Among startups and tech companies, Stripe seems to be the near-universal favorite for payment processing. When I needed paid subscription functionality for my new web app, Stripe felt like the natural choice. After integration, however, I discovered that Stripe’s official JavaScript library records all browsing activity on my site and reports it back to Stripe. This data includes:

1. Every URL the user visits on my site, including pages that never display Stripe payment forms
2. Telemetry about how the user moves their mouse cursor while browsing my site
3. Unique identifiers that allow Stripe to correlate visitors to my site against other sites that accept payment via Stripe

This post shares what I found, who else it affects, and how you can limit Stripe’s data collection in your web applications.

Highlights

• My loved ones and I are safe and healthy.
• WanderJest is on hiatus due to the nationwide shutdown.
• I’m working on a product to help investors rebalance their portfolios.

COVID-19 and me

Obviously, the most relevant thing to happen in the last month has been the global spread of COVID-19. It has been a difficult and rapidly-changing time for all of us, and I hope that we can all return to normal life quickly when it’s safe to do so.

Highlights

• I’m betting big on a publicity campaign that’s at risk of failing spectacularly.
• WanderJest finally earned its first dollar of revenue, but in a way that is definitely unsustainable.
• Poor work habits have left me with the most stress I’ve felt in a year.

Goal grades

At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to accomplish. Here’s how I did against those goals:

Make $1 in revenue

• Result: Earned $100 in revenue
• Grade: A

I’ve been pursuing affiliate partnerships for WanderJest, and I had agreements with three different shows to pay me a percentage of any purchases with WanderJest’s discount code. Crushingly, zero customers purchased tickets using my code.

Highlights

• Three businesses agreed to form affiliate partnerships with WanderJest.
• Two of my blog posts reached the front page of Hacker News.
• Is It Keto earned its all-time-highest monthly revenue, doubling its previous record.

Goal grades

At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to accomplish. Here’s how I did against those goals:

Earn my first dollar of revenue from WanderJest

• Result: I didn’t make money, though I formed affiliate partnerships that have potential.
• Grade: C-

The quickest path to earn revenue for WanderJest is affiliate deals with local shows. I formed some agreements but haven’t earned any money from them yet.

Two years ago, I quit my developer job at Google to build my own software business. A year later, I posted an update about my finances, happiness, and lessons learned. Today marks the end of my second year, so it’s time for another update.

How I made and spent money