Initial Commit

Privacy Policy

What we collect, why, who helps us run things, and what you can ask of us. Last updated October 1, 2026.

This policy covers initialcommit.com (the "Website"), run by Initial Commit ("we", "us"). It explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, which services help us run the Website, and the choices you have. If you have any questions, email us at jacob@initialcommit.io.

1. What we collect

You can read everything on the Website without an account and without telling us who you are. We collect:

  • What you give us. Your email address when you sign up for our newsletter, a free sample, a cheat sheet or a demo. Your first name if you add it to the certificate you get for finishing the Git lessons. Your mobile number if you choose to get text messages from us (see section 3). Whatever you write if you email us.
  • What your browser sends. Like any website, our servers receive your IP address, browser and device details, the pages you ask for and the page you came from. Our analytics and advertising partners collect similar information through their own scripts (see section 5).
  • What you do on the Website. Which pages and links you visit and click, measured by Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager. Your lesson progress and cheat sheet picks stay in your own browser (see section 4).

We use this information to run and improve the Website, send you what you signed up for, keep out spam and abuse, and show ads that help keep the Website free.

2. Email signups

When you sign up with your email address:

  • We check that the address is real. To keep out typos, fake and throwaway addresses, we send new addresses, together with your IP address, to ZeroBounce, an email validation service. ZeroBounce tells us whether the address can receive email.
  • We store it. We keep your email address, what you signed up for (for example a book sample format or a topic you're interested in), the campaign or page that brought you, when you signed up, and whether you've confirmed your address.
  • We add you to our mailing list. Your email address goes to Mailchimp, the service we use to send our newsletter and emails. With it we send tags that describe how you signed up, so we can send you emails that fit: the page or lesson you signed up from, your progress through the Git lessons, what you signed up for, and, for the Animated Git Cheat Sheet, the type of Git user your picks matched (for example "The Hoarder"). If you gave us your first name, it goes to Mailchimp too.
  • We may email you to confirm. Some signups get an email with a confirmation link, sent through Google's Gmail service.
  • For a Devlands signup, we create a personal discount code with Gumroad, the store that sells Devlands. The code name is made from the first part of your email address.

Every email we send has an unsubscribe link. You can also email us to be removed.

3. Text messages (SMS)

If you choose to get text messages from us, we collect your mobile number and your consent, and we send the messages through Mailchimp's SMS service. By opting in, you agree to receive recurring messages from Initial Commit about our content, products and offers. Message frequency varies, and message and data rates may apply.

  • Reply STOP to any message to stop getting them, or HELP for help. You can also email us.
  • Signing up for text messages is never required to buy anything or use the Website.
  • We do not sell or share your mobile number or your text message opt-in with third parties for their own marketing. We only share them with the service providers that send our messages for us, such as Mailchimp.
  • Your mobile carrier is not responsible for delayed or undelivered messages.

4. Cookies and browser storage

The Website itself uses a few small cookies and your browser's local storage:

  • Session cookie (JSESSIONID): keeps the Website secure, for example by protecting forms against forged requests. It lasts until you close your browser.
  • Preferences: whether you prefer dark mode (one year), and whether you've closed the signup popup or the Code Card tutorial (30 days).
  • Campaign cookies (utm_campaign, utm_source, utm_medium, utm_content): if you arrive from one of our campaign links, these remember which one for 7 days, so we can tell which campaigns bring people to the Website.
  • Browser storage (stays on your device, we don't receive it): your progress through the Git lessons, your Animated Git Cheat Sheet picks and settings, whether you've already signed up, when you last closed the signup panel, and the git-sim viewer's sound setting.

Our analytics and advertising partners set their own cookies (see section 5). You can block or delete cookies and clear browser storage in your browser's settings. Parts of the Website, like your saved lesson progress, won't work the same without them.

5. Services that help us run the Website

These services receive information about you when you use the Website. Each one handles it under its own privacy policy.

  • Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager: measure visits, pages viewed and links clicked.
  • Google AdSense: shows ads, and may use cookies to show ads based on your visits to this and other websites. You can turn off personalized ads at Google's Ad Settings.
  • Google reCAPTCHA: keeps bots out of our signup forms. It is loaded on our pages and collects information about your device and how you use the page.
  • Mailchimp (Intuit): sends our emails and text messages and stores our mailing list.
  • ZeroBounce: checks that new email addresses are real (your email address and IP address).
  • Gmail (Google): sends confirmation emails.
  • Gumroad: sells our products and creates discount codes. When you buy something, Gumroad handles your payment. We never see your card details.
  • PostHog (Devlands home page only): measures how visitors use the page.
  • Content networks and embeds: some pages load fonts, scripts or images from Google Fonts, Cloudflare, unpkg, jQuery and Amazon Web Services, and some show YouTube videos. These receive your IP address and browser details when they send you the files.
  • Amazon Associates: as an Amazon Associate (and member of other affiliate programs), we may earn a commission when you buy through our links. Amazon may set its own cookies when you follow them.

6. git-sim, the viewer and the Devlands app

  • git-sim runs on your own computer. It doesn't send your repositories to us.
  • Shared git-sim links: when you open a shared simulation in the git-sim viewer, the full simulation stays in the part of the link after the #, which your browser never sends to us. We only receive the command, the theme and a short summary of the graph, which we use to make the page title and preview image. We don't store any of it.
  • git-sim live connects your browser directly to git-sim on your own computer. Nothing passes through our servers.
  • The Devlands app sends us usage data while you use it: your email address and license key, what you did in the app, your operating system, the app version, your screen and window size, and any error messages. We use it to fix bugs and improve the app.

7. When we share information

We don't sell your personal information. We share it only:

  • With the service providers in section 5, so they can do their jobs for us.
  • If the law requires it, for example to answer a subpoena or court order, or to protect our rights, our users or the public.
  • As part of a sale, merger or transfer of all or part of our business. This policy would still apply to your information.

8. How long we keep it

We keep your email address and signup details until you unsubscribe and ask us to delete them, or until we no longer need them. Analytics and advertising data is kept according to Google's settings and policies. Information in your browser's storage stays until you clear it.

9. Your choices and rights

  • Unsubscribe from emails with the link in any email, and from text messages by replying STOP.
  • See, correct or delete the personal information we hold about you: email jacob@initialcommit.io and we'll take care of it.
  • Turn off personalized ads at Google's Ad Settings, and block or delete cookies in your browser.

Depending on where you live, for example in the European Union, the United Kingdom or California, you may have more rights over your information, such as getting a copy of it, objecting to how we use it, or complaining to your local data protection authority. California residents can also ask us about any personal information we've shared with third parties for their direct marketing. To use any of these rights, email us. We won't treat you differently for doing so.

10. Children

The Website isn't meant for children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from them. If you think a child has given us their information, email us and we'll delete it.

11. Security

We use industry-standard measures to protect your information, such as encrypted connections. No website is completely secure, though, so we can't guarantee your information will never be accessed without permission.

The Website links to websites we don't run, like GitHub, Gumroad and Amazon. This policy doesn't cover them, so check their own privacy policies.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the Website changes. When we do, we'll update the date at the top of this page, and for bigger changes we'll post a notice on the Website. This version is effective as of October 1, 2026.

14. Contact us

Questions, requests or concerns about your privacy? Email us at jacob@initialcommit.io.