Privacy Policy

This policy explains what information Best Islands Guide ("we," "us") collects when you visit bestislandsguide.com, why, and what choices you have. It's written in plain language on purpose — email hello@bestislandsguide.com if anything here is unclear.

Information we collect

Information you give us directly: your email address, if you sign up for the newsletter, or anything you send us via the contact page.

Information collected automatically: standard analytics data — pages visited, device type, operating system, browser type and language, approximate location (derived from IP address), and referring site — via Google Analytics 4. Once display advertising is active, our advertising partner and its vendors will additionally collect similar technical data (IP address, device and browser information, and — where you've consented — a hashed version of your email address) to serve and measure interest-based ads. We don't collect precise GPS location, and we don't knowingly link this data to your real name.

Cookies and advertising

We use cookies for basic site analytics. Once display advertising is live on the site, our advertising partner and its network of third-party vendors will also use cookies, tags, pixels, and similar technologies to serve ads based on your visits to this site and others, and to build interest-based advertising profiles. Where required, we'll present a consent banner letting you accept or decline non-essential cookies before they're set, and the banner will recognize the Global Privacy Control signal if your browser sends one.

A full, current list of our advertising partners and the third-party vendors they work with will be linked here once display advertising goes live.

Your choices: you can opt out of personalized advertising through Google Ads Settings, or through the industry opt-out tools at aboutads.info (Digital Advertising Alliance) and networkadvertising.org (Network Advertising Initiative). These tools work per-browser and per-device, so you'll need to opt out again on each one you use.

Affiliate links

Some links on this site are affiliate links — see our affiliate disclosure for details. Clicking one may set a tracking cookie with the relevant affiliate program; we don't receive any personal information from that process beyond knowing a sale was referred by us.

How we use information

To operate and improve the site, send the newsletter to people who asked for it, respond to messages, and understand which guides are useful (in aggregate, not by tracking you individually). We do not sell your personal information.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or export your personal information. To exercise any of these, email hello@bestislandsguide.com — we'll respond within the timeframe your local law requires.

California residents (CCPA/CPRA): you have the right to know what personal information we collect, to delete it, to correct it, and to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information (as those terms are defined under California law — this mainly covers the interest-based advertising cookies described above). To exercise this right, email us with the subject line "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information."

UK/EU residents (GDPR): our legal basis for the data described above is your consent (for advertising cookies, collected via the consent banner) and our legitimate interest in operating the site (for basic analytics). You have the right to withdraw consent at any time through the consent banner, and to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

Children's privacy

This site is not directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect information from them.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes materially, we'll update the date at the top of this page. Continued use of the site after a change means you accept the updated policy.

Contact

[Best Islands Guide — legal entity name], governed by the laws of [state of residence/incorporation]. Questions: hello@bestislandsguide.com.