Privacy Policy

Effective 20 October 2026. Version 2026-10-20.1.

TCK Hub is a directory of resources for third culture kids, their families, and the people who work with them. It is operated by SMCI Media LLC, which is the data controller for the information described here. This page explains what we collect, why, and what you can do about it. We have tried to write it in plain language rather than legal boilerplate.

Information you give us

Most of the site can be browsed without giving us anything. You only share information when you choose to do one of the following.

• Create an account. We store your email address, a salted and hashed password (never the password itself), and, for blog authors, a display name.
• Submit a resource listing. We store the details you enter about the organisation or resource, including its name, website, description, category, region, and a contact email address.
• Submit a calendar event. We store the event details along with your name and email address, so we can contact you about the submission.
• Write a blog post. We store the post, your author name, and your email address.
• Upload a free resource file. We store the file, its name and size, and the email address and name of the person who uploaded it.
• Subscribe to email notifications. We store the email address you provide, the point on the site from which you subscribed, and the date on which you subscribed. Should you elect to withdraw, we retain the address together with the date of withdrawal, so that we are able to ensure no further notifications are sent to you.
• Ask for a download link by email. We send the link to the address you give and keep the address, what you asked for, and the date, so we can resend it if it goes missing. We do not add it to our email notifications unless you tick that box.
• Buy from the shop. We store the email address and name you give at checkout, what you bought, when, and for how much, and Stripe’s reference for the payment. Card details are entered into Stripe’s secure form and go to Stripe; we never see or store full card numbers. Stripe is an independent payment company.
• Request a service. We store your name, email address, website, the plan you chose, and what you tell us about your project.
• Post on the Notice Board. We store your notice, the name you give, and any file you attach.
• Ask us to remove a listing. We store your name, email address, your connection to the listing, and your note.
• Email us. If you write to info@tckhub.com we keep the message in an ordinary mailbox.

Information collected automatically

We run our own analytics rather than a third party service such as Google Analytics. The measurement script is served from our own infrastructure and records:

• the page you viewed and the site you arrived from
• campaign tags in the address, where a link included them
• links and buttons clicked, including links leading off the site
• the country your request came from, as reported by our hosting provider
• two random identifiers that let us tell one visit from another

Those identifiers are random strings generated in your browser. They are not linked to your name, your email address, or any account, and they are not shared with anyone or used to follow you onto other websites.

To stop abuse of forms anyone can send (sign-in, password reset, subscribing, submissions, the Notice Board, the calendar, service requests, and removal requests), we keep a one-way scrambled code made from your connection, never the IP address itself, and delete it after a day. Cloudflare, our host, keeps standard request logs (such as IP address and page requested) for security and reliability.

Cookies and browser storage

• tck_session is set only after you sign in. It keeps you signed in and is marked HttpOnly, Secure, and SameSite. It is strictly necessary and cannot be turned off while you are logged in.
• _smci_sid and _smci_vid are the random analytics identifiers described above. They live in your browser’s own storage, not in cookies sent to other sites.
• _smci_optout is set if you opt out of analytics, so we remember to keep ignoring this browser.
• tck_desktop is set only when an admin chooses the desktop view on a phone.

These are kept in your own browser’s storage, not on our servers: your Conversation Starter Pack unlock and the questions you have already seen (tck_cards_token, tck_cards_deck, tck_cards_seen), and, for people who manage listings, which panel and theme they last used (tck-side, tck-tab, tck-pwa-theme, tck-pwa-install-x). Clearing your browser’s site data removes them. On Stripe’s checkout page, Stripe sets its own cookies to prevent fraud.

We do not use advertising cookies, retargeting pixels, or social media tracking widgets.

How to opt out of analytics

Add ?smci=off to the end of any TCK Hub address and load the page once. That browser will stop being counted from then on, including on later visits. Use ?smci=on to start being counted again. The setting is stored in your own browser, so it needs doing once per browser and is cleared if you clear your site data.

