Privacy

1. Introduction

Welcome to WebsiteGecko (“we,” “us,” or “our”). We operate the website https://www.websitegecko.com/ (the “Site”). We are committed to protecting the privacy of our visitors (“you”).

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our Site. Please read this privacy policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this policy, please do not access the site.

2. Information We Collect

We may collect a limited amount of information about you in a few ways:

A. Data You Provide to Us

  • Comments: When you leave comments on the blog, we collect the data shown in the comments form (such as your name, email address, and website), your IP address, and browser user agent string to help with spam detection. An anonymized string from your email (a “hash”) may be sent to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it.
  • Contact Form: When you contact us via our contact form, we collect your name, email address, and the content of your message so we can respond to your inquiry.

B. Data We Collect Automatically

  • Analytics (Anonymized): We use Google Analytics to collect anonymized information about how visitors use our Site (e.g., which pages are visited, how long visitors stay, and how they arrived at the Site). We have configured Google Analytics to anonymize IP addresses.
  • Affiliate Tracking: We use tracking software like WeCanTrack and cookies to attribute affiliate sales. This helps us understand the performance of our affiliate links. This data is typically aggregated and not personally identifiable.
  • Cookies: We use cookies for analytics, affiliate tracking, and basic site functions (like remembering if you've opted to save your details for comments). Please see our Cookie Policy for details.
  • Log Files: Like most websites, our server automatically collects standard log data, including your IP address (which may be anonymized), browser type, and pages visited.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the limited information we collect to:

  • Operate and maintain the Site.
  • Respond to your comments and contact form inquiries.
  • Analyze website traffic to improve our content and user experience.
  • Prevent spam and protect the security of the Site.
  • Track and attribute commissions from our affiliate partners.

4. Who We Share Your Data With

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your data only with the following third parties:

  • Analytics Providers: Google (for Google Analytics) and the provider of WeCanTrack to help us analyze site traffic and affiliate performance.
  • Spam Detection Services: Visitor comments may be checked by an automated spam detection service (like Akismet).
  • Gravatar Service: As mentioned, an anonymized hash of your email is sent to Gravatar to display your profile picture with your comment (if you use the service).
  • Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required by law.

5. Affiliate Links & Cookies

This Site is monetized through affiliate marketing. Our articles contain affiliate links to third-party products and services.

If you click on one of these links and make a purchase, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. These links work by placing a third-party cookie on your browser to track the referral. This Privacy Policy does not cover the privacy practices of these third-party websites.

6. Embedded Content from Other Websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos from YouTube, images). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if you had visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, especially if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

7. How Long We Retain Your Data

  • Comments: If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This allows us to recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically.
  • Contact Forms: We typically delete contact form submissions within 6 months after the inquiry is resolved.
  • Analytics: Anonymized analytics data is retained for a standard period (e.g., up to 26 months) to allow for year-over-year analysis.

8. Your Data Rights

You have certain rights regarding your personal data:

  • Right to Access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you (which is likely limited to comments you have left).
  • Right to Rectification: You can request that we correct any inaccurate data.
  • Right to Erasure: You can request that we erase personal data we hold about you, such as your comments. (We are not required to delete data we must keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes).

If you have left comments, you can make a request using our contact form. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection authority.

9. Data Security

We implement reasonable security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information. However, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

10. Children's Privacy

Our Site is not intended for use by children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect any personal information from children under 13.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by an updated “Last Updated” date at the top of this page.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us via our Contact Page.