Privacy Policy

Overview

This Privacy Policy explains what information Honest Ratings ("Honest Ratings," "we," "us," or "our") collects when you visit honest-ratings.com, how we use that information, and the choices you have. We operate this site as an independent product review and buying-guide publication covering wireless earbuds, mechanical keyboards, gaming mice, portable monitors, power banks, USB-C hubs, smartwatches, webcams, portable power stations, and wall chargers, and we earn commission through the Amazon Associates Program and other affiliate arrangements when readers click through to retailers and make a qualifying purchase. This policy applies to all visitors of the site and is updated periodically as our practices or the services we use change.

Information We Collect

Information you provide directly

If you subscribe to our newsletter, leave a comment on a review, contact us by email, or submit a product for consideration, we collect the information you provide as part of that interaction — typically your name, email address, and the content of your message. We do not require an account or payment information to read reviews or buying guides on this site.

Information collected automatically

Like most websites, we automatically collect certain technical information when you visit, including your IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, referring URL, pages viewed, time spent on each page, and approximate geographic location derived from your IP address. We collect this primarily through Google Analytics and standard web server logs.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and comparable tracking technologies to operate the site, understand how it is used, and support the advertising and affiliate programs that fund it. A full breakdown of the specific cookies we use, their purpose, and how to control them is available on our Cookie Policy page. In summary, cookies on this site fall into three groups: strictly necessary cookies required for the site to function, analytics cookies from Google Analytics, and advertising and affiliate cookies from Google AdSense and Amazon Associates.

Third-Party Services We Use

We rely on a small number of third-party services to run this site, and each processes some visitor data on our behalf or independently, subject to their own privacy policies:

• Google Analytics — helps us understand which articles are useful, how visitors navigate the site, and where traffic comes from, using cookies and data such as pages viewed, session duration, device type, and approximate location.
• Google AdSense — serves the display advertising that helps fund independent testing. Google and its advertising partners may use cookies, including the DoubleClick cookie, to serve ads based on your visits to this and other sites. You can review and adjust ad personalization at adssettings.google.com.
• Amazon Associates — when you click a link to Amazon from one of our reviews, Amazon sets its own tracking cookie so that, if you make a qualifying purchase within its cookie window, we may earn a commission. Amazon's collection and use of your data through that cookie is governed by Amazon's own privacy notice, not this one.
• Email delivery provider — if you subscribe to our newsletter, we use a third-party email service to store your address and send updates, and you can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email we send.

We do not sell visitor data to data brokers, and we do not share personal information you submit through contact forms or comments with third parties except where necessary to operate the services above or where required by law.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information described above to operate and improve the site, respond to inquiries and product submissions, send newsletter updates to subscribers who opt in, measure which content is genuinely useful so we can prioritize future testing, detect and prevent spam or abuse in comments, and serve relevant advertising that supports the cost of purchasing and testing products.

Data Retention

We retain contact form and comment submissions for as long as reasonably necessary to respond to your inquiry or maintain the public comment, generally no longer than 24 months, after which older records are periodically purged. Analytics data is retained according to Google Analytics' default retention settings. Newsletter subscriber information is retained until you unsubscribe.

Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have specific legal rights over your personal data.

If you are in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom (GDPR)

You have the right to request access to the personal data we hold about you, request correction of inaccurate data, request deletion of your data, restrict or object to certain processing, and request a portable copy of your data. You can exercise any of these rights by emailing us at the address below.

If you are a California resident (CCPA/CPRA)

You have the right to know what personal information we collect, request deletion of that information, and opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information, which in our case relates primarily to advertising cookies used by Google AdSense. We do not discriminate against users who exercise these rights. You can submit a request by emailing us, and we will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

Do Not Track Signals

Some browsers send a "Do Not Track" signal to websites. There is currently no universal industry standard for how sites should respond to these signals, so this site does not currently alter its data collection in response to them, though you can still control cookies directly through your browser settings and the opt-out tools described in our Cookie Policy.

Children's Privacy

Honest Ratings is a general-audience consumer technology publication and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 13, or the applicable minimum age in your jurisdiction. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can delete it.

International Data Transfers

Our site and the third-party services we use, including Google's infrastructure, may process and store data on servers located outside your country of residence, including in the United States. By using this site, you understand that your information may be transferred to and processed in countries with data protection laws that may differ from those in your home jurisdiction.

Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect the information we collect, including restricting access to contact form and newsletter data and using encrypted (HTTPS) connections throughout the site. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, the services we use, or legal requirements. Material changes will be reflected by an updated "last modified" reference, and continued use of the site after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

Contact Us

For any questions about this Privacy Policy or to exercise your privacy rights, contact us at amirchandler7@gmail.com.