How we use what we collect

• To publish and maintain the directory, calendar, blog, and free resources.
• To sign you in and keep your account secure.
• To contact you about something you submitted, such as telling you a listing is live.
• To understand which pages and resources are actually useful, so we know what to improve.
• To detect and block spam and abusive submissions.

We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information, and we do not use it to build advertising profiles. We do not share it for targeted advertising. We treat a browser’s Global Privacy Control signal as a request to opt out of any sale or sharing; because we do neither, nothing further is needed.

Information that is published on purpose

Directory listings, calendar events, blog posts, and uploaded free resources are meant to be public. Anything you enter into those forms should be treated as information you intend to publish, including any contact details you supply for an organisation. Please do not put a private home address or personal phone number in a public listing. If you want something removed, write to us and we will take it down.

Who else handles your information

We keep the list of suppliers deliberately short. Each of these acts as a processor for us, under their own privacy terms.

• Cloudflare hosts the site, stores the database, and provides bot protection on submission forms. Their bot check receives the address of the request in order to score it.
• Google provides the mailbox we send notification email from, and stores files uploaded as free resources.
• Stripe processes payments for shop purchases and acts as the merchant of record. Card details go to Stripe and never reach us.
• Fourthwall runs the merch store at shop.tckhub.com, on its own site and under its own privacy terms.

We may also disclose information if we are legally required to, or where it is necessary to protect the site and its users from abuse.

Where your information is held

TCK Hub is run from the United States, and our service providers store and process information in the United States and other countries where they operate. If you use the site from outside the United States, your information is transferred to and processed in the United States. Where the law of your country gives you additional rights, such as in the European Union or the United Kingdom, you can use them by writing to info@tckhub.com.

How long we keep it

• Published listings, events, posts, and files are kept while they remain useful to the directory, or until you ask us to remove them.
• Account records are kept while the account is open.
• Sign-ins last 14 days (12 hours when you arrive from a TCK Hub admin hub). Password reset links expire after 1 hour and work once.
• Orders and payment records are kept for 7 years for tax and accounting.
• Analytics records (pages viewed and random identifiers, with no names or emails) are kept to show trends over time.

Keeping it secure

The whole site is served over HTTPS. Passwords are stored only as salted hashes using PBKDF2, so we cannot read them and neither can anyone who obtained the database. Session cookies cannot be read by scripts in your browser. Repeated failed sign in attempts lock the account temporarily. No system is perfectly secure, but we keep the number of places your data sits as small as we can. If a breach affects your information, we will notify you as the law requires.

Children

TCK Hub is for parents, educators, counsellors, and other adults. It is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them. Purchases, submissions, and accounts are for adults (see the Terms of Service, section 5). If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

Email notifications

Where you have subscribed, we send notification of new blog posts, upcoming events, and newly added resources. We do not send advertising on behalf of third parties, and we do not sell, rent, or otherwise disclose your address to any third party. Every message we send contains a link by which you may withdraw immediately, and you may alternatively withdraw at any time by writing to info@tckhub.com. Withdrawal takes effect upon receipt, and the address is thereafter excluded from all notifications.

Your choices

You can ask to see, correct, export, or delete your information, and you can appeal our answer, by writing to info@tckhub.com. We will confirm the request comes from you by emailing a link to the address you gave us, and we answer within 45 days. Some records must be kept for tax and accounting, as stated above. We will not treat you differently for using these rights. You may also use an authorized agent.

You can ask us to take down a listing, event, post, or file. You can opt out of analytics using the instructions above. We deal with every request ourselves. There is no ticketing system and no third party support desk.

Changes to this policy

We review this policy at least once a year and whenever our practices or the law change. We will post changes here with a new effective date, and email account holders about material changes.

Contact

TCK Hub is operated by SMCI Media LLC, the data controller for the purposes of this policy. Questions, access requests, and takedown requests all go to info@tckhub.com and are handled directly.

SMCI Media LLC · info@tckhub.com
7901 4th St N, Suite #36096, St. Petersburg, FL 33702