Privacy Policy
Last updated: 21 July 2026
Data controller: Jiahao Gao, who operates Becoming and publishes under the pen name Elias Rowan
Country of establishment: Italy
Website: https://www.becomingbyelias.com
Contact: eliasrowan123456789@gmail.com
1. Purpose and scope
This Privacy Policy describes how Becoming may collect, use, retain and protect personal data when a user:
visits the website;
creates or uses a member account;
subscribes to the newsletter;
communicates directly with Becoming;
interacts with Becoming’s official Facebook or Instagram profiles;
provides voluntary support through an external service such as Ko-fi;
exercises a right or submits a request.
External platforms and services also process personal data under their own policies and responsibilities.
2. Personal data that may be processed
Depending on how a user interacts with Becoming, the following data may be processed:
email address;
name, pen name or display name, where provided;
account, membership and subscription-status information;
information required for sign-in, authentication and sessions;
newsletter delivery, open and click information, where the relevant analytics are enabled;
limited technical and usage data, such as the page viewed, date and time, source or referrer, country or approximate area, device or browser type and security information;
messages, requests, attachments and correspondence voluntarily provided;
comments, reactions, shares, profile names and other content made public or sent through Facebook and Instagram;
information made available in connection with voluntary support, such as name, email address, message, amount, transaction identifier or status, to the extent made available by the external service;
information required for administrative, accounting, tax, anti-fraud, security or legal purposes.
Becoming does not intentionally request unnecessary data.
3. Purposes and legal bases
Personal data may be processed for the following purposes and legal bases:
a. Newsletter and optional communications
Purpose: to send content, updates and editorial communications requested by the user.
Legal basis: consent.
Consent may be withdrawn at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
b. Accounts, access and requested functions
Purpose: to create and manage an account, authenticate the member and provide the access and functions expressly requested.
Legal basis: performance of the requested service or steps taken at the user’s request.
c. Security and technical management
Purpose: to protect the website and accounts, prevent spam, fraud, unauthorised access and abuse, resolve technical issues and maintain the service.
Legal basis: Becoming’s legitimate interest in operating and protecting the publication, provided that the user’s rights and freedoms do not override that interest; legal obligation, where applicable.
d. Analytics and editorial improvement
Purpose: to understand traffic, referral sources, content performance, member growth and reader engagement through Ghost’s native and cookie-free analytics.
Legal basis: legitimate interest in reasonably understanding and improving the publication, subject to the configuration described in the Cookie Policy.
e. Messages, requests and correspondence
Purpose: to respond to communications and manage account, privacy, correction, copyright, attribution or content-removal requests.
Legal basis: the user’s request, legitimate interest in managing correspondence and legal obligation, where applicable.
f. Facebook, Instagram and Page Insights
Purpose: to manage official pages, respond to comments and messages, moderate interactions and understand the audience and content performance in aggregated form.
Legal basis: legitimate interest in communicating with readers, managing the editorial presence and understanding public engagement; consent or another applicable basis for specific functions managed directly by the platform.
g. Voluntary support
Purpose: to manage or acknowledge support, respond to the supporter, prevent fraud and maintain necessary records.
Legal basis: performance of the requested transaction, administrative legitimate interests and accounting, tax or legal obligations, where applicable.
h. Legal obligations and rights
Purpose: to comply with the law, respond to authorities and establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
Legal basis: legal obligation and legitimate interest.
4. Nature of providing data
Providing personal data is generally optional. However:
an email address is required to subscribe to the newsletter or create an account;
certain technical data are necessary to provide and protect the service;
information required by a payment provider may be necessary to complete voluntary support;
without the required data, Becoming may be unable to provide the function or respond to the request.
5. Member accounts and newsletters
Becoming uses or may use Ghost’s native account, authentication and newsletter functions.
When a user subscribes or creates an account, the following may be processed:
email address;
name, where provided;
account status;
subscription status;
sign-in and authentication information;
essential newsletter relationship history;
administrative labels or notes, where necessary to manage the account.
