Privacy Policy

Scaporia ("we," "our," or "us") is a blog about the art and science of aquascaping. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your information when you visit our website and use our services.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information you provide directly and information that is collected automatically when you use our site.

• Contact form. When you use our contact form, we collect your name, email address, optional phone number, and your message. We use this only to respond to your inquiry and do not add you to marketing lists unless you have asked us to.
• Usage data. Our hosting and platform may collect standard technical data (e.g. IP address, browser type, pages visited) for security and operation of the site. Third-party vendors that serve ads on our site (such as Google AdSense) may also collect data about your visits to our site and other websites to provide relevant ads.
• Purchases. When you buy credit packs, checkout is handled by Lemon Squeezy. They collect and process your payment information (card details, billing address). We do not store or process your payment card details. We receive from Lemon Squeezy: order confirmation, your account identifier (to credit your profile), and basic order metadata. Lemon Squeezy's privacy policy applies to their processing of payment data.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Respond to your messages sent through the contact form
• Operate, secure, and improve our website
• Credit your account when you purchase credit packs (using order data from our payment provider)
• Display ads and support the site through advertising
• Comply with applicable law or legal process

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for their marketing.

3. Affiliate Links, Sponsors, and Advertising

We support Scaporia through affiliate programs, sponsorships, and advertising. When you click affiliate links to retailers (e.g. Amazon) from our site, we may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. We only link to products or stores we believe are relevant to our audience. Your use of third-party sites is subject to their privacy and terms; we do not control their data practices.

Affiliate Programs

We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and may use other affiliate programs. Affiliate links may use cookies or similar technologies to track that you came from our site. The retailer (e.g. Amazon) may collect data about your visit and purchases according to their privacy policy.

Sponsors and Sponsored Content

We may work with sponsors and publish sponsored content, reviews, or product recommendations. When content is sponsored or paid for by a brand, we will disclose that clearly (e.g. "Sponsored" or "In partnership with [brand]"). Sponsored content does not affect our editorial independence; we only recommend products we believe are valuable to our audience.

Third-Party Advertising (Google AdSense)

We may display ads served by Google AdSense. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to our website or other websites on the internet. Google uses advertising cookies to enable it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to our site and/or other sites on the internet.

You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. You can also opt out of third-party vendor use of cookies for personalized advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info.

For visitors in the European Economic Area, UK, and Switzerland, we use a consent management solution to obtain your consent before non-essential cookies (including advertising cookies) are set. You can manage your preferences at any time.

4. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use essential cookies and similar technologies to run the site (e.g. session or preference cookies). Our content management and hosting may set cookies necessary for security and functionality. When we display ads via Google AdSense or similar services, those third-party vendors may set cookies for advertising purposes, including to serve ads based on your prior visits. You can control or opt out of these cookies through the links in Section 3 above.

5. Data Retention

We keep contact form submissions only as long as needed to handle your request and for our records. You may ask us to delete your data by contacting us.

6. Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete your personal data, or to object to or restrict certain processing. To exercise these rights or ask questions about your data, please contact us using the form at /contact.

7. Security

We take reasonable steps to protect your information. Data sent via our contact form is transmitted over HTTPS and processed by our email provider. No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Children

Our site is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have collected such information, please contact us and we will delete it.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top will reflect the latest version. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact Us

For privacy-related questions or requests, contact us via our contact page.