1. Introduction
Welcome to Travels Note I'm Ethan Cole I operate https://travelsnote.com/. I am committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information I collect, how I use it, and what rights you have in relation to it.
By using my website, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with any part of this policy, please discontinue use of my site.
2. Information I Collect
I collect information in the following ways:
- Information you provide directly: When you subscribe to our newsletter, leave a comment, or contact me, I collect your name and email address.
- Automatically collected information: When you visit my site, I automatically collect certain information about your device, including your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, and pages viewed.
- Cookies and tracking technologies: I use cookies, web beacons, and similar tracking technologies to track activity on my site and improve your experience. See Section 6 for details.
3. How I Use Your Information
I use the information I collect to:
- Send you my newsletter and travel content updates (only if you subscribed)
- Respond to your comments and inquiries
- Analyse site traffic and improve my content
- Display relevant advertising via my advertising partners
- Comply with legal obligations and protect my rights
- Detect and prevent fraudulent or abusive activity
4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)
If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), my legal basis for collecting and using your personal information depends on the data concerned:
- Consent: Where you have given me consent, e.g. subscribing to my newsletter.
- Legitimate interests: For analytics, security, and improving my services, where our interests are not overridden by your rights.
- Legal obligation: Where I am required to process your data to comply with applicable laws.
5. Sharing Your Information
I do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. I may share your information with:
- Service providers: Third-party companies that help us operate my website (e.g. hosting providers, email marketing platforms, analytics services). These parties are bound by confidentiality obligations.
- Advertising partners: I work with advertising partners including Ezoic and Google AdSense who may use cookies to deliver personalised ads. See my advertising partner section below.
- Legal authorities: Where required by law or to protect the rights and safety of my readers or the public.
6. Cookies
I use cookies to enhance your experience on my website. Cookies are small text files placed on your device. I use the following types:
- Essential cookies: Required for the website to function (e.g. session cookies, dark mode preference).
- Analytics cookies: I use Google Analytics to understand how visitors interact with my site. You can opt out via Google Analytics Opt-out.
- Advertising cookies: My advertising partners (including Ezoic) use cookies to deliver and measure ads. Ezoic uses cookies including for AI-driven testing; you can manage preferences via Ezoic's consent panel.
- Preference cookies: Storing your theme preference (light/dark mode).
You can control cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of certain parts of my site.
7. Advertising — Ezoic & Google
I use Ezoic to manage and optimise advertising on my site. Ezoic is certified by Google as a Publishing Partner. As part of their service:
- Ezoic may collect and use data about your visits to provide personalised ads
- Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to my site and other sites
- You can opt out of Google's use of cookies by visiting Google Ad Settings
- You can opt out of third-party vendor cookies via the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page
8. Affiliate Disclosure
Travels Note participates in affiliate marketing programmes. This means I may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) when you make a purchase through links on my site. I only recommend products and services we genuinely believe in. All affiliate relationships are disclosed in our individual posts.
9. Data Retention
I retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy. Newsletter subscribers' data is retained until you unsubscribe. Comment data is retained for the duration the comment remains on the site.
10. Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Right to access the personal data I hold about you
- Right to request correction of inaccurate data
- Right to request deletion of your personal data
- Right to object to or restrict my processing of your data
- Right to data portability
- Right to withdraw consent at any time (where processing is based on consent)
To exercise any of these rights, please contact me at hello@travelsnote.com.
11. Children's Privacy
My website is not intended for children under 13 years of age. I do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact me immediately and I will take steps to remove that information.
12. Third-Party Links
My website contains links to third-party websites. I am not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites. I encourage you to review the privacy policy of any site you visit.
13. Changes to This Policy
I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. I will notify you of any significant changes by posting the new policy on this page with an updated date. I encourage you to review this page periodically.
14. Contact Me
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact me at:
Travels Note
Email: hello@travelsnote.com
Website: https://travelsnote.com/