Privacy Policy for aethify.xyz

Last updated: June 2026

Welcome to aethify.xyz — a blog dedicated to the sport and passion of orienteering. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website (aethify.xyz) and interact with its features, including contact forms, comments, cookies, analytics, and third-party advertising. By using this site, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

This blog is not an online store. We do not process payments, store payment card details, or offer shopping cart functionality. Our sole purpose is to publish informative articles about orienteering techniques, events, gear, and community stories.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Voluntarily Provide

• Contact form submissions: When you use our contact form, we collect your name, email address, and any message you write. We use this only to respond to your inquiry.
• Comments: If you leave a comment on an article, we collect the name you provide, your email address (not publicly displayed), and your comment text. Your name and comment may be visible to other visitors.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Cookies and similar technologies: We use cookies (small text files stored on your device) and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience, analyze site traffic, and serve relevant advertisements.
• Log data & analytics: Our servers automatically record information such as your browser type, operating system, referring URL, IP address, and pages visited. We use this aggregated data for analytics (e.g., Google Analytics) to improve our content.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected data for the following purposes:

• To respond to your inquiries submitted via the contact form.
• To display and manage comments on blog posts.
• To operate, maintain, and improve the blog.
• To understand how visitors interact with our content (analytics).
• To serve personalized or non-personalized advertisements through third-party ad networks (see Section 5).
• To comply with legal obligations and enforce our policies.

3. Cookies

Cookies help us provide a better browsing experience. Below are the types of cookies we may use:

• Essential cookies: Required for basic site functions, such as remembering your comment preferences.
• Analytics cookies: We use Google Analytics to collect anonymized data about page views, time on site, and traffic sources. These cookies help us understand which orienteering articles resonate most with readers.
• Advertising cookies: Third-party ad networks (including Google AdSense) may place cookies on your browser to serve ads based on your interests and browsing history. These cookies track visits across websites.

You can control cookie settings through your browser. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies. However, disabling certain cookies may affect site functionality. For more details, visit aboutcookies.org.

4. Third-Party Analytics

We use Google Analytics to collect aggregated, anonymized data about site usage. Google Analytics uses its own cookies to track user interactions. The information generated is transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required by law. You can learn more about Google’s data practices at Google’s Privacy & Terms site.

5. Third-Party Advertising (including Google AdSense)

We display advertisements on aethify.xyz through third-party ad networks, including but not limited to Google AdSense. These ad networks may use cookies, web beacons, and device identifiers to collect information about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide relevant ads about goods and services that may interest you.

How ads use cookies / device identifiers

• Ad networks may store a unique cookie or use your device’s advertising ID to build a profile of your interests based on browsing behavior across different sites.
• This enables them to serve personalized ads — ads tailored to your inferred preferences.
• Even without personalization, ads may still be shown based on the content of the page (contextual ads).

Your choices and opt-out

• Google Ads Settings: You can opt out of personalized advertising from Google by visiting adssettings.google.com.
• Industry opt-out: You can opt out of interest-based advertising from participating companies through the Digital Advertising Alliance at aboutads.info/choices (US) or youronlinechoices.com (EU).
• Opting out does not mean you will no longer see ads — it means the ads you see will be less relevant to your interests (non-personalized).

We do not control the cookies or data collection practices of third-party advertisers. Please review their privacy policies for full details. Google’s privacy policy is available at policies.google.com/privacy.

6. Comments & Contact Forms

Comments

When you leave a comment on aethify.xyz, we collect the data shown in the comments form, your IP address, and browser user agent string to help spam detection. An anonymized string created from your email address (a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. After approval of your comment, your profile picture (if any) is visible to the public alongside your comment. You can request removal of your comment by contacting us.

Contact Forms

If you use our contact form, we retain your name, email address, and message content solely for the purpose of responding to your inquiry. We do not use this information for marketing or share it with third parties unless required by law.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy:

• Comments and their metadata are retained indefinitely so we can recognize and approve follow-up comments automatically.
• Contact form submissions are kept for a reasonable period (up to 12 months) unless a longer retention is required by law.
• Analytics and advertising data are retained according to the respective third-party providers’ policies.

8. Your Rights (GDPR & Other Jurisdictions)

If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA), UK, or other regions with data protection laws, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data, subject to certain exceptions.
• Restriction: Request that we limit processing of your data.
• Data portability: Request a structured, machine-readable copy of your data.
• Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

9. Children’s Privacy

aethify.xyz is not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us immediately and we will take steps to delete such information.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.

11. Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices,