DigInGuide keeps this short and specific: here is the data that passes through the site, the reason it does, and the control you have over it.
Scope
Read this as applying to this website and nothing else. Outbound links lead to sites with their own policies, and social platforms answer for their own data collection rather than us.
The data that passes through
Loading a page transmits technical data: your IP address, the browser and device you use, which pages you open, the site you came from, and how long you read. We keep it in aggregate and never link it to a person.
Anything else comes from you deliberately – a subscription email address, or the message you send us.
Why we hold it
- Serve the pages and diagnose faults when something breaks.
- See in bulk which gardening pages earn their place and which do not.
- Write back when you contact us.
- Send the newsletter, to subscribers only.
- Satisfy a legal requirement where one exists.
Services we rely on
This site uses Google Analytics for aggregate statistics and Google AdSense for advertising; our host keeps server logs, and our email service handles the newsletter. Each operates under its own privacy policy and may set cookies.
The services above are operated by companies based in the United States, so data reaching them is processed there. Each publishes its own transfer safeguards, which is the mechanism relied on rather than any arrangement of ours.
If you subscribe
The newsletter works on one address and nothing else: no name is asked for, and the address is used to send the newsletter and for nothing besides. It is not passed to anyone, and the unsubscribe link at the foot of every issue removes it from the list rather than flagging it.
Why we are allowed to
For readers covered by European or United Kingdom law, the lawful bases are consent (newsletter, non-essential cookies), legitimate interest (operating the site, aggregate measurement) and legal obligation. Any consent given can be taken back whenever you like.
How long it is kept
Server logs are rotated by our hosting provider on its own schedule. Analytics data follows the retention period configured in Google Analytics. A newsletter address is kept until you unsubscribe, and a message sent through the contact form is kept as long as the exchange is useful and then deleted.
What you can demand
You can ask for a copy of what we hold, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. Every newsletter carries an unsubscribe link that works. Your browser settings control cookies. Readers in the EEA, the UK and California have additional statutory rights, and we honour them for everyone.
Children
This site is not aimed at anyone under 13, and we do not knowingly take data from that age group. Contact us if you think we have and it goes.
Selling data
There is no sale of personal information and no sharing for another party’s marketing. That answers the California opt-out question directly, rather than by pointing you at a form.
Automated processing
No decision about you is made automatically here, and there is no profiling with legal or similarly significant effect. The site publishes articles; it does not score readers.
Safeguards
The site runs over HTTPS and access to anything we store is restricted. That is protection, not invulnerability, and we will not dress it up as more than it is.
Raising a problem
If you think we have handled your data badly, tell us first through the contact page; it is usually the fastest route. You are equally entitled to complain to your national data protection authority without going through us at all.
When this changes
When this policy changes, the date at the top changes with it. Material changes are announced on the site.
Contact
Questions about any of this go through our contact page.