Users may unsubscribe by using the link contained in the emails or by contacting Becoming.
After unsubscribing, minimum suppression information may be retained to prevent unwanted future emails.
6. Ghost native analytics
Becoming may use Ghost’s native, first-party analytics.
Ghost’s native web analytics are designed to work without cookies or persistent storage intended to recognise visitors across different sessions, browsers or devices. Unique visitors may be counted within limited time windows.
When an authenticated member visits the website, Ghost may record the member identifier, free or paid status and associate certain content views with the account.
Depending on the enabled settings, Ghost may also provide information concerning:
traffic sources;
countries or approximate areas;
content viewed;
member growth;
newsletter delivery;
opens and clicks;
signup sources;
interactions with external links.
Becoming does not currently use Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, advertising pixels or third-party behavioural advertising tools on its website.
Ghost analytics functions may be changed or disabled through the website’s administrative settings.
7. Cookies and similar technologies
The use of cookies and similar technologies is described in the Cookie Policy.
In its current configuration, Becoming does not use advertising or profiling cookies and does not display a consent banner because no non-essential tools requiring prior consent are active.
This assessment must be updated if new tools, embeds or integrations are added.
8. Website comments
Ghost public comments are not currently enabled on Becoming.
If website comments, forums, user contributions or other community functions are introduced in the future, this Privacy Policy and any applicable rules will be updated before or at the time of activation.
9. Facebook, Instagram and Page Insights
Becoming operates official pages or profiles on Facebook and Instagram, services provided by Meta Platforms Ireland Limited for users in the European Economic Area.
When a user visits or interacts with those pages, Meta processes personal data under its own policy, rules and the user’s settings.
Becoming may view or process information made available through the platform, including:
profile name and image;
comments, reactions and shares;
direct messages;
content voluntarily submitted;
publicly visible profile information;
information necessary to respond to or moderate interactions.
Meta may provide Becoming with aggregated statistics through Page Insights. Those statistics may be produced from visits to and interactions with the page and its associated content.
For certain processing concerning Page Insights Data, Becoming and Meta Platforms Ireland Limited may act as joint controllers. Meta assumes the primary responsibilities defined in its Page Insights Controller Addendum, while Becoming must identify itself, have an appropriate legal basis and comply with the obligations falling within its responsibility.
Becoming normally receives aggregated statistics rather than the full individual data used by Meta to create them.
For processing carried out independently by Meta, users should refer to Meta’s tools, settings and privacy information.
10. Communications and social interactions
When a user sends an email, private message or content through Facebook or Instagram, Becoming processes the information received to:
reply;
manage the editorial relationship;
moderate or protect the space;
handle reports, legal or privacy requests;
prevent abuse.
Public interactions may remain visible on the platform until they are removed by the user, Becoming or the platform under the relevant rules.
Users are asked not to send unnecessary personal data concerning themselves or others.
11. Special categories of personal data
Becoming’s themes may concern faith, health or mental health. Users are asked not to send health information, religious information or other special categories of personal data through email, messages or social interactions unless this is strictly necessary and consciously chosen by the individual.
Where such information is submitted voluntarily, Becoming will process it only to the extent necessary to handle the communication, protect the individual or comply with an applicable obligation.
12. Voluntary support through Ko-fi
Becoming may provide an ordinary external link through which readers can offer voluntary support using Ko-fi.
Ko-fi and the relevant payment providers operate under their own terms and privacy policies.
Depending on the user’s choices and the information made available by the service, Becoming may receive limited information such as:
name or display name;
email address;
message;
amount;
transaction identifier and status;
limited administrative or billing information.
Becoming does not receive or store full card details merely because a payment is made through an external provider.
Information received is used only to the extent necessary to manage the support, respond, prevent fraud and comply with administrative, accounting, tax or legal obligations.
13. Public content and search engines
Articles, pages, images, titles, metadata and other public content may be crawled, indexed, displayed, archived or temporarily stored by independent search engines and online services.
Becoming may use technical tools, such as Google Search Console, to understand website indexing and visibility.
Changing or removing content from Becoming may not result in its immediate removal from third-party results, caches or archives.
14. External links and services
Becoming may publish, adapt or promote content through Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Medium, X, LinkedIn, Quora, Reddit, Ko-fi and other services.
When a user selects an external link, the destination service processes data under its own terms and privacy policy.
Unless otherwise stated, Becoming does not currently embed social feeds, third-party video players or Ko-fi payment widgets on the website.
15. Providers, processors and recipients
Personal data may be processed by or disclosed, where necessary, to:
Ghost(Pro), for hosting, accounts, authentication, newsletters, email delivery and analytics;
authorised technical sub-processors connected with Ghost;
Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, for Facebook, Instagram and Page Insights;
Ko-fi and the payment providers selected by the user;
email, security or infrastructure providers;
technical, legal, accounting or professional advisers, where necessary;
public authorities or entitled parties, where required by law.
The legal role of each recipient may vary according to the activity: processor, joint controller or independent controller.
Personal data are not sold to advertisers.
16. International transfers
Ghost(Pro) currently stores its servers and native analytics data in European regions. Ghost and other providers may nevertheless use sub-processors or process certain information in different countries.
Meta, Ko-fi, payment providers and other external services may carry out international processing or transfers under their own policies.
Where a transfer outside the European Economic Area is subject to the GDPR, the relevant party may rely on an adequacy decision, Standard Contractual Clauses or another valid mechanism.
Further information about applicable safeguards may be requested from Becoming or found in the relevant provider’s documentation.
17. Retention periods
Personal data are retained only for as long as necessary for the described purposes or required by law. In particular:
account and subscription data: while the account or subscription remains active and for the period subsequently required to manage deletion;
minimum suppression information: after unsubscribing, to prevent unwanted future emails;
ordinary correspondence: generally no longer than 24 months after the last meaningful contact, unless a documented need requires longer retention;
social messages and interactions: for as long as necessary to respond, moderate, document a request or protect the service; public content may remain on the platform under the user’s choices and the service’s rules;
analytics data: according to the settings and periods made available by Ghost;
support and transaction information: for the period required by accounting, tax, anti-fraud or legal obligations;
security logs: for the time reasonably necessary to prevent or investigate incidents;
information relating to disputes or legal requests: for the applicable limitation period.
Data may be deleted or anonymised earlier where no longer necessary.
18. Data subject rights
Subject to the limits and conditions of applicable law, an individual may request:
access to personal data;
rectification of inaccurate or incomplete data;
erasure;
restriction of processing;
objection to processing based on legitimate interests;
portability, where applicable;
withdrawal of consent;
information about safeguards for international transfers;
the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority.
To exercise these rights:
eliasrowan123456789@gmail.com
Before completing a request, Becoming may request information reasonably necessary to verify the requester’s identity.
In Italy, the supervisory authority is the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali.
19. Children
Becoming is a general-interest publication and is not specifically directed at children.
Where processing is based on consent in connection with the direct offer of an information society service, a person under the age of 14 in Italy should not provide consent independently without the authorisation of the holder of parental responsibility, where required by law.
If data concerning a child are believed to have been provided inappropriately, please contact Becoming.
20. Automated decision-making
Becoming does not currently carry out solely automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects on users.
21. Security
Becoming adopts reasonable technical and organisational measures, including the use of reliable providers, access controls and appropriate account-security practices.
No online service or electronic transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
22. Changes
This Privacy Policy may be updated when the website, services, providers, social pages or applicable requirements change.
The most recent version will be published on this page with its updated date.
23. Contact
For privacy questions or requests:
eliasrowan123456789@gmail.com
24. Language versions
The Italian and English versions are provided to make the information accessible to different readers.
In the event of an interpretative discrepancy, the Italian version shall prevail to the extent permitted by applicable law.