Privacy Policy

How we handle information about visitors to World of Aquariums.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you visit https://worldofaquariums.com, how we use it, who we share it with, and the rights you have over it. It applies to everyone who visits the site, with additional protections for visitors in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, and certain US states.

Data controller: World of Aquariums is the data controller for personal information collected through this website. You can contact us at [CONTACT EMAIL] for any privacy-related questions or requests.

Summary

We do not sell your personal information. We do not require an account to read the site. We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors find and use the site, and we display advertising (served by Raptive and its partners) to support the site. If you are in the EEA, UK, or a jurisdiction with similar rules, tracking cookies are off by default until you consent.

What we collect

Information collected automatically

When you visit any page on worldofaquariums.com, our hosting provider and analytics tools automatically receive:

  • Your IP address (used and then truncated by Google Analytics)
  • Browser type, version, and language
  • Operating system and device type (mobile, tablet, desktop)
  • Screen resolution
  • The page you requested and the page that referred you (if any)
  • Date and time of the request
  • Approximate geographic location (country, region, city) derived from IP

Information collected with cookies and similar technologies

With your consent where required, we and our partners set cookies and similar identifiers to measure how the site is used and to serve relevant advertising. See Cookies and tracking below for the full list.

Information you provide to us

World of Aquariums does not currently offer user accounts, newsletters, comments, or contact forms. If you email us directly, we will receive and store the content of your message along with your email address, used only to reply to you.

How we use information

  • To operate the site — serve pages, prevent abuse, and keep the service running (necessary for our legitimate interests in providing the site, and required to perform the service you requested).
  • To measure and improve the site — understand which pages are popular, where visitors come from, how the site performs, and what needs fixing (with your consent where required; otherwise based on our legitimate interest in a functioning website, using cookieless measurement only).
  • To show advertising — serve ads that help fund the site; with your consent, ads may be personalized based on data our ad partners collect (see Advertising).
  • To comply with the law — respond to lawful requests, enforce our terms, and protect our rights and those of our visitors.

We do not use the information we collect to build profiles for sale, and we do not use it for any automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects about you.

If you are in the EEA or UK, we process your personal data on the following bases under the GDPR / UK GDPR:

  • Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) — for analytics cookies, advertising cookies, and any similar tracking technologies. You can withdraw your consent at any time; see Your rights.
  • Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) — for basic operation of the site, security, and cookieless aggregated measurement. Our legitimate interest is running and improving a free-to-read publication; we have balanced this against your rights and believe the impact is minimal.
  • Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)) — where we must process data to meet a legal requirement.

Cookies and tracking

A cookie is a small text file stored in your browser. We use cookies, local storage, and similar technologies for the purposes below. In the EEA, UK, and jurisdictions with similar rules, non-essential cookies are off by default until you accept them via our cookie banner. You can change your choice at any time by clearing the woa_consent_v1 value from your browser's local storage, which will cause the banner to reappear.

Strictly necessary

We store your cookie choice in your browser's local storage under the key woa_consent_v1. This is required to remember whether you accepted or rejected non-essential cookies. It does not track you and does not require your consent.

Analytics

We use Google Analytics 4 (provided by Google LLC and Google Ireland Ltd.) to measure site usage. Google Analytics may set the following cookies once you accept: _ga, _ga_<container-id>. These allow Google to distinguish unique visitors, measure sessions, and count pageviews.

Before you accept (or if you reject), Google Analytics runs in "Consent Mode" and sends anonymous, cookieless pings with no identifiers. This gives us aggregated counts (for example, total pageviews) but does not track individual visitors across sessions.

Google Analytics data is retained for 14 months, after which it is automatically deleted. Google may transfer data to the United States; we rely on the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and Standard Contractual Clauses as the legal transfer mechanism. You can read Google's Privacy Policy for more detail, and you can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on to opt out across all sites.

Advertising

We display advertising on World of Aquariums to support the cost of running the site. Ads are served through Raptive (a trading name of CAFE Media LLC) and its advertising partners, which may include Google, other supply-side platforms, and demand-side platforms.

With your consent, these partners set their own cookies and identifiers to:

  • Deliver ads and measure their performance
  • Prevent the same ad from being shown too many times
  • Detect invalid traffic and fraud
  • Personalize ads based on inferred interests

A full list of Raptive's advertising partners and their privacy practices is available in Raptive's Privacy Policy and Advertising Partners page.

If you reject advertising cookies (or if you are in a jurisdiction where they are off by default and you do not accept), you will still see ads, but they will not be personalized to you.

You can also opt out of personalized advertising industry-wide at youronlinechoices.eu (EU/UK) or optout.aboutads.info (US).

Who we share information with

We share information only with:

  • Our infrastructure providers — Vercel (hosting and CDN) and domain registrars, which receive request data (IP, user agent) as part of serving pages to you.
  • Google LLC / Google Ireland Ltd. — as the provider of Google Analytics.
  • Raptive (CAFE Media LLC) and its advertising partners — as described under Advertising.
  • Law enforcement or courts — if we are legally required to do so, and only in response to a valid request.

We do not sell your personal information for money. However, some US state privacy laws (notably California's CCPA / CPRA) define "sale" and "sharing" broadly enough that the use of third-party advertising cookies may qualify. See US state privacy rights for your options.

How long we keep information

  • Google Analytics data: 14 months, then automatically deleted.
  • Server logs (Vercel): up to 30 days, used only for operational and security purposes.
  • Your cookie consent choice: stored in your browser until you clear it.
  • Emails you send us: kept as long as needed to answer your question, then deleted within a reasonable period unless we need them for legal or accounting reasons.

International data transfers

Some of our service providers (notably Google and Raptive) are based in the United States. When personal data is transferred outside the EEA or UK, we rely on the EU–US Data Privacy Framework (where applicable) and Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission as the legal transfer mechanism.

Your rights

Everyone

You can change or withdraw your cookie consent at any time by clearing the woa_consent_v1 entry from your browser's local storage for this site — the consent banner will then reappear on your next visit, and you can make a new choice.

EEA and UK visitors

Under the GDPR and UK GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you
  • Ask us to correct inaccurate data
  • Ask us to delete your data (right to erasure)
  • Restrict how we process your data
  • Object to processing based on legitimate interests
  • Data portability, where applicable
  • Withdraw consent at any time
  • Lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority — for example, the Slovenian Information Commissioner or any other EU/EEA data protection authority where you live, work, or believe a violation occurred.

US state privacy rights

Residents of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, and other states with comprehensive privacy laws have rights that may include:

  • The right to know what personal information we collect about you
  • The right to request deletion of your personal information
  • The right to correct inaccurate personal information
  • The right to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising
  • The right not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights

For California residents (CCPA/CPRA): You have the right to opt out of the sharing of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. You can exercise this right by rejecting advertising cookies in our consent banner, or by enabling a recognized opt-out signal such as Global Privacy Control (GPC) in your browser, which we honor as a valid opt-out request.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at [CONTACT EMAIL]. We will respond within the timeframes required by applicable law (generally 45 days, extendable once where needed). We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.

Children

World of Aquariums is a general-audience publication about aquarium keeping and is not directed at children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA/UK). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

Security

All traffic to worldofaquariums.com is encrypted in transit using HTTPS. We rely on our infrastructure providers (Vercel, Google) to maintain appropriate technical and organizational safeguards for data at rest. No system is perfectly secure, but we apply reasonable measures to protect the limited information we collect.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time — for example, if we add a new feature, change advertising partners, or need to reflect a change in the law. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page will always show when it last changed. Material changes will be highlighted on the site or through the cookie banner.

Contact us

For any privacy-related question, request, or complaint, email us at [CONTACT EMAIL]. We aim to respond within 30 days, and always within the time required by applicable law.