Last updated: [Insert publication date]
This page explains what information Email Marketing Voodoo collects when you visit, why we collect it, and what control you have over it. We are a small, independent content site about email marketing, email services and deliverability, and we have tried to write this the way we write everything else: plainly and without padding.
Who this policy covers
This policy applies to emailmarketingvoodoo.com and any pages served from it. When we say “we”, “us” or “this site”, we mean Email Marketing Voodoo.
It does not cover other websites, even ones we mention or embed content from. Those sites have their own privacy policies, and you should read them if you use their services.
The short version
- We collect the basic technical data every website receives when you load a page.
- We use cookies, and some of our partners may set their own.
- Embedded videos and social posts can let those platforms see that you visited.
- Tools on this site that say they run in your browser keep your input on your device.
- We do not sell your personal data.
- You can ask us what we hold about you and ask us to delete it.
The rest of this page gives the detail.
Information collected automatically
Server logs
Like nearly every website, our hosting servers keep logs of requests made to this site. A typical log entry includes:
- Your IP address
- The date and time of the request
- The page or file requested
- The referring page, if your browser sends one
- Your browser type and operating system (the “user agent”)
- The response status, such as whether the page loaded or returned an error
We use this data to keep the site running, diagnose errors, spot broken links and protect against abuse such as spam, scraping and attacks. We do not use server logs to build profiles of individual readers.
Analytics
We may use an analytics service to understand how the site is used in aggregate: which articles people read, how they found them and roughly where in the world visitors come from. This helps us decide what to write and what to fix.
Analytics tools usually collect information such as pages viewed, time on page, device type, approximate location derived from IP address, and referral source. Where the tool allows it, we prefer settings that limit data collection, such as IP truncation or cookie-free measurement.
Information you give us
If you contact us, sign up for something we offer, or leave a comment where comments are enabled, we receive whatever you choose to send. That typically means your name, email address and the content of your message.
We use this information only for the purpose you gave it to us, such as replying to your message or sending something you asked for. If we ever run an email newsletter, every message will include a working unsubscribe link, and we will honour unsubscribes promptly. It would be strange for a site about email best practice to do otherwise.
Cookies
Cookies are small text files a website stores in your browser. They fall into a few groups here.
| Type | What it does | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | Keeps the site working, for example remembering a cookie consent choice or protecting forms from spam | This site |
| Analytics | Measures visits and page views so we can see what is useful | This site or an analytics provider |
| Advertising | Shows ads, limits how often you see the same ad, and measures ad performance | Advertising partners we may work with |
| Embedded content | Supports videos, social posts and other content loaded from third-party platforms | The platform providing the content |
Advertising partners
If we display advertising, the ad networks involved may set cookies or use similar technologies to show ads based on your interests and to measure results. These partners operate under their own privacy policies, and they control the data their cookies collect.
Where the law requires it, we will ask for your consent before non-essential cookies are set, and you can change your choice at any time.
Managing cookies
You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Every major browser lets you do this. Blocking essential cookies may break parts of the site, but blocking analytics and advertising cookies will not stop you reading anything.
Many ad networks also offer opt-out tools for interest-based advertising, and some browsers send a Global Privacy Control signal. Where we can detect and act on that signal, we treat it as a request to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal data.
Embedded content from other sites
Some articles include content hosted elsewhere, such as YouTube videos, social media posts or code snippets. Embedded content behaves exactly as if you had visited the other site directly.
That means the provider can:
- Receive your IP address and browser details
- Set its own cookies
- Track your interaction with the embedded content
- Link that activity to your account if you are logged in to their platform
If you would rather avoid this, log out of those platforms before visiting, use your browser’s tracking protection, or block third-party cookies.
Tools that run in your browser
Some tools on this site, such as checkers, calculators or formatters, are built to run entirely in your browser. Where a tool states that it runs in your browser, the text, email addresses, headers or other data you enter are processed on your own device and are not sent to our servers or stored by us.
If a tool ever needs to send data to a server to work, for example to look up a DNS record, the tool page will say so. In that case we use the input only to return your result and do not keep it beyond what our standard server logs record.
How we use information
We use the information described above to:
- Run, secure and maintain the site
- Understand which content is useful and improve it
- Respond to messages and requests
- Display and measure advertising, if and when we run it
- Comply with legal obligations
We do not use your data to make automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you.
We do not sell your personal data
We do not sell personal data to anyone, and we do not share your contact details with marketers.
Some privacy laws define “sharing” broadly enough to include allowing advertising partners to set cookies for interest-based ads. If we use such partners, you can opt out through the cookie controls and opt-out options described above.
Who we share information with
We share data only with service providers that help us run the site, and only as far as needed. That can include:
- Our web host and content delivery network, which handle server logs
- An analytics provider
- Advertising partners, if we use them
- An email service provider, if you contact us or subscribe to something
We may also disclose information if the law requires it or if it is necessary to protect the site, our readers or others from harm or fraud.
How long we keep data
We keep personal data only as long as we need it for the purpose it was collected.
- Server logs: kept for a limited period, normally no more than 90 days, unless we need them longer to investigate a security problem or abuse.
- Analytics data: kept according to the retention settings of the analytics tool, which we set to the shortest period that still lets us compare trends over time.
- Messages you send us: kept for as long as needed to deal with your request, then deleted unless there is an ongoing conversation or a legal reason to keep them.
- Subscription data: kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it.
Data held by third-party partners is governed by their own retention policies.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
- Ask whether we hold personal data about you and get a copy of it
- Ask us to correct data that is wrong
- Ask us to delete your data
- Object to or restrict certain processing
- Withdraw consent you previously gave, such as for cookies
- Opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, or of targeted advertising
- Complain to your local data protection authority
We will honour reasonable requests from any reader regardless of where they live. To make a request, contact us through the contact page on this site. We may need to confirm your identity before acting on a request, and we will respond within the time required by the law that applies to you.
Keep in mind that we often cannot link server logs or analytics data to a specific person. If you send us details such as your IP address and the time of your visit, we will do our best to find and remove matching records.
Security
We take reasonable steps to protect the data we hold, including serving the site over HTTPS and limiting who can access logs and messages. No website can promise perfect security, but we keep the amount of personal data we hold small, which limits the damage any breach could do.
International transfers
Our hosting and service providers may store or process data in countries other than the one you live in. Where that happens, we rely on the safeguards those providers offer, such as standard contractual clauses, to protect your data.
Children
This site is written for adults working with email and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
We will update this page when our practices change, for example if we add a new analytics tool, start running ads or launch a newsletter. The “Last updated” date at the top shows when the page last changed. If a change is significant, we will make it clear on the site.
Contact
Questions about this policy or about your data can be sent through the contact page on this site. We read every message and will reply as quickly as we can.