, including speaking, consulting, and media requests
- Personalize your experience and improve our content and offerings
- Analyze how the Site is used so we can make it better
- Detect, prevent, and address fraud, abuse, or security incidents
- Comply with legal obligations
- To improve the BUILD tools. We use information that Builders enter into the tools to make them work better. Before we do, we remove the details that identify who submitted it, and we use the content in aggregate rather than individually.
You can read a plain-language explanation of this on our How BUILD uses AI page.
4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to recognize your browser, remember your preferences, and understand how visitors use the Site. We use the following categories of cookies:
- Essential cookies, which are required for the Site to function
- Analytics cookies, including Google Analytics, which help us understand traffic and usage patterns
- Functional cookies, which remember your choices and preferences
- Advertising cookies, including the Meta Pixel, which help us measure and target our advertising
Most browsers let you control cookies through their settings. If you disable cookies, some parts of the Site may not work as intended.
For the full list of cookies we set, what each one does, and how to change your choices, see our Cookie Notice.
5. Analytics and Advertising Technologies
We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the Site. Google Analytics may set cookies and collect information such as your IP address, device data, and browsing behavior on the Site. You can learn more about how Google uses this data at policies.google.com/privacy and opt out by installing the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on.
We use Google Tag Manager to load and manage the analytics and advertising tags on the Site. Tag Manager itself does not collect personal information, but the tags it loads do.
We use the Meta Pixel, an advertising technology provided by Meta, to measure the performance of our advertising and to show BUILD ads to people who have visited the Site. The Meta Pixel collects information about your visit, including pages viewed and actions taken, and shares it with Meta. You can control how Meta uses this information through your Meta ad preferences, and you can opt out of this sharing on our Your Privacy Choices page.
6. Payments
Payments for BUILD and any other paid offerings are processed by Stripe, Inc. We do not store your full payment card details on our servers. Stripe collects and processes payment information in accordance with its own privacy policy, available at stripe.com/privacy. We receive limited transaction data from Stripe, such as the last four digits of your card, the transaction amount, and your billing email.
7. How We Share Your Information
We do not sell your personal information for money. However, our use of the Meta Pixel involves sharing information with Meta for advertising purposes, which some privacy laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the CPRA, treat as a sale or sharing of personal information. You can opt out on our Your Privacy Choices page.
We share information only as needed to operate the Site and serve you, including:
- With service providers such as Stripe, Google Analytics, our email platform, and our website host, who process information on our behalf
- With professional advisors, including lawyers and accountants, when necessary
- In connection with a business transaction such as a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets
- When required by law, court order, or government request
- To protect the rights, property, or safety of Genius Guild, our users, or others
8. Email Communications
If you subscribe to our newsletters, we will send you regular emails based on your subscription. Every email includes an unsubscribe link. You can unsubscribe at any time. We may still send you transactional or service-related emails after you unsubscribe, such as receipts for purchases or important account notices.
9. Your Privacy Rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights regarding your personal information. These may include the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you
- Correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete
- Request deletion of your personal information
- Object to or restrict certain processing
- Receive a copy of your data in a portable format
- Withdraw consent where we rely on consent to process your data
California residents.
If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as amended by the CPRA, gives you specific rights, including the right to know what personal information we collect, the right to request deletion, the right to correct inaccurate information, and the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. We do not sell your personal information for money, but our use of advertising technology means we share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising as those terms are defined under the CPRA. You have the right to opt out of that sharing at any time, and we will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your privacy rights. To opt out, visit Your Privacy Choices.
EEA, UK, and Switzerland residents.
If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or equivalent law. Our legal bases for processing include your consent, our legitimate interests in operating and improving our business, the performance of a contract with you, and compliance with legal obligations.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@buildthedamnthing.com. We will respond within the time required by applicable law.
10. Data Retention
We keep your information for as long as needed to provide our services, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. When we no longer need information, we delete or anonymize it.
11. Data Security
We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
12. International Data Transfers
We are based in the United States. If you access the Site from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your country.
13. Children's Privacy
The Site is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with information, please contact us and we will delete it.
14. Third-Party Links
The Site may contain links to third-party sites, including Amazon, Penguin Random House, Substack, LinkedIn, and Instagram. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. Please review their policies before sharing information with them.
15. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top. If changes are material, we will provide additional notice, such as an email or a banner on the Site.
16. Contact Us
Genius Guild LLC
818 East 63rd St, #157, Chicago, IL 60637
Email: support@buildthedamnthing.com
Site: buildthedamnthing.com
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