Privacy Policy

Overview

Security Compliance Guide ("we," "us," "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy describes what information we collect when you visit our site, how we use it, who we share it with, and your rights regarding your data.

We collect minimal personal data. We do not sell your data to third parties.

Information We Collect

Automatically Collected Data

When you visit our site, our analytics tools automatically collect certain non-personally identifiable information, including:

• Pages visited and time spent on each page
• Referring website or search query that brought you here
• Browser type, operating system, and device type
• Approximate geographic location (country or region level, not precise location)
• IP address (anonymized by default in our analytics configuration)

Newsletter Subscriptions

If you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect your email address. We use this solely to send you new guide notifications and occasional site updates. You can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send.

Contact Form Submissions

If you contact us via our contact form, we collect your name, email address, and the content of your message. We use this information only to respond to your inquiry.

Cookies

Our site uses cookies. See the "Cookies" section below for full details.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device by websites you visit. We use the following types:

Analytics Cookies (Google Analytics / GA4)

We use Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use our site. GA4 uses first-party cookies to collect anonymized usage data. This data helps us understand which guides are most useful and where we can improve.

GA4 cookies used on this site:

• _ga - Distinguishes unique users. Expires after 2 years.
• _ga_[ID] - Maintains session state. Expires after 2 years.

We have configured GA4 with IP anonymization enabled. Google Analytics data is processed by Google in accordance with their Privacy Policy. You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Advertising Cookies (Google AdSense)

This site uses Google AdSense to display advertisements. Google AdSense uses cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this site and other sites on the internet. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to our site and other sites on the internet.

Google AdSense cookies include:

• IDE - Used by Google DoubleClick to register and report user actions after viewing or clicking an ad. Expires after 1 year.
• test_cookie - Used to check if the user's browser supports cookies. Expires at end of session.
• DSID, FLC, AID, TAID - Additional Google advertising cookies for ad targeting and frequency capping.

You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings or aboutads.info.

Functional Cookies

We may use session cookies to maintain basic site functionality (such as remembering newsletter form state). These expire when you close your browser.

How We Use Your Information

We use the data we collect for the following purposes:

• Analyzing site traffic and content performance to improve our guides
• Sending newsletter emails to subscribers who have opted in
• Responding to contact form inquiries
• Displaying contextually relevant advertising through Google AdSense
• Detecting and preventing spam or abuse

We do not use your data for automated profiling or decision-making that produces legal effects.

Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We share data only in the following limited circumstances:

• Google (Analytics and AdSense): Analytics and advertising data is processed by Google under their terms of service and privacy policy.
• Email service provider: If you subscribe to our newsletter, your email address is stored with our email service provider for the purpose of sending emails.
• Netlify (hosting): Our site is hosted on Netlify. Netlify may process server access logs that include IP addresses. See Netlify's Privacy Policy.
• Legal requirements: We may disclose data if required to do so by law or in response to valid legal process.

GDPR Rights (EU/EEA Residents)

If you are located in the European Union or European Economic Area, you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including:

• Right of access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: Request correction of inaccurate personal data.
• Right to erasure: Request deletion of your personal data, subject to certain exceptions.
• Right to restrict processing: Request that we limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Right to object: Object to processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes.
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, withdraw that consent at any time.

Our legal basis for processing analytics data is legitimate interest (understanding site usage to improve content). Our legal basis for processing newsletter emails is consent. You may withdraw consent at any time by unsubscribing.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us. We will respond within 30 days.

Data Retention

We retain data for the minimum period necessary for the purposes described in this policy:

• Google Analytics data: retained for 14 months (the minimum configurable retention period in GA4)
• Newsletter subscriber emails: retained until you unsubscribe
• Contact form submissions: retained for up to 12 months, then deleted

Children's Privacy

This site is intended for business professionals and is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "last updated" date at the top of this page. Significant changes will be announced on the site. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

Questions, requests to exercise your data rights, or concerns about this policy should be directed to us via the contact page. We will respond to privacy-related inquiries promptly and in any case within 30 days.