Privacy Policy
This page explains what information this site collects when you visit, why, and what you can do about it. I’ve tried to keep it in plain English.
The short version
- I don’t sell your data, and I don’t build profiles of readers.
- Visitor statistics are anonymous and don’t use cookies.
- The site shows adverts from Google. If you’re in the UK or Europe, advertising cookies are only used if you agree to them.
- If you get in touch or sign up to the newsletter, I receive your email address (plus your name and message, if you get in touch). I only use it to reply to you, or to send you the newsletter through Substack.
Who runs this site
The Financial Reality Check is run by Adam, based in the UK. For data protection purposes I’m the “data controller”, meaning the person responsible for deciding how your information is used.
If you have a question about anything on this page, email me at adtalksmoney@gmail.com or use the Contact button on the About page.
Visitor statistics
I use GoatCounter to count how many people read each article. When a page loads, GoatCounter receives the page address, the site that linked you here, your browser and device type, your screen size and your approximate location (country).
GoatCounter doesn’t use cookies, and it only keeps totals, such as “40 people used Firefox today”. It doesn’t store your IP address or keep a record of individual visits, so the statistics can’t be used to identify you.
I do this because it’s useful to know which articles people find worth reading. In data protection terms this is a “legitimate interest”.
Adverts
This site shows adverts provided by Google AdSense. They help cover the cost of running the site.
- Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your previous visits to this website or other websites.
- Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to this site and/or other sites on the internet.
Your choice. When you first visit from the UK, the European Economic Area or Switzerland, a pop-up asks whether you agree to advertising cookies. You’ll only see personalised adverts if you say yes. If you say no, you’ll still see adverts, but they won’t be based on your browsing history.
The pop-up’s settings also list the other advertising companies Google works with, and let you accept or refuse each one individually. You can change your mind at any time using the privacy and cookie settings link at the bottom of each page.
Opting out. You can turn off personalised adverts from Google in Google’s Ads Settings. You can also opt out of personalised advertising from many other ad companies at www.aboutads.info.
For more detail, see how Google uses information from sites that use its services.
YouTube videos
Some articles include YouTube videos. These use YouTube’s “privacy-enhanced mode”, which limits what YouTube collects. When a page with a video loads, though, your browser still connects to YouTube (which is owned by Google), and YouTube may store information on your device, especially once you play the video. Google’s privacy policy applies to that.
Getting in touch
If you email me or use the contact form, I receive your name, email address and message. I use them only to reply to you, and I keep them only as long as I need to deal with your message.
The contact form and the newsletter sign-up are both sent through Web3Forms, a service that forwards submissions to my email inbox. Web3Forms checks submissions for spam, which can involve passing your email address and IP address to spam-filtering services. It keeps a copy of each submission for up to three years unless it’s deleted sooner. See Web3Forms’ privacy policy for details.
Newsletter
If you sign up to the newsletter, I add your email address to my mailing list on Substack, where I also publish. You’ll then receive an email whenever I post a new article or newsletter there.
I only email you because you asked me to. Every email includes an unsubscribe link, or you can email me and I’ll remove you from the list.
Substack sends the emails and looks after the mailing list on my behalf. It also uses some information for its own purposes, which Substack’s privacy policy explains.
Hosting
The site is hosted by Cloudflare. Like any web host, Cloudflare processes technical information, such as your IP address, to deliver pages to you and to protect the site from attacks.
Where your information goes
Some of these services are based outside the UK: Google, Cloudflare and Substack in the United States, and Web3Forms in India. When your information is sent abroad, these services use the legal safeguards that UK law requires for international transfers.
Cookies at a glance
| What | Set by | Why | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visitor statistics | GoatCounter | — | Never. GoatCounter doesn’t use cookies |
| Your consent choice | Google’s consent pop-up | Remembers your answer so you aren’t asked on every visit | Once you’ve answered the pop-up |
| Advertising cookies | Google and its advertising partners | Show and measure adverts, and personalise them if you agree | Only if you agree in the pop-up |
| YouTube | YouTube (Google) | Play embedded videos | Only on pages with a video, mainly once you press play |
Your rights
Under UK data protection law, you can ask for a copy of the personal information I hold about you, and ask me to correct or delete it. You can also object to how I use it, or withdraw your consent at any time.
In practice I hold very little. GoatCounter’s statistics can’t identify you, and Google holds its own advertising data, which you can manage through Google’s Ads Settings. If you’re on the newsletter, you can unsubscribe from any email. For anything else, email me at adtalksmoney@gmail.com.
If you’re unhappy with how I’ve handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk.
Children
This site is written for adults and isn’t aimed at children.
Changes to this policy
If anything changes, such as a new service being added, I’ll update this page and the date at the top.