Privacy Policy
Warm Home Story respects your privacy. This page explains what we collect, why we collect it, and how you can control it. Using this site means you accept these terms.
Who runs this site
Andrew Bennett writes and runs Warm Home Story from Massachusetts. He is responsible for the data this site collects. Reach him anytime through the contact page.
Information you give us
You provide some information directly to us when you leave a comment, subscribe to our newsletter, or contact us through our form. In these situations, we may collect your name, email address, and anything else you choose to include in your message.
For this reason, we only request information that we genuinely need. We do not ask for unnecessary details simply to add more information to our database.
Information collected automatically
Our hosting and analytics tools gather some data on their own. This includes your IP address, your browser type, and your device. It also includes which pages you visit and how long you stay.
This data helps us see what readers find useful. It also helps us fix pages that aren’t working well.
Cookies
Cookies help us remember your preferences and measure site traffic. They also let our ad partners show relevant ads. You can block cookies through your browser settings at any time.
Blocking cookies may break some site features. Our separate Cookie Consent Notice lists every cookie category we use.
How we use your data
Your data helps us respond to messages and deliver the newsletters you’ve signed up for. Additionally, we use this information to improve our content and display ads that help keep this site free. Most importantly, we never sell your personal information to anyone.
Legal basis for processing
We process your data based on your consent, like when you join our newsletter. We also process it to fulfill a contract, like responding to your message. In some cases we rely on legitimate interest, like basic site analytics.
Advertising on this site
Display ads and affiliate links support Warm Home Story. Our ad partners may include networks such as Google AdSense, Mediavine, or Raptive. These companies use cookies to show ads based on your browsing across different websites.
You can opt out of interest based ads through your browser settings. You can also visit optout.networkadvertising.org to manage your preferences. Opting out won’t reduce the number of ads you see. It only changes which ads appear.
Some links in our posts are affiliate links. If you buy something after clicking one, we may earn a small commission. This costs you nothing extra, and we disclose it inside the relevant posts.
Third party services
Several outside tools help run this site. Google Analytics tracks traffic. An email platform sends our newsletter. Akismet filters spam from our comment section. Our ad and affiliate networks also process some data.
Each service follows its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review those policies if you want more detail.
Data retention
We keep comment and newsletter data for as long as your account or subscription stays active. We delete contact form messages after we resolve your request, usually within a year. You can ask us to delete your data sooner at any time.
Your privacy rights
You may have rights over your data depending on where you live. Readers in the EU or UK have rights under the GDPR. Readers in California have rights under the CCPA.
These rights usually include seeing your data, correcting it, or asking us to delete it. You can also ask us to stop using your data for marketing. Email info@warmhomestory.com to make any of these requests, and we will respond within 30 days.
Do Not Track signals
Some browsers send a “Do Not Track” signal when you browse. We currently do not respond to these signals in a special way. Our cookie controls above give you more direct control over tracking.
Children’s privacy
This site is not built for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone that young. Contact us right away if you think a child sent us personal information, and we will remove it.
How we protect your data
We use SSL encryption and secure hosting to protect your information. No website can promise complete security, and we can’t either. We take reasonable steps, but risk is never zero online.
Links to other sites
Our posts often link to stores, brands, and other blogs. Once you leave our site, their privacy rules apply instead of ours. Check a site’s own policy before sharing personal details there.
Changes to this policy
We update this page whenever our practices change or the law requires it. The date at the top always shows the latest version. Continuing to use the site after an update means you accept the new terms.
Contact us
Email info@warmhomestory.com with questions about this policy or your data. We read every message personally and reply within a few business days.