Privacy Policy
What we collect, and what we don't
This policy explains what Know The Spore collects, why, how long we keep it, and the choices you have. Last updated October 2026.
The short version: we collect as little as we can and do not sell personal information. We measure page use with Google Analytics 4. Third parties such as Google serve any ads, and they may use cookies. You can block or delete cookies in your browser at any time.
What we collect
We keep collection minimal and, where we can, non-identifying. The table below shows each item, why we collect it, and how long we keep it.
| What | Why | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Page analytics (Google Analytics 4) | See which pages readers use and how they arrive | Kept by Google for the retention period set in our Analytics account |
| Approximate location | Google Analytics estimates country and region from each visit | Reported to us only in aggregate |
| Server and network logs | Our host and Cloudflare, the network that delivers the site, record IP address, browser and requested page to run and protect it | Rotated automatically, with older files deleted |
| Emails you send | To reply and track corrections | Until the matter is resolved |
| Advertising cookies | Set by ad partners to serve and measure ads | Controlled by the partner and your browser |
We do not ask you to create an account, and we do not run a newsletter that requires your identity. If that changes, this page changes first.
Cookies we use
Cookies are small files a site stores in your browser. The site's own code sets none, and the cookies below come from the services it uses.
- Security. Cloudflare may set a short-lived cookie to tell people apart from automated traffic.
- Analytics. Google Analytics 4 sets cookies such as
_gato count visits and pages without naming you. - Advertising. Third-party ad partners set these cookies, as the next section describes. They are optional.
You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings at any time. Blocking advertising cookies does not stop you reading anything here.
Advertising and Google AdSense
To fund the site, we may show ads through Google AdSense and other advertising partners, which place and read their own cookies.
Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website and others. Google's use of advertising cookies lets it and its partners show you ads based on those visits.
You can opt out of personalised advertising and manage your choices through these tools:
- Google Ads Settings at adssettings.google.com
- How Google uses ad cookies at policies.google.com/technologies/ads
- Third-party vendor opt-outs at aboutads.info/choices and youronlinechoices.eu
The site does not currently show a cookie consent tool. You can refuse or delete cookies in your browser, and every page still works without them.
Analytics
We use Google Analytics 4 to see which pages readers find useful. We look at trends in aggregate, such as which safety guides get read most, and never at what any single person does.
Google processes this data under its own privacy policy. Google's Analytics opt-out add-on stops your browser from sending it data.
How we use what we collect
We use the little we gather to run and improve the site, and for nothing else. In practice, we use it to:
- Reply to your emails and track safety corrections through to a fix
- Understand which content helps readers, so we can write more of it
- Keep the site secure and working, and meet our legal obligations
Your choices and rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights over your personal data under laws such as the GDPR in Europe or the CCPA in California.
These can include the right to access what we hold, to ask us to correct or delete it, and to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. We do not sell personal information, so there is nothing to opt out of on that front.
To make any request, email us and we will respond within a reasonable time. You can also control cookies and personalised ads directly through the tools linked above.
Data sharing
We never sell your personal information. We share data only with the services that run the site, which are our host, Cloudflare, Google Analytics and advertising partners, each under its own privacy policy. The site's fonts and icons are served from its own domain. When you follow an outbound link or view embedded content, that third party's privacy policy applies, not this one.
Children's privacy
We write this site for a general adult audience, we do not direct it at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has sent us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the site or the law changes. When we make a material change, we update the date at the top of this page.
Contact
Send privacy questions to [email protected]. Our editorial policy and methodology and sources pages explain how we source and review